Originally published in The Globe and Mail on February 27, 2020.
Canada’s Indian policy hasn’t changed much
After the events of the past few weeks in Canada, one thing remains clear: Canada’s Indian policy hasn’t changed much since its inception. Indian policy has always had two objectives: to obtain Indian lands and resources and to reduce financial obligations to Indigenous peoples acquired through treaties or other means. Its primary methods were elimination or assimilation of Indian
Colonial governments had a long history of scalping bounties to kill specific groups of Indigenous peoples, using small pox blankets to increase death rates from disease and forced sterilizations to reduce the populations. Even Confederation did not dispense with the violent colonization of what would now become known as Canada. Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, told the House of Commons in 1882: “I have reason to believe that the agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense.” Canada was fully engaged in clearing the lands, by any means necessary.
Now referred to as Indigenous reconciliation, the goal is still the same: to clear the lands of Indigenous peoples in order to bolster settlement and extraction of resources. This singular focus formed the basis of the violent colonization of Indigenous lands and peoples and, ultimately, is why Canada has been accused of genocide by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Canada’s complex set of laws, policies, practices, actions and omissions have created an infrastructure of violence toward Indigenous peoples and the continued dispossession of their lands.
This is at the heart of the devastating socio-economic conditions of many Indigenous peoples today, including multiple health crises such as diabetes, heart disease and strokes, lower life spans, higher rates of mental illness and some of the highest suicide rates in the world. These genocidal policies also serve to remove Indigenous peoples from their lands through high foster care rates, killings and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls and the skyrocketing incarceration rates.
Apologies versus Land Back
Despite carefully worded apologies and promises of a better relationship, none of these conditions has changed and, in fact, most are getting worse. Add to this that First Nations have less than 0.02 per cent of all their lands left – mostly in tiny reserves controlled by the federal government. Political rhetoric about supporting Indigenous self-determination means very little when we are denied access to our lands and resources.
We need to be honest about what is going on. There never was any real intention of recognizing Indigenous land rights – whether under Indigenous laws, Section 35 aboriginal and treaty right protections in the Constitution Act, 1982, or by implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It has been painfully clear, at every flashpoint in Canada’s history, that it is willing to starve Indigenous peoples into submission or imprison them to access their lands.
This is at the heart of what is happening across Canada over the past few weeks. The Wet’suwet’en Nation, as represented by their traditional government, acting on Wet’suwet’en laws and decision-making protocols, have said no to pipelines on their traditional territory. While five of the six band councils within the Nation have allegedly agreed to the pipeline, their jurisdiction extends over their reserve lands. It is the hereditary leaders who have the legal jurisdiction over their traditional territory, to decide whether the pipeline can cross their pristine forests and rivers.
Canada breaches its own “Rule of law”
The Supreme Court of Canada had already acknowledged in the Delgamuukw case that these were the proper representatives to bring a claim of aboriginal title. Eight of these leaders have said no to the pipeline. Despite this, the RCMP invaded their territory and forcibly removed them from their lands – counter to Wet’suwet’en law, Canadian law and international law. UNDRIP, which is now implemented in British Columbia, prevents the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands. This flagrant breach of Canada’s own rule of law is why the peaceful solidarity actions started all over Canada.
This is also why these actions will continue. Every time law enforcement is sent in to the clear the lands of the “Indians” to make way for pipelines and extraction of resources, you will see more and more Indigenous nations and Canadian allies stand against this injustice.
The real issue has always been about the land. The way forward is recognition of our right to be self-determining over our own lands and resources.
Anything less is just the same old Indian policy that invites more uncertainty and social conflict. Canada can do better. It’s time to move past genocide and work toward respect for Indigenous land rights.
AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT ON CLEAN WATER IN FIRST NATIONS
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had no problem finding $7 billion dollars to buy Trans Mountain oil pipelines – so, where’s the money to pay for clean water pipelines in Indigenous communities? It may be hard to believe, but many First Nations in Canada still lack access to clean drinking water.
This week, the Auditor General for Canada (AG) released her report on whether Canada is providing enough support to ensure that First Nations have access to safe drinking water. The answer was a clear no. This is despite the Liberal government’s promise back in 2015 to eliminate all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations by March 2021.
The report entitled “Access to Safe Drinking Water in First Nations Communities” found that federal policies and funding amounts did not align with its promise to end all long-term drinking water advisories (DWA) on reserve. But the story doesn’t begin or end with DWAs – that is only the tip of the iceberg. Auditor General Report on Clean Water
WHEN DID THE FIRST NATION WATER CRISIS START?
This crisis has been a long time in the making. First Nations would not be struggling to protect and access clean water if our sovereign jurisdictions, laws, and governing powers over our traditional territories and resources were respected. Canada has created and maintained this First Nation water crisis after generations of colonization, genocide, land dispossession, and control of our water sources.
And no, there is nothing in any of the treaties that explicitly stated the Crown could take all the water, control it, monetize it, and then deny access to clean water to First Nations. But that is exactly what has happened, despite the fact that the United Nations has recognized access to safe drinking water as a human right over a decade ago.
Canada continues to act as an outlaw, breaking Indigenous laws, its own domestic laws, and international laws in relation to human rights. When it comes to the basic human rights of Indigenous peoples – including the right to access, govern and protect water sources – Canada literally ignores its so-called “rule of law”. The continued failure to provide clean drinking water to First Nations or other Indigenous communities like the Inuit, is a prime example of systemic racism.
The Crown first steals Indigenous lands, resources, and waterways through fraud, deception, and countless breaches of its own laws, and then reserves unto itself jurisdiction in the Constitution Act 1867 over “Indians and lands reserved for the Indians”. In other words, the federal government has assumed legal and financial responsibility for both water and water infrastructure on First Nations reserves. Canada’s willful neglect of its assumed obligations has left numerous First Nations communities without clean water.
WHAT IS THE FIRST NATION WATER CRISIS?
First Nations have been calling on the federal government to address the lack of access to clean water for decades. In 1995, Health Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) found that 25% of water systems on reserve posed health and safety risks. In 2001, INAC found “significant risks” to water quality and safety in 75% of water systems on reserve – a shocking number.
A decade later in 2011, INAC reported to the AG that more than 50% of water systems still posed significant risks to community members. In 2014, it was 43% of water systems in trouble and in 2021, and that risk level hasn’t changed.
At a press conference about the AG’s report, Indigenous Services (ISC) Minister Marc Miller said that while they had hoped to address all long-term drinking water advisories, they lost “a construction season” due to the pandemic. One construction season? If we only start the clock from 1995 forward, then they’ve lost 25 years of construction seasons.
The AG pointed out that the delays by ISC were there long before the pandemic and referenced previous AG reports that have consistently raised concerns about the lack of clean drinking water in First Nations.
And let’s not forget the numbers here. In addition to the 60 long-term DWAs that are left to be resolved – half of those have been in place for more than a decade. Imagine an entire decade in Fredericton, Toronto, Winnipeg or Saskatoon without clean drinking water, where there was only enough water to bathe once a week. That would NEVER be tolerated anywhere else for any other community, but those in First Nations. The situation would be treated as the urgent crisis that it is.
FEDERAL POLICIES FOR WATER ON RESERVE ARE DECADES OLD
The federal government’s less than sincere commitment to urgently address the water crisis in First Nations is betrayed by the fact that their policies are decades old. The sad reality is that no one in the federal government has been concerned enough about the health, safety, and well-being of First Nations families, to treat the lack of access to safe drinking water as a crisis.
In fact, over the years, AG reports found that the federal government couldn’t even be bothered to do annual inspections for all the water systems, despite their medium to high-risk. It’s as if the words “significant risks” to community members were merely notations in a report and not significant warnings for risks to health, safety and well-being of First Nations.
