Elijah Harper a notable Canadian Biography Elijah Harper was born on March 3, 1949 at Red Sucker Lake in northeastern Manitoba. He was educated at residential schools in Norway House, Brandon and Birtle, Manitoba. In 1978, at the age of 29, he was elected chief of the Red Sucker Lake Indian First Nation.

In 1981, he was elected as Member of Legislative Assembly for the Rupertsland constituency, a position he held for the next 11 years. In 1986, he was appointed to cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio Responsible for Native Affairs, and in 1987, as Minister of Northern Affairs. In 1990 while sitting as opposition member in the Manitoba Legislature, he blocked the Canadian constitutional amendment known as the Meech Lake Accord.

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord was a document created in 1987, that tried to bring all 10 provinces of Canada into Constitutional agreement. But under this agreement, Quebec would be recognized as a “distinct society” and have the power to block any changes to the constitution. They set a time limit of 3 years to ratify this agreement.

In 1990, the premier of Newfoundland withdrew support saying it created inequality among the provinces. Then Elijah Harper created a *filibuster in the Manitoba legislature. His argument was that the agreement did not guarantee Aboriginal rights. His delaying tactics held up the vote until the time deadline had passed. *filibuster – delay tactics such as excessive public speaking in the name of justice.

What Impact did this have? Elijah Harper and colleague Phil Fontaine‘s plan to block the accord changed Canada as a nation. They did not want to further the idea that Canada was made up of 2 founding nations and that one of them was not the original Native people.