Side-by-Side Comparison of NDP, Liberal & Conservative Platforms on First Nation Issues for Ontario Election 2018

PLATFORM PROMISES NDP LIBERAL CONSERVATIVES Gov’mt to Gov’mt Relationship Yes, will sign accord, will work on stable revenue sources w First Nations (FNs) Yes, already have an accord L Land transfers back to First Nations L ? Will try to resolve land claims w FNs & Canada L Resource revenue sharing Yes, will share revenue…

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Harper’s “Cons” and FNEA: Would You Want These People Running Your Schools?

                                                      (picture from Two-Row Times) They say absolute power corrupts one absolutely, but this saying would not even begin to describe this Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s leadership. There has never been a more dictatorial, aggressive, scandal-laden government than Harper’s “Cons”. “Cons” is a fitting nickname for this ruling Conservative party given the…

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Flanagan National Petroleum Ownership Act: Stop Big Oil Land Grab

By now most of you have heard about the Harper government’s intention to introduce legislation that will turn reserve lands into individual holdings called fee simple. The legislation has been referred to as the First Nation Property Ownership Act (FNPOA). Some media outlets have referred to it as “privatization” but what the legislation would really do is turn…

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Maybe Oliver Needs a Job in Mining? Curing Conservative Dysfunction

Conservative Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver announced this week that amendments to Canada’s regulatory process are needed to speed up the approvals of mining and other extractive industry projects. Part of his justification for speeding up approvals is to transform “aboriginal communities’ which he considers to be “socially dysfunctional”. The cure for this alleged…

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War and Peace: Illusions of Partnership at Conservative-First Nations Gathering

War and Peace – those were the two symbols that kept popping into my mind as I watched the Canada-First Nations Gathering in Ottawa on January 24, 2012. My father always told me to pay careful attention to my surroundings and that even the smallest of signs could be an indication of the real threat behind…

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Whose the Smartest of them All? The Problem with Radicals, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Non-Thinkers

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the smartest of them all? Well, according to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, the Conservatives are the smartest of them all – at least, they are the only ones who take “facts” into account when they think. This means that everyone else who does not think, act and support the Conservative…

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Authoring Our Own Demise? NAOs Must Stop Propping up Conservatives

I keep wondering, why is it that some of the national Aboriginal organizations (NAO’s) continue to look the other way when the Conservatives show their true colours? There is a saying that goes: when someone tells you who they really are, you should listen. So, if a guy tells you on a date he doesn’t…

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Bill S-2 – Family Homes on Reserves: Protection or Threat?

On Wednesday, September 28, 2011. Minister John Duncan introduced Bill S-2 An Act Respecting Family Homes Situated on First Nation Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights in or to Structures and Lands Situated on Those Reserves in the Senate where it had its First Reading. The short name for this proposed legislation is Family Homes…

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Shiny New Beads and Trinkets: Old Assimilation Policies Repackaged

There has been a great deal of publicity lately related to all the great work the Conservatives are doing in relation to Aboriginal peoples. Some media outlets have called this a “historic shift” and even gone so far as to characterize the plan as a “sweeping overhaul of reserve life”. http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-native-leaders-commit-to-sweeping-overhaul-of-reserve-life/article2053099/?service=mobile While there may be…

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Secret Agent Harper: Conservative Spy Games in Indian Country

Ok, I have to admit that had anyone told me that the Conservative government’s first order of business would be to pay half a million dollars to hire private detectives to spy on First Nations, I might have viewed them with some level of skepticism. After all, I am not naive enough to think that the Conservatives…

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