The Auditor General also noted that some of the federal government’s policies in relation to water systems on reserve are decades old and some were written in the 1960’s. She further noted that they have not amended their policy in relation to funding for the operations and maintenance of water systems on reserve for over 30 years.
This means that the funding that the federal government provides to First Nations to maintain their water systems, does not take into account new technologies, the actual costs to maintain the systems and/or the risk-level and actual condition of the water systems. On top of that, they only provide up to 80% of the costs determined by this outdated policy, while at the same time paying First Nation water operators 30% less than the rest of Canada.
Is there any wonder why the federal government is constantly chasing long-term drinking water advisories and never seems to catch up? The ever-changing number of First Nation communities without clean water should be considered a national emergency – something that can and should have been rectified by now.
Think about it this way: if your roof has a leak and it would cost $10,000 to repair but you only “invest” $1,000, what happens? Well, your roof is not entirely fixed, so it continues to leak, causing more damage to the roof and the rest of the house. The next year, it will cost you $30,000 to fix the roof and the extra repairs for the house. Partial solutions to the water crisis serves to make the problem worse.
This is the point the AG made: “If funding to operate and maintain water systems is insufficient, water systems may continue to deteriorate at a faster-than-expected rated.” This is exactly what has happened.
THE NUMBERS SHELL GAME – HOW MANY FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES ARE WITHOUT WATER?
It’s important to dig into the numbers to truly understand the full scope of this problem. The AG’s report was limited to only 1,050 “public water systems” in 600+ First Nations. This is because ISC’s water policies and funding formulas do not provide support for those who rely on wells or cisterns. Worse than that, their water policies do not support those First Nations without any running water, let alone clean water!
And this isn’t a small number. More than one third of all households on reserve are in the category of wells and cisterns, or have no running water at all. So, the number of First Nation communities without access to clean water is a far bigger problem than it would first appear.
It’s also important to look at how ISC has differentiated between short-term and long-term DWAs. The government seems to be congratulating itself for having “only” 60 long-term DWAs left, meanwhile over the same period, the AG confirmed that there were 1,281 short-term DWAs.
More than 10% of those short-term DWAs were for periods of two months or more. But worse than that, the AG also found some First Nations had multiple short-term DWAs, that when added up, were more than a year in total cumulative length. But they don’t get counted in long-term DWAs, which effectively misrepresents the seriousness of short-term DWAs. Further, with long-term DWAs, they get counted as “lifted” or “resolved” if temporary measures are made to bring in water – even if the deficiencies in the water system have not been remediated.
DWA numbers are clearly not the most transparent or effective way to measure whether or not the water crisis has been remedied. The more transparent measure would be whether each household on First Nation reserves and each daycare, school, healthcare centre, community building, and business, has consistently safe, reliable, clean drinking water and sanitation. These numbers could easily be recorded as an aggregate and disaggregated set of statistics.
That’s the number that matters – how many First Nation households are without access to clean water – not how many DWAs you lifted one day, but were re-imposed the next. That’s a shell game that only serves to hide a much larger problem and certainly doesn’t respect the human right of First Nations to access clean water.
Canada brags about having 84,000 kms of pipelines all over the country servicing the oil and gas industry. When confronted with losing the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, Trudeau managed to find $7 billion dollars in a hurry to buy it. So, where are the pipelines bringing clean water to First Nations Trudeau?
There are mancamps full of thousands of mostly men flown into First Nation territories, in even in the remotest of places, that have access to healthcare, safe, mould-free housing, healthy food, and clean drinking water and sanitation. So, where is the healthcare, housing, food, and clean water for First Nations?
Canada’s military brings millions of litres of fresh water to other countries in emergencies – so where’s the clean water for First Nations? Canada has spent more than $240 billion dollars on pandemic relief measures, but there isn’t enough money to ensure that no First Nation goes without access to clean water during a pandemic? This isn’t a matter of lack of resources, these are conscious policy choices being made to breach the rights of First Nations, with significant impacts to their physical and mental health and well-being.
Minister Miller says they lost a construction season during the pandemic and that’s why they couldn’t address the water crisis. Yet, the construction season for oil and gas pipelines, the tar sands, mining projects and other extractive projects and infrastructure continued during the pandemic. But construction couldn’t proceed on water pipelines? These excuses are unacceptable.
No one is buying the excuses made by Liberal politicians anymore. The reason all First Nation households don’t have access to clean water is widespread, longstanding, systemic form of racism and a denial of basic human rights.
It is the same reason why there is a housing crisis on reserve; a humanitarian crisis of First Nations children in foster care; crisis-level incarceration rates of First Nations; and why there are thousands of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in this country. Policy choices are being made by bureaucrats with full knowledge of the harms inflicted.
HOW CAN CANADIANS HELP ADVOCATE FOR ACTION ON CLEAN WATER FOR FIRST NATION COMMUNITIES?
Until we address the racism in Canada’s laws, policies, and practices, we’ll never end the ongoing breaches of human rights against First Nations or their current lack of access to clean water. There is no such thing as incremental equality or partial human rights. You either have them or you don’t. And clearly, First Nations have neither equality nor the protection of human rights.
We need Canadians to stand up and say this isn’t right. We need Canadians to use their voices, their numbers, their powers and spheres of influence to demand better. Demand that the federal government bring every resource to bear to ensure safe, reliable, clean drinking water and sanitation to every single household on First Nation reserves. Not in two years, three years or after the next election – but this year. Next year’s reports need to count First Nation households without access to clean water and sanitation – not DWAs.
You can send emails, letters and petitions to Ministers, MPs, Senators and even the Prime Minister. You can withhold political and public support for politicians and make it conditional on ending the crisis. You can use your research, social media or publicity skills to support First Nations educate the public. There is no end to what Canadians can do. Now that you know better, you can put that knowledge into action for justice.
CONCLUSION
Canada needs to treat this water crisis as the national emergency it is and work in partnership with First Nations to address the entirety of the crisis – not just long-term DWAs. Canada needs to treat this situation with the same priority, urgency and resources as if this was in their own backyards.
We all know it would only take a week without access to clean water for any of these politicians to call in the army in their town or city if this happened to them. So, they need to stop with the excuses and simply get it done. And while they are at it, they should also return some of the lands, resources, and waterways they took – so this isn’t a problem in the future.
Access to clean water for all First Nations should never be considered a policy option.
C-92 An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has once again proven that legislative initiatives tend to be effective deflections from their ongoing failures to address human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples. Bill C-92: An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families (2019) was heralded by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the federal government as the solution to the “humanitarian crisis” of First Nations children in foster care. The AFN in particular pushed hard for the legislation to pass in Parliament, despite widespread opposition and protests from First Nations from all over Canada. First Nations legal and child welfare experts also warned Parliament that C-92 did not align with Canada’s political promises and could in fact make things worse. They were right.
NO STATUTORY GUARANTEE OF FUNDING
There are many substantive problems with C-92, but the most obvious is that there is no statutory guarantee of funding for First Nations in the legislation. In other words, there is no judicial right that a First Nation could use in court to force federal compliance in relation to funding under the Act. This concern was raised and effectively ignored by the AFN in its push to have the bill pass into law — all while federal officials were assuring First Nations that funding would follow. As expected, funding did not follow and to make matters worse, it looks like the federal government used C-92 as an attempt to insulate itself from the orders of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT).
The federal government has confirmed that it does not consider itself to be bound by CHRT orders to end racial discrimination in funding against First Nations children in foster care, once First Nations assume jurisdiction under C-92.
“Since (Bill C-92) falls outside the scope of the CHRT orders, the CHRT orders will not apply to a First Nation that has assumed jurisdiction.”
Federal officials further clarified that:
“There is no funding stream for the long-term operationalization of an Indigenous governing body’s law once they begin exercising jurisdiction.”
This confirmation comes from the federal government’s response to questions posed by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society in their ongoing litigation at the CHRT. Canada is effectively telling First Nations: Sure, you can assume jurisdiction over housing, education, health care and child and family services; but if you do, your funding will be cut or reduced. Oh, and by the way, you assume all the liability.
The whole point of the CHRT’s original decision was for Canada to stop racially discriminating against First Nations children in foster care and their families. One of the primary reasons why First Nations children are apprehended and placed in foster care at such high rates is due to the purposeful, chronic and racially discriminatory underfunding of essential social services for First Nations — like child and family services. Ironically, one of the most striking pieces of evidence in the CHRT hearing came from the government’s own internal documents that confirmed that federal underfunding leads to higher rates of First Nation child apprehensions. Yet Canada continues to underfund child and family services and all services like housing, health care, education, water and mental health services like suicide prevention on reserve. It is no coincidence then, that First Nations have the worst socioeconomic conditions of all groups in Canada.
TRANSFER OF FEDERAL LIABILITY
This follows a similar pattern in federal legislative initiatives over the last few decades, where under the guise of addressing a breach of Indigenous rights, they instead use legislation to deflect from the matter and find ways to insulate itself from liability and/or transfer federal liability to First Nations. Bill C-3: Gender Equity in Indian Registration (2011) was supposed to end sex discrimination against First Nations women and their descendants in Indian registration. Instead it created new discrimination and in s. 9 insulated itself from any legal claims by those Canada had discriminated against for decades. Similarly, in Bill S-3: An Act to amend the Indian Act in response to the Superior Court of Quebec decision in Descheneaux c. Canada (Procureur general) (2017), Canada once again failed to address all forms of sex discrimination and via s. 10 purports to insulate itself from liability for the discrimination endured by First Nations women and their descendants.
In enacting legislation, even in relation to First Nations, the federal government should always be assumed to be acting in the best interests of the Crown first, despite its fiduciary and other legal obligations to First Nations. C-3 and S-3 are just two legislative examples of explicit insulation of liability from Canada’s own wrongdoing. Another example is the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act (2013), which has done little to remedy ongoing the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation on all First Nation reserves but helped deflect media attention away from the crisis. Yet the legislation creates more problems than it solves including the creation of new ways to imprison First Nations members who breach the water laws; ensure federal laws are paramount over First Nation laws; and the inclusion of s. 11 which purports to limit liability for both the provincial and federal governments.
“DRAW DOWN” JURISDICTION?
In this context, it becomes apparent that First Nations who “draw down” jurisdiction under C-92 may be assuming significant financial and legal liability without corresponding legal protections and guaranteed, long-term needs and rights-based financial supports. Take a scenario where a First Nation band member is receiving federal support for health needs for their children under Jordan’s Principle and then the band assumes jurisdiction. What happens to the funding support for this First Nation band member and their children if — as the federal government has confirmed — they will not be bound by CHRT orders to provide funding to First Nations for critical programs like Jordan’s Principle (a child-first policy that is meant to ensure First Nations children have access to the same government services that other children do)? Does the member seek funding from the First Nation and if so, how will the First Nation provide this funding if the federal government ends Jordan’s Principle funding to First Nations under C-92?
The AFN has a lot to answer for in its support of C-92 without ensuring the free, prior and informed consent of First Nations, and worse, for forging ahead when so many First Nations leaders and First Nation child welfare experts were against the legislation as it read. First Nations who have given notice or are contemplating giving notice that they want to “draw down” jurisdiction over child and family services under C-92 are likely shocked to hear these concerning revelations by the federal government. This is not something the government shared during review of the bill or has included in their information packages online.
“TRUST US” MANTRA IS NOT ENOUGH
Were it not for the ongoing legal actions by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society to hold the federal government to account to comply with CHRT orders, we might not know the gravity of the funding situation. Canada must now answer for this bad faith funding shell game to undermine the basic human rights of First Nations children. The “trust us” mantra is not enough when the issue is the ongoing genocide of First Nations. It is long past time for full transparency and to stop ducking its human rights obligations to First Nations children and families.
Imagine living in a country, where hospitals refused to treat you for a stroke, because the doctors and nurses assumed you were drunk? Imagine further, that the emergency room doctor refused to treat your young child for epilepsy, because they assumed she was on drugs? Well folks, that country is Canada.
It doesn’t sound like the Canada you know. It doesn’t seem to reflect Canada’s world-renowned medical experts and hospitals. Nor does it seem to jive with Canada’s impressive array of human rights protections. Yet, if you are Indigenous in Canada, you can expect this kind of treatment and worse – even in Canada’s best hospitals in British Columbia (BC).
Just before the holidays, a report was released which confirmed what most Indigenous peoples already knew – that racism against Indigenous peoples, especially First Nations peoples – is widespread in BC’s healthcare system.
IN PLAIN SIGHT
The report entitled – In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care – was written by Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond who was the first, First Nations judge appointed to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan; was the former Child and Youth Advocate in BC; and now the independent investigator for this report.
She had been appointed by BC’s Minister of Health to conduct a review of racism against Indigenous peoples in BC’s healthcare system. Dr. Turpel-Lafond and her Indigenous-led team engaged in four months of investigations, which included:
talking to 9,000 people from BC;
reviewing 185,000 data sets including more than 900 studies; and
logging 600 cases via their 1-800 number and website.
The report – which includes both its core findings and recommendations – contains numerous examples of Indigenous peoples given substandard medical treatment or no treatment at all in hospitals and healthcare facilities of all kinds. In some cases, individuals were treated so poorly, that they refused to go back for treatment and this was especially true for Indigenous women.
There were 11 main findings divided into (a) the problem of Indigenous-specific racism and (b) the problem with current solutions – both of which provide significant insight into the lack of accountability for racism and the harm it causes Indigenous peoples in BC’s healthcare systems.
Her main findings in relation to anti-Indigenous racism were as follows:
Widespread Indigenous-specific stereotyping, racism and discrimination exist in the BC healthcare system;
Racism limits access to medical treatment and negatively affects the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples in BC;
Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately impacted by Indigenous-specific racism in the healthcare system;
Current public health emergencies magnify racism and vulnerabilities, an disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples and
Indigenous health care workers face racism and discrimination in their work environments.
She also noted that talking about anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare can be very triggering for Indigenous peoples who have experienced the physical and mental harms associated with racist comments, substandard treatment or the denial of treatment. At the same time, she also stressed that the issue must be named, so that institutions can be held to account and the problems addressed.
STEREOTYPES
Dr. Turpel-Lafond shared the eight most common racist stereotypes held by BC healthcare workers about Indigenous peoples (primarily First Nations, and include that belief that they are:
(1) Less worthy of care;
(2) Drinkers/alchoholics;
(3) Drug-seekers;
(4) Bad parents;
(5) Frequent flyers – misuse health system;
(6) Irresponsible & wont do aftercare;
(7) Less capable; and
(8) Unfairly advantaged.
RACISM CAUSES REAL HARM
She also stressed that these racist stereotypes lead to real physical harm, mental harm and even death for Indigenous peoples, in the following ways:
(1) Unacceptable personal interactions – like racist comments;
(2) Long wait times/denial of service – more so than non-Indigenous patients;
(3) Lack of communication/shunning Indigenous patients;
(4) Not believing or minimizing health concerns – Indigenous peoples accused of faking;
(5) Inappropriate or no pain management – assuming patients are drug seeking;
(6) Rough treatment – like man-handling or physical harm;
(7) Medical mistakes & misdiagnosis – assuming patients drunk and not addressing underlying health issues; and
(8) Lack of respect for cultural protocols – intolerance of families or ceremonies.
The significant harms experienced by Indigenous peoples on a regular basis are why the report’s recommendations on how to move forward to address anti-Indigenous racism in BC’s healthcare system are so important. At their core, the recommendations all work to confronting the legacy of colonialism in healthcare head on:
“A basic awareness has grown that the current inequities and injustices faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada – such as those examined in this Review – are deeply rooted in an enduring legacy of colonialism, and that confronting that legacy requires substantive, transformative change.”
MOVING FORWARD
It is important that Canadians read this report and then push governments, hospitals, universities and all those working in the healthcare system, in any capacity to embrace their role in reconciliation and ensuring that the human rights of Indigenous peoples to healthcare are respected, protected and fully implemented. To do this, Dr. Turpel-Lafond believes that our collective path forward must be based on acknowledging and accepting three foundational principles:
(1) Racism in healthcare reflects a lack of respect for Indigenous rights to health;
(2) Racism in the healthcare system is integrated with racism in society; and
(3) While Indigenous voices must be centered in developing solutions, the responsibility to do this work rests with non-Indigenous people, communities, organizations and governments.
Before anyone breathes a sigh of relief that this is only a BC issue – it isn’t. Anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare is rampant in other provinces as well. It was only weeks ago, that Quebec came under fire when a video showed nurses saying racist and hateful comments to Joyce Echaquan before she died in the hospital. This was not an isolated incident but reflects a long-standing pattern of racism experience by Indigenous peoples in Quebec hospitals.
Don’t forget the Brian Sinclair inquiry in Manitoba, which documented how the hospital staff ignored Brian – a double amputee confined to a wheel chair – for 34 hours until he subsequently died of a treatable urinary tract infection. And sadly, these are not exceptional cases. From the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in 1996 to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report in 2015 and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report in 2019 – racism in healthcare is a national crisis and has been for decades.
HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT
Racism in healthcare is a matter of life and death for Indigenous peoples and forms part of the ongoing genocide that the National Inquiry talked about in their report.
It was important for the BC government to undertake this investigation and accept the findings. Every other province and territory should follow suit and conduct a similar investigation. While it is important that BC’s Minister of Health Adrian Dix apologized and committed to take action – it is yet to be seen whether they will take the action needed to hold themselves accountable, make the required changes and make reparations to Indigenous peoples. Given the many reports sitting on government shelves gathering dust – it is incumbent on Canadians to do their part to ensure governments are held to account.
Healthcare is a basic human right and we are all served when we take steps to make sure that all peoples – including Indigenous peoples – can enjoy that right.
(Picture credit: Taken from the front over of the report In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in BC Healthcare, 2020).
Dear social justice allies, Several weeks ago, I wrote an article for APTN News about the need for all levels of government to work with Indigenous governments and prison justice experts to develop a decarceration plan for Indigenous peoples to avoid a massive covid19 outbreak in prisons which would disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples. COVID-19 pandemic plan needed for Canada’s jails and prisons
I then did a Youtube video providing more context on this issue and why a strategic, decarceration plan is needed for Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women who are the most over-represented prison population. Indigenous peoples are already in a high risk category for covid19 health issues and prisons would only make the matter worse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3gx_skSDX8
Many of you contacted me after seeing my video asking about a template letter they could use to Please see the below template letter that you can use and/or edit to your specific needs to send to the federal government regarding prisoner health and safety during the covid-19 pandemic.
The below draft template letter was provided by Senator Kim Pate, who has been a life long prison justice advocate for women. She has long called on the government to find alternatives to prison for women, especially Indigenous women who are grossly over-represented in prisons and women with physical and mental health issues. She is advocating that prisons release all minimum security prisoners, elderly and ill prisoners, and Indigenous women.
Many thanks for those of you who support prisoners at this time, especially the many thousands who have not even been convicted of their alleged crime.
April , 2020 The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet:
Re: COVID-19 in Canadian Prisons
We are gravely concerned that more people are going to die because current preventive measures for some Canadians are inadequate. We are particularly concerned about people living in poverty, people who are already isolated, homeless people, precariously housed and employed people, and prisoners.
There are 40,000 Canadians in prisons and too many are at particular risk due to COVID-19. In federal prisons, more than 1 in 4 prisoners are over 50, more than 1 in 7 have a respiratory illness or hypertension. Many have mental health issues. Elderly, ill and low risk prisoners can and must be released immediately.
Locking down prisoners and locking out visitors is wholly inadequate. Without significantly reducing the number of prisoners, prisons are already becoming incubated breeding grounds for COVID-19. Social distancing for prisoners is being achieved via lockdowns, conditions of solitary confinement.
The responses to COVID-19 in prisons so far raises serious health and human rights concerns. Because social distancing is not possible in crowded jails, the response to positive or suspected cases of COVID-19 are institutional lockdowns. Inadequate cleansers are being distributed to prisoners who often share kitchen and bathroom facilities. It is not effective to distribute hygiene information to those with dementia, learning, language or intellectual disabilities, not to mention those with significant mental health issues.
Staff in federal prisons are already testing positive in growing numbers and others are refusing to go to work where prisoners are diagnosed with COVID-19.
Authorities should be releasing all minimum security, elderly and ill prisoners from federal prisons. As you know, such legislative provisions as sections 29, 81, 84, 116 and 121 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act were specifically created to move people out of prisons to address health issues, for treatment, for other personal development, compassionate reasons, as well as for work. Sections 81 and 84 provide options which could be easily expanded to provide for the release of Indigenous and other prisoners.
As the Parole Board of Canada has urged, temporary absence and work release options could be broadened, whether by legislative changes or broader interpretation of current policies and practices, to provide near immediate alleviation of current conditions. Some families and communities could immediately accommodate their loved ones. Community residential facilities and non-governmental organizations could be funded (at a fraction of the cost of incarceration), to provide additional community accommodation and support.
Many communities need health clinics, testing centres and housing to alleviate current as well as pre-existing crises. Given the opportunity, construction companies and prisoners could volunteer to assist with the work needed to put this infrastructure in place.
Recognizing these extraordinary times, the government could further support these goals through amendments to legislation and/or policy. One option could be a “presumptive” release on parole at one-sixth of a sentence for all first-time, non-schedule convictions, that could function similarly to current statutory releases, supervised by parole officers with the Parole Board of Canada setting any necessary conditions. Alternatively, currently available measures, such as section 116(6) of the CCRA which permits unescorted temporary absences for renewable periods of 60 days for “specific personal development” programs, could be made applicable to prisoners with vulnerable health issues. Existing measures for release could likewise be expanded to permit individuals to be released with other forms of distance monitoring, such as video reporting.
The public safety risk of releasing minimum security prisoners, those who are ill and those who are elderly to receive treatment and contribute to their communities is negligible. The public health risks—for all Canadians—of keeping these individuals and correctional staff in overcrowded and under-prepared prisons and allowing the virus to spread further is significant, irresponsible and preventable.
Provinces like Ontario and Nova Scotia have taken steps: allowing those who serve sentences only on the weekends to serve sentences at home. In the United States,[i] Europe,[ii] New Zealand[iii] and beyond, legal advocates are working to post bail and encourage release of prisoners. Canadian civil society organizations, medical and legal experts are echoing these calls. Canadians are calling for bold and effective measures. Protecting Canada from a healthcare crisis means protecting those most marginalized, including those in prisons and other institutions.
Senator Kim Pate’s office also provided the following information to help families advocating on behalf of their loved ones in prison. Here is her note:
In order to assist in the release of your loved one/family/community member, you may wish to write to their parole officer, as well as the Warden of the prison where they are currently incarcerated. You might also want to write or copy Anne Kelly, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, Jennifer Oades, Chair of the Parole Board of Canada, Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Security, David Lametti, Minister of Justice, the Prime Minister, the leaders of the other federal political parties, as well as MPs and Senators.
In your letter requesting release on compassionate grounds, or for personal development, or perhaps a work release program in order to care for family members, or a section 81 0r 84 release, you will want to identify why you think they can be released safely in to the community at this time, as well as the types of supports available to them. If you need some resources to assist with community infrastructure, you can encourage the community to apply directly to the Minister of Public Safety.
Email addresses for some of the individuals listed above are:
Many are copying our office on their correspondence so that the recipients are aware that we are monitoring developments in the matter.
Additionally, please see below the link to an article by former Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Philpott and Senator Pate published recently in Policy Options regarding releasing prisoners in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be of interest:
Left to Right: Stephen Lewis, Pam Palmater, David Suzuki, photo by Ian Mauro Climate Tour 2019
This blog is an excerpt of the speech that I gave at the Climate Tour with David Suzuki and Stephen Lewis, on October 4, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the University of Winnipeg on Treaty 1 territory. (Check against delivery).
Kwe n’in telusi Pam Palmater. It is an honour to be here on Indigenous territory covered by Treaty one. Thanks to the elder for opening & to UofW for hosting us. Oct.4th important day to remember lives lost due to murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.
We have a hard truth to face. We are in the middle of two major crises: Canada is killing our people and the planet and we are here to stop it!
The first crisis is that the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls found that Canada has and continues to commit genocide against Indigenous peoples – specifically targeting Indigenous Women and Girls.
The second crisis is that Indigenous science and western science have both confirmed that we are headed for a massive climate disaster.
To say that we are in a crisis of epic proportions would be an understatement. We need to act now to end the genocide of Indigenous peoples & stop the ecocide of the earth. Because we know that the pain of Indigenous peoples is the same pain felt by the planet. And the pain of this planet is felt first and foremost by Indigenous peoples.
Settler governments in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and all over the world have colonized Indigenous territories with horrific acts of violence to peoples and the earth. The colonizing mentality pervades our governing systems and allows governments and corporations to treat people and the planet as resources to exploit – as though they were lifeless commodities. Extractive economies – now largely benefiting transnational corporations – have been authorized by governments land leave destruction in their wake.
We’ve seen tears from Indigenous mothers whose daughters have been murdered by the thousands. We’ve also seen the heartbreak of killer whale mothers mourning the losses of their offspring who can’t survive in an oil tanker dominated eco-systems.
And if we, as First Nations and Canadians, don’t act quickly – many more people, plants and animals will die. We no longer have the time to debate politics – the crisis in Canada is now a matter of life and death for all of us. It won’t be good enough in 50 years to look back and say we tried, we had the best intentions, or we gave it our best effort. We either do or die. And right now, Indigenous peoples are dying. Our planet is dying. But you all know this. We can no more deny the ecocide of climate change, than we can deny genocide of Indigenous peoples. The statistics, the research and the scientific evidence before our eyes is too overwhelming. Climate change is greatest threat to all life on earth – humans, plants and animals.
Who bears the disproportionate burden of environmental destruction, water contamination and more pipelines? Indigenous peoples do. That is because genocide and ecocide go hand in hand. This earth has suffered a great assault, in part because of massive human rights violations to its caretakers – Indigenous peoples. Similarly, Indigenous peoples have suffered a great genocide in part because of the violence committed against our lands, waters, and ecosystems on which we depend.
Our society’s economy has been constructed in a way which exploits ands abuses Indigenous women and the land with relative impunity. Well now, we all stand to pay the price of the impending climate disaster and corresponding the human disaster that will follow – all while large corporations reap the benefits.
In the end – we will all suffer – if there is no drinkable water, farmable land or pollinators.
What we need is a new treaty – a modern treaty that binds us all together – the people and the planet. A treaty that commits us to work together for the benefit of all Nations of peoples and living beings without discrimination, racism, sexism genocide or ecocide. A treaty that commits all people to heal our divisions so we can commit to protecting our collective futures.
We must remember that our collective futures includes the plants, animals, birds ,fish, and insect Nations. They too have as much right to live on this planet as we do and if we have any hope of surviving, we’ll need every bee hive, every coral reef and every killer whale pod to maintain our precious eco-systems.
This modern treaty can be a reality.
It doesn’t matter what we call it, whose idea it was, where it originated or whether we agree on all aspects of it. This new treaty is about combining social justice and earth justice together to pave the way to a better future for all. The dual crises facing us requires that we do everything in our collective power to save our planet.
This will require a societal revolution that goes beyond superficial changes and the glacial pace at which governments operate. It will require that we change everything and that will mean we need to get uncomfortable.
We don’t need everyone for a revolution to save the planet. We don’t have time to wait around until the genocide and climate change deniers are convinced. If we wait, it will be too late for us all.
Every single right we have ever gained – human rights, environmental protections or native rights – have been advanced by small numbers of people – sometimes only individuals pushing forward despite the odds. We can do this with all of you in this room. But we cant wait for all of you. We will forge ahead because we have to – its the only way to give Indigenous peoples and this planet a fighting chance.
Other people will join when they see our successes. There will always be genocide deniers & climate change deniers, but we have an obligation to forge ahead anyway. If the lands are toxic from tar sands, and the water polluted from mining, none of our children will survive – whether they are Canadian or Indigenous. That’s why we need to work together.
Together, we not only have the power to stop these abuses, but we can return Canada to its original treaty vision. Every single one of you has the power to stand up for what is right and save not only yourselves, but all those who can’t advocate on their own – for all of those whose voices that are not counted – the bees, the whales, the trees and the tiniest insects.
None of you can do it alone and we don’t expect you to – the original treaty vision for Canada was premised on us working together to benefit from and protect the lands and waters which sustain us. Our advantage and our strength is in our collectives.
Canada wouldn’t even exist without the treaty agreements between sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Crown. This original treaty vision was meant to protect the ecosystem on Turtle Island for as long as long as the grass grows, the rivers flow and sun shines.
We are faced with two global crises – genocide and ecocide.
We must use the spirit and intent of our original treaties to forge a new future Canadians – get out and vote in your system – use your numbers, your wealth, your influence and your privilege to force the change. But don’t stop there – the pressure must continue in full force post election in all forums – in Parliamentary and Senate Committees, in where you spend you money (or don’t), in the media, in the boardroom, in your advocacy and at the United Nations.
Indigenous peoples will always be there on front lines, but we cant do it alone – we need you and you need us. Our very lives depend on it.
We can protect the lands and waters and we can save lives. I believe in the power of the people to rise up and be the government of the people, by the people, for the people as it was intended. This generation was meant to lead our Nations back to balance. We were meant to protect this territory for our future generations. I believe in the power of our peoples to unite under a new treaty.
Let’s end genocide against Indigenous peoples and ecocide against our planet.
Lets work together for the radical changes we need to save our people and the planet.
Still image from video of RCMP aiming gun at Wet’suwet’en people from Gidimten Camp Facebook.
Today, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer made the shocking statement that protestors and activists need to “check their privilege” and let people whose jobs depend on the railway systems get to work. In this case, it is Scheer who needs to check his own privilege. His comments appear to be racially motivated as the people occupying the rails in Ontario are very obviously Indigenous peoples. Scheer’s comments reflect worn out stereotypes about Indigenous peoples that are not worth repeating, but are not based on facts. These kinds of comments serve only to promote societal division and manufacture hatred towards a specific group – Indigenous peoples. Scheer’s white male privilege as a top 1% income earner (according to Statistics Canada) stand in stark contrast to the staggering socio-economic conditions of the majority of First Nations peoples in Canada. First Nations have the highest rates of poverty in the country, the lowest health indicators and the highest rates of suicide in the world. Far from “privilege”, their under-privilege is a direct result of the violent colonization of their territories and the continued oppression of their peoples.
In 2019, the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls found, as a matter of fact and law, that Canada is guilty of both historic and ongoing genocide. Both the Organization of American States and the United Nations expressed deep concern about this finding and officials have offered to assist Canada address this. So, far there has been no urgent action to address ongoing acts of genocide against Indigenous peoples. The rates of Indigenous over-incarceration continue to sky-rocket with Indigenous women (less than 2.5% of the population) making of 42% of those in federal prisons. Why? Aside from noting many areas of discrimination within the justice system, the Office of the Correctional Investigator expressed concern that federal corrections seems “impervious to change”.
Indigenous children represent half of all children in foster care, which even federal ministers called a “humanitarian crisis” – yet numbers continue to rise. The numbers of abused, exploited, disappeared and murdered Indigenous women also continue to rise, despite a National Inquiry drawing national attention to the crisis. Indigenous women and girls are the primary targets of human traffickers who are able to exploit them with relative impunity. It should come as no surprise to anyone at this point that some First Nations in Canada have the highest suicide rates in the world, even higher than post-conflict countries. Indigenous peoples make up 40-80% of homeless peoples in Canada depending on the region and we all know about the lack of access to clean drinking water that has plagued some First Nations for decades.
The United Nations has called on Canada many times to address its grave human rights violations against Indigenous peoples to no avail. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has made similar recommendations to Canada to end the human rights violations. The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous peoples James Anaya, wrote in his report on Canada that the relationship with Indigenous peoples was getting worse over time and that “It is difficult to reconcile Canada’s well-developed legal framework and general prosperity with the human rights problems faced by Indigenous peoples”. He went on to report that “The most jarring manifestation of those human rights problems is the distressing socioeconomic conditions of Indigenous peoples in a highly developed country.” Canada is wealthy because it stole the lands and resources of Indigenous peoples, carried out violent acts of genocide to reduce Indigenous populations and then constructed a complex set of laws, policies, practices, actions and omissions to oppress Indigenous peoples and clear the lands for settlement and extraction.
These actions of solidarity across the country are about more than pipelines – they are about the continued genocide of Indigenous peoples and the failure of Canada to abide by the rule of law in respecting their land rights and their right to say no to development. These solidarity actions with the Wet’suwet’en Nation are about bringing attention to the ways in which Canada criminalizes Indigenous peoples for peacefully living, asserting and defending our sovereignty over our lands. While politicians make flowery speeches about reconciliation and respecting our rights, when it comes to wanting our lands for development or extraction, they will send in heavily armed RCMP or military to take what they want. That is what these actions are about – the failure of federal and provincial governments to abide by the rule of law – all the laws in Canada, not just the ones that suit their political or economic needs.
Scheer’s ill-informed comments serve only to cause confusion and apprehension in the public, instead of offering thoughtful solutions that would bring everyone together. His words are shameful and thankfully, don’t represent those of most Canadians. Canadians continue to be our strongest allies in seeking justice for our peoples as lawyers, teachers, academics, social workers, labourers, unions and Canadians from all backgrounds continue to stand with Indigenous peoples at solidarity actions all over Canada. That’s what the treaty relationship is all about. We need to work together to find a way to harmonize all laws in Canada – Indigenous, Canadian and international laws – and restore social justice for all peoples. We must urgently end genocide against Indigenous peoples which includes the ongoing theft of our lands and resources. It also means telling the RCMP to stand down.
Reconciliation doesn’t manifest at the end of a sniper rifle.
RCMP invades Wet’suwet’en territory. Photo by Amber Bracken; Jan. 7, 2019
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes flowery public speeches about respecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and reassures the international community that there is no relationship more important that the one with Indigenous peoples, Canada invaded sovereign Wet’suwet’en Nation territory. When questioned about this aggressive move at a Liberal fundraiser in Kamloops, British Columbia, he responded: “No, obviously, it’s not an ideal situation… But at the same time, we’re also a country of the rule of law.” Canada’s invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory through its national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), is an example of the blatant violation of the rule of law in favour of corporate interests. Canada has consistently failed to follow the rule of law when it comes to Indigenous peoples, and the violent arrests of the Wet’suwet’en people at the Gidimt’en checkpoint, set up in support of the Unist’ot’en homestead, is a glaring example of Canada’s lawlessness.
The people of Wet’suwet’en Nation, as represented by their traditional government, have long asserted their sovereign jurisdiction over their Nation’s lands which span about 22,000 square kilometres in northwest British Columbia. These lands have never been ceded, nor have their rights to use, manage, protect or govern these lands been extinguished in any way. The Nation has never signed any treaty or constitutional agreement that has specifically surrendered their sovereignty as a Nation. While there have been many federal and provincial laws that have interfered with First Nation laws in general, there has never been an explicit extinguishment of Wet’suwet’en laws and jurisdiction over their Nation’s sovereign territory. Their land rights are not only recognized in Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982, but they are also protected in numerous international treaties and declarations, like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In other words, there was no legal basis for Canada to invade their territory.
The Wet’suwet’en Nation is a governing Nation that has existed since time immemorial. They are made up of five clans: Gil_seyhu (Big Frog), Laksilyu (Small Frog), Gitdumden (Wolf/Bear), Laksamshu (Fireweed), and Tsayu (Beaver). The Wet’suwet’en are organized through a system of hereditary leaders and have a complex system of governance. While Canada did force the chief and council system on First Nations through the Indian Act, it was not successful in extinguishing or displacing the Nation’s traditional government. This is evidenced in the fact that when the Wet’suwet’en Nation decided to assert their land rights in Canada’s courts, they did so as a Nation, through their traditional government as represented by their hereditary leaders.
In Delgamuuwk v. British Columbia (1997), the Wet’suwet’en, together with the Gitksan, asserted title to their lands. While the issue was ordered back to trial, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) made significant findings about the nature of Aboriginal title being a right to the land itself. The SCC found that the land is held communally, by all members of the Aboriginal Nation for their “exclusive use and occupation,” and that this right to land was protected in “pre-existing systems of aboriginal law” and Canada’s common law, even before the protection of Aboriginal rights in section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act. No laws have since extinguished Wet’suwet’en rights with regards to their territory. Also significant is the fact that according to SCC jurisprudence, Aboriginal title contains an inherent limitation, in that title lands can’t be used in a way that is “irreconcilable” with the nature of the Nation’s attachment to those lands. The SCC explained it this way: “Implicit in the protection of historic patterns of occupation is a recognition of the importance of continuity of the relationship of an aboriginal community to its land over time.”
What can we take from this case? Well, according to Canadian law, we know that it is the “Aboriginal Nation,” in this instance the Wet’suwet’en Nation, that has the legal ownership of their traditional territories, not an individual band. So it matters little that some of the bands may have signed an agreement with the pipeline company, especially if they did so in relation to territory off the reserve and without the free, prior and informed consent of the people. We also know that the lands are not held by individuals, but by the whole Nation. Thus any decisions in relation to those lands rest with the Nation. We also know that the purpose of section 35 is to protect the many ways in which Aboriginal Nations enjoy their title lands and these Nations can’t use them in ways which are inconsistent with those uses. The SCC specifically stated that if Aboriginal title lands are used as hunting grounds, then the land can’t be used in a way that destroys its value – as in strip mining.
In the present case, not only were the Wet’suwet’en people using and occupying their lands, they were also protecting their lands from destruction by the Coastal GasLink pipeline slated to go through their territory. If Aboriginal Nations can’t risk destroying their title lands for extractive projects, certainly corporations should not be permitted to do so. It’s also clear that despite the media reports, this was never about a protest. This was always about occupying and protecting their lands – something they have the legal right to do. This is where the so-called “rule of law” comes into play. The rule of law is touted by Canada every time it actually wants to break the law; according to the United Security Council, rule of law means:
All persons, institutions and entities, public and private … are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.
It becomes very clear then, that Canada has a long history of breaching the rule of law when it comes to First Nations. In the Wet’suwet’en case, Canada has prioritized the extraction interests of a corporation over the constitutionally protected rights of a sovereign Aboriginal Nation. This is a clear violation of the law. The Wet’suwet’en right to occupy and protect their territory is an internationally recognized human rights norm, now reflected in UNDRIP. Article 8 provides the right of Indigenous peoples not to be subjected to the destruction of their culture – something that would naturally come from destruction of their lands and waters with a pipeline.
Article 10 provides that Indigenous peoples will not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories – as was done by the RCMP who arrested and removed Wet’suwet’en people from their own lands. Articles 25 and 26 specifically protect the rights of Indigenous peoples to own, use and control their traditional lands, waters, coastal seas and resources and further protects their rights to “uphold their responsibilities to their future generations in this regard.”
Not only has Canada committed to implement UNDRIP into law, it is legally bound by many other international human rights treaties that it has ratified. While UNDRIP may not yet be law in Canada, it represents the minimum international legal norms for recognizing the core human rights of Indigenous peoples – something that Canada’s rule of law requires. Canada has also issued a directive on how it should engage with Indigenous peoples on litigation relating to their rights, which Canada claims is based on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and respect for their legal rights. Former Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould made the bold claim that although she was just releasing this directive in January 2019, Canada has been using these rules for the last two years. It is important to note that this directive states that: “Aboriginal rights do not require a court declaration or an agreement in order to be recognized.” This is something the SCC has confirmed many times in its jurisprudence on the duty to consult, accommodate and get consent.
Yet, we know that Canada has not only failed to abide by its own litigation directive, but it has blatantly violated Wet’suwet’en laws, Canadian laws, international laws and its own purported commitment to the rule of law.
When Canada sent the RCMP into sovereign Wet’suwet’en Nation territory to destroy their check points and violently arrest and remove Wet’suwet’en people from their own lands, it became lawless – an outlaw state. It also violated its own litigation directive when the RCMP issued a statement saying that since there has been no court case declaring Aboriginal title, the RCMP were justified in their actions. In denying the Wet’suwet’en their constitutionally protected legal right to enjoy their title lands, Canada has prioritized the private, economic interests of a corporation – Coastal GasLink Pipeline – over the rule of law. As explained by the Wet’suwet’en:
The Unist’ot’en homestead is not a protest or demonstration. Our clan is occupying and using our traditional territory as it has for centuries…. Our homestead is a peaceful expression of our connection to our territory. It is also an example of the continuous use and occupation of our territory by our clan.
In this case, the laws of Canada were neither equally enforced, nor compliant with international human rights standards. Canada is not a country that follows the rule of law. Canada makes and breaks laws to suit its own economic and political interests, which run counter to those of Indigenous peoples. It is time to be honest about it, and call out Canada as an outlaw, and take action to support the Wet’suwet’en Nation, who have occupied their lands since time immemorial.
This article was originally published in Canadian Dimension Magazine on April 24, 2019:
Canada’s colonial objectives have always been to clear the lands for settlement and development by whatever means necessary.
After signing peace treaties in the 1700s, clearing the lands meant laws offering bounties on the heads of Mi’kmaw men, women and children. In the 1800s, clearing the lands meant ethnic cleansing on the Prairies – laws, policies and practices that confined native peoples to reserves
and gave them insufficient rations to survive. In the 1900s, clearing the lands meant the theft of thousands of native children to be forced into residential schools where thousands died from abuse, torture and starvation. In the 2000s clearing the lands means the mass incarceration of Indigenous peoples in prisons paving the way for the extractive industry.
The overincarceration of Indigenous peoples in federal, provincial and territorial prisons in Canada today is nothing short of genocide.
On Jan. 21, 2020, Dr. Ivan Zinger, who heads the Office of the Correctional Investigator, issued an urgent statement about the rates of Indigenous peoples in federal prisons being at historic highs. While Indigenous peoples only make up five per cent of the Canadian population, they represent more than 30 per cent of those in federal prisons. Those statistics are even worse for Indigenous women who now make up 42 per cent of the prison population. A Statistics Canada report released in 2018 shows that almost half of all youth in corrections are Indigenous as well. This is all happening at a time when incarceration rates for the rest of Canada continue to decline. Why is this happening? Zinger states that federal corrections is “impervious to change” – a well-founded conclusion given the decades of commissions, inquiries and reports highlighting both racism in the justice system and the devastating impact it has on Indigenous peoples.
In 1989, Chief Justice Thomas Hickman issued the final report of the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution (Marshall Inquiry). Donald Marshall was a Mi’kmaw man from Nova Scotia who had been wrongly targeted by police and convicted of murder, spending 11 years in prison. The Marshall Inquiry found that the criminal justice system had failed Marshall “at virtually every turn” due “to the fact that Donald Marshall Jr., is a Native.” The report provided numerous recommendations to ensure more equitable treatment of native peoples in the future.
A decade later, the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba released its report in relation to the
murder of Helen Betty Osborne whose assailants had not been brought to justice; and John Joseph Harper, an unarmed native politician shot dead by Winnipeg police. Murray Sinclair, co-commissioner for the justice inquiry and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, made similar findings to the Marshall Inquiry: “[t]he justice system has failed Manitoba’s Aboriginal people on a massive scale.” His report also made numerous recommendations in relation to addressing racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in the justice system and beyond.
In 2004, the Saskatchewan Commission on First Nations and Metis Peoples and Justice Reform found that racism was a major issue in police forces in their dealings with native peoples. This came on the heels of the Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to the Death of Neil Stonechild, also in 2004. This was an inquiry that investigated “Starlight Tours,” the arbitrary detention of native peoples by police who are driven out of town to freeze to death at night. Both reports offered recommendations, but like the other reports, most were largely ignored.
In 2007 came the Ipperwash Inquiry in Ontario and most recently, in 2019 came the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, which found Canada guilty of both historic and ongoing genocide. Racism in the justice system is a common theme in all of these reports and the Office of the Correctional Investigator has been raising the alarm for the overincarceration of Indigenous people for two decades.
The statistics clearly show a steady rise in Indigenous incarceration from 17.5 per cent in 2000 to 30 per cent in 2020. But these represent the national statistics and, like rates of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, and Indigenous children in foster care, the provincial rates can be double the national rates.
In Manitoba, more than 80 per cent of prisoners are Indigenous — the same province where 50 per cent of all women murdered and missing are Indigenous and 90 per cent of all children in foster care are Indigenous. In Saskatchewan, 76 per cent of prisoners were Indigenous, the same province which has more than 55 per cent of women murdered and missing as Indigenous and 85 per cent of children in foster care are Indigenous. We also know that more than two-thirds of Indigenous prisoners have been impacted by the foster care system. This is exactly the kind of colonial legacy that the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Gladue [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 and R. v. Ipeelee 2012 SCC 13 cases meant to address when they instructed judges to find alternatives to prison for Indigenous peoples. Is no one listening?
From the evidence, it is clear we have a direct pipeline from foster care to prison that seems to clear the way for pipelines on native territories. What the statistics don’t show is the history of thenRCMP and other police forces as an integral part of colonial settlement and development policies that have created this current crisis.
From the RCMP’s Project Sitka to its massive military-style operation on Wet’suwet’en territory right now, native lands continue to be cleared by Canada’s laws, policies, practices, actions and omissions. The overincarceration rates will continue to increase unless we address these genocidal policies once and for all.
While I agree with Zinger’s call for “bold and urgent action,” cultural programming and Indigenizing the prison will not get us there. We must confront racism against Indigenous peoples head on and prevent incarceration in the first place. This means addressing racism in federal and provincial laws and policies, as well as rampant racism in policing. In the meantime, we must begin the urgent process of decarceration for Indigenous women and children; Indigenous peoples with mental health issues; and Indigenous men languishing in prisons for little more than navigating poverty.
This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily (www.thelawyersdaily.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc on January 30, 2020. https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/17658
(Treaty Truckhouse fundraiser [top left], Rez Famous Clothing [top right], Warrior Life Clothing [bottom left], Unist’ot’en fundraiser [bottom right])
If you are anything like me, I need multiple lists to keep myself organized this time of year. With the holidays speeding towards us faster than we can keep up, I need a list for tasks to complete at work before we break for the holidays; a grocery list to prepare for multiple family feasts; and, of course, the holiday gift-giving list. Without these lists, I would certainly be doomed to rely on my brain, which is already overloaded with the 2019 work I have to complete and the giant to-do list for 2020. I find lists extremely helpful, as they keep me from impulse shopping and overspending. I also have another list, which is my giving list – a list that reminds me to share my privilege with others. The one thing these lists all have in common is that they are all focused on buying native and giving native all year long.
Recently, Niigaan Sinclair, the award-winning Anishinabe columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press, wrote an article urging Manitobans and Canadians to buy Indigenous.
He argues that it makes more sense to invest in Indigenous businesses that contribute to local economies, rather than the large US-owned box stores where billions of dollars flow to US corporate owners. This makes a great deal of sense. When you invest in First Nation businesses for example, you help First Nation economies, which in turn, help regional Canadian economies through their own spending and employment. Niigaan provided a list of various Indigenous businesses that offer everything from food, music and books; to clothing and jewellery. Who could ask for a better list of gift-giving options, than this list of Indigenous goods that are handmade and steeped in the rich cultures and traditions of local First Nations?
This past summer, Sarain Fox, an Anishinabe television host, actress, model and activist shared with the Globe and Mail how she assembles her wardrobe from Indigenous-made products.
Sarain has always made lifting up others part of everything she does and giving a nod to her curated list of Indigenous artists and businesses is part of helping to promote them. She highlighted some of the Indigenous clothing, boots and purses she wears every day. Her goal is to celebrate Indigenous peoples every day – not just on holidays like Indigenous Peoples Day. A shout-out from someone with Sarain’s public profile helps promote Indigenous businesses and boost the Indigenous economy referenced by Niigaan. You can also find other curated lists of native owned businesses in Canada and the USA on websites like Beyond Buckskin:
I agree with them both. Buying native helps support local First Nation and Canadian economies and should be a focus all year round – not just during the holidays. I would also add that it is usually this time of year that we see public calls to support various groups and causes with donations. The holidays evoke in many people a moral obligation and desire to share their good fortune – big or small – with others to help address urgent individual needs and/or advance social justice more broadly. To my mind, this should never be about “charity” or holiday-based “good will”; but instead be about fulfilling our legal obligations to one another under the various treaties we signed to share the lands, resources and wealth. It is also about real reconciliation, which is about more than a celebration of native cultures, but also about individual responsibility to address past and ongoing injustices.
To this end, there are various native groups and organizations to which you could direct your giving this holiday and throughout the new year ahead. There are small organizations working hard to advocate for the basic human rights of First Nations children in foster care or the safety of Indigenous women and girls. Similarly, there are smaller, more informal groups in need of supplies and/or legal assistance as they occupy First Nation territories to protect the lands, waters, plants and animals from the devastating environmental destruction of the extractive industry. In protecting water sources, forests and ecosystems from contamination, First Nations warriors are protecting the health and well-being of both Indigenous peoples and Canadians. We all have treaty and other obligations to contribute in some way to the protection of Turtle Island for future generations – and giving to native causes can be part of that.
There are far too many native businesses and causes to note here, so what follows is a list of some of the ways that I buy native and give native all year round. While some of those on the Buy Native list are larger businesses, there are hundreds of individuals who sell their goods at pow wows and cultural events, as well as through social media outlets. I have purchased some of the best beaded earrings from artists who I spotted on Instagram. Similarly, while larger native organizations on the Give Native list are easier to find through their websites, don’t forget to scan your social media for smaller groups making call outs for urgently needed donations.
BUY NATIVE:
Online:
Cheekbone Beauty was founded by Jennifer Harper and is an Indigenous owned, cruelty free cosmetic company. They offer high quality cosmetics and donate part of their profits to help fund education for Indigenous peoples. Their Warrior Women line of lipsticks include shades named after native women warriors – like Sarain Fox, Cindy Blackstock and me! I bought their most recent holiday collection, which includes my shade of lipstick – true warm red!
She Native is an Indigenous owned company that offers leather handbags and clothing that share Indigenous teachings and positive messaging. I have bought their t-shirts and hoodies and just love them! I really appreciate the positive messaging and celebration of Indigenous women.
Tammy Beauvais Designs is another company that is 100% Indigenous owned and Tammy can be seen selling purses, ribbon skirts and native designed clothing for men and women all over Canada. One of my favorite things about pow wows is racing to find her stall to buy something new. One of my favorites is a beautiful white bomber jacket with native-inspired flowers all over it.
Nishiin Designs is a business I just recently found through social media. They are an Indigenous company that offers Anishinabe designed purses, clothing and accessories. I saw one of their purses on Instagram, fell in love with it and insta-ordered it!
Cedar Basket Gift Shop is located inside the Native Canadian Centre in downtown Toronto. They have a huge collection of artwork, crafts, household items, jewellery and moccasins handcrafted by Indigenous peoples. I especially love their baskets and beadwork. I have never been able to visit that store and leave without a gift for someone.
Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique is a native-owned store at The Forks in Winnipeg that is well-known for its custom work. I had shirts and blazers specially tailored for my son who loves wearing his one-of-a-kind beaded suits to work.
Rez Famous is a Mi’kmaw clothing company from back home in the Maritimes. I have their tees, hoodies, caps and everything I can get my hands on! You can find them at pow wows as well as on Facebook.
Warrior Life clothing is one of my own latest initiatives to help raise funds to keep my media completely independent. I use the proceeds to help pay for the costs of my Youtube channel, my Warrior Life podcast and my Indigenous Nationhood blog. It will also (hopefully) defray some of the costs for my second podcast set to be released in the new year.
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, headed by Dr. Cindy Blackstock, advocates strenuously for First Nations children, youth and families so they can grow up happy, healthy, safe and proud of who they are as First Nations. They brought a human rights complaint against Canada for historic and ongoing racial discrimination against First Nations children in foster care – and won. They continue their battle at the Tribunal and in the courts to force Canada to comply with the orders and finally end discrimination. There are so many ways you can help them: including “7 Free Ways to Help”; purchasing children’s educational books and calendars; and/or making donations.
Gitdimt’en Yintah Access is a group of First Nation peoples from the Wet’suwet’en Nation from Gitdimt’en clan who are governing their territory and protecting it from pipelines. They are true warriors who risk their safety and freedom by protecting lands and waters from the devastation of pipelines. They need our support in terms of supplies and donations for their legal fees. You can give one-time donations or ongoing monthly support.
Unist’ot’en Camp is another clan from the Wet’suwet’en Nation governing their territory to protect it from pipelines. You can support them through buying their merchandise, making a one time donation to their legal fund or offering monthly support for supplies for those protecting the lands and waters.
Treaty Truckhouse Legal Fund is a group of grassroots peoples including Mi’kmaw treaty rights holders, grandmothers and local allies who are standing united as water protectors of the Shubenacadie River in the Sipekne’katik District of Mi’kma’ki. They have been trying to protect the river for years and as a result need donations for legal expenses.
Tiny House Warriors is an initiative from the Secwepemc peoples whose mission is to: “stop the Trans Mountain pipeline from crossing unceded Secwepemc Territory.” The Secwepemc peoples are asserting their law and jurisdiction on their territory by building tiny houses all along the pipeline route in order to block access to this pipeline. Kanahus Manuel is one of the native women warriors who has placed her safety and freedom on the line to protect our collective futures. You can donate through their official Tiny House Warriors or Secwepemc Nation Youth Network Go Fund Me pages on their website.
I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday with family and friends and I look forward to joining forces with you all in the New Year to advocate for justice on Turtle Island. PODCAST: Here is my extended Warrior Life podcast episode on this same issue: https://soundcloud.com/pampalmater/buy-native-give-native-all-year-long
