Warrior Life Studios

Pam Palmater

Tag: Harper

  • Harper’s Gone, Now It’s Time to Look Within

    This is a blog I wish I didn’t have to write. I wish I could say that now that Canadians have changed their federal government that everything will be ok. But that is not a given. The decade-long reign of terror against First Nations, the environment and democratic rights and freedoms has worn on everyone. Yet there is still have a great deal of work to undo the harm that was done and prepare the path ahead for a safer, healthier and more just future for First Nations and Canadians alike. Nothing will change for us unless we address all the contributing factors to our current situation and that includes the many afflictions we suffer due to such extensive and prolonged colonization. The life-long work of so many Indigenous activists, defenders and natural leaders culminated in the Idle No More movement and helped empower our people to understand some of the very complex ways in which centuries of colonization has impacted our peoples. But understanding the sickness of colonization is only the first step. It’s time we finally got rid of what isn’t working for us – even if that means parting ways with long-established advocacy organizations or demanding better of our leaders.

    I love our people. I am so proud to be L’nu – to be from the Mi’kmaw Nation and have many relations in other First Nations. I am so honoured to be able to stand on the same territories that our ancestors did. None of us ever want to be publically critical of our own people. We have a strong sense of solidarity and unity across Turtle Island. But we cannot ignore the tremendous power that Canada’s assimilatory laws, policies and programs have had on us. The extreme suffering of our people – scalpings, rapes, tortures, sterilizations, starvations, and prison can turn our best leaders from proud defenders of our sovereignty and identity to those who would settle for programs or contracts to try to bring relief to our people. This is not a matter of blame or judgment. How many Canadian politicians could stand before their constituencies and tell them to hang tough while their little girls go murdered and missing or their little boys hang themselves? Precious few I am sure. I don’t blame or judge any of our peoples and in fact I think we need to forgive ourselves for the many ways in which colonization has impacted us. It wasn’t our doing, and we have paid a dear price – but we can’t let it continue to hurt our people.

    One of the many prices we have paid for such extensive control over our peoples by the federal government is the way in which Canada has slowly gained control over our political and advocacy organizations. We have to remember that during this last decade, it wasn’t just Harper that was a problem for First Nations, but some of the National Aboriginal Organizations (NAOs) were as well. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) was the first to hitch itself to the Harper government and former President Patrick Brazeau gained himself a Senate seat for his outrageous anti-First Nation rhetoric. Aside from his offensive videos shot from the Chamber of the Senate, he was combative towards First Nation people who appeared before him at committees, especially women. CAP, the former Native Council of Canada, had been established to advocate for the rights of off-reserve Indians, non-status Indians, and Métis peoples and were included in the constitutional talks of the 1980’s and at the Kelowna Accord negotiations.

    However, under Brazeau’s tenure, it quickly descended into an anti-Chief and anti-First Nation organization that betrayed its original purpose. At one regional meeting, President Brazeau was chanting – down with the Chiefs! We are all too familiar with the disgraceful conduct of Senator Brazeau which was followed by criminal charges and investigations. His successor, Betty-Ann Lavallee carried on in Brazeau’s path by hitching herself to Harper’s government and CAP literally dropped out of sight. Whenever CAP did make a statement, it was merely to echo Harper initiatives. An organization that was formed from the spirit and resistance of Indigenous peoples who were excluded by Canadians laws and policies became an organization of that same government. The organization has remained ineffectual and irrelevant ever since.

    The much critiqued Assembly of First Nations (AFN) wasn’t always what it is today either. After WWI, the League of Indians was the first major attempt at national body which could represent First Nation interests nationally. Insiders explain that significant government interference with their activities prevented it from taking hold. After WWII, they tried again with the National American Indian Brotherhood, but again a lack of funding and government actions were cited as impediments to its success. The National Indian Council (NIC) was formed in 1961 to provide unity among all Indian people and represented Treaty, status, non-status and Métis people (the Inuit were excluded). Discord grew within the organization, so in the 1970’s, several key First Nation leaders like George Manuel and Harold Cardinal (and others) formed the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) which focused on First Nation issues. Coinciding with the patriation of the Constitution, the organization later became the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

    While the NIC/NIB/AFN originally had good intentions and did a great deal of advocacy work, over the years, the original vision of those early leaders seems to have been lost. This last decade has seen a significant downturn for the AFN as it has lost legitimacy among many grassroots peoples and even some of the Chiefs. Despite the incredible opportunity with the massive Idle No Movement, the AFN instead propped up the Harper government and chose to ignore the obvious will of the people. When the Former National Chief, Shawn Atleo, chose to go against the demands of the grassroots people in Idle No More and Chief Spence and met with the Prime Minister, instead of hold out for a meeting which included the Governor-General, we knew the AFN had changed. Many Chiefs protested against this meeting and chose to march on Parliament with their grassroots citizens instead of support the AFN. Some Chiefs even officially withdrew from the AFN or wrote letters saying the AFN no longer represented them. But the AFN did not adjust their actions to account for this growing dissent.

    Despite resolutions from Chiefs and the widespread criticism of AFN activities by grassroots citizens, the AFN continued its secret meetings with the Harper government. Many Treaty First Nations then organized as the National Treaty Alliance to ensure that their treaty rights were protected. They wanted to make clear that the AFN did not speak for them and could not make deals on their treaty rights. Even the Confederacy of Nations, provided for under the AFN Charter, was reinvigorated in an attempt to get control back over the AFN. The AFN stayed the course and sided with the government instead. The final straw was the surprise joint announcement by Atleo and Harper on an education “deal” that did not have the consent of First Nations. The outcry from Chiefs and grassroots citizens ultimately led to Atleo’s resignation. The AFN has never fully recovered.

    I wish I could say that simply getting rid of these organizations would change everything – but that would not be true. Unlike with organizations like CAP, the power and influence of the AFN extends well beyond any term of office for its regional or National Chiefs. If we look at where some of the current and former regional and National Chiefs have ended up, this gives us a clearer picture of why we should be so concerned about what actually happens in those organizations and why we change is so desperately needed.

    One of the worst examples is that of the current AFN Regional Chief for New Brunswick and PEI, Roger Augustine. While Regional Chief, he publically defended illegal vote buying in First Nations.

    http://pampalmater.com/vote-buying-in-burnt-church-a-cultural-tradition/

    Augustine’s “something is better than nothing” motto is why he was always in support of Atleo’s education deal – even in the face of opposition from so many Chiefs.

    http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2014/05/no-compromise-on-first-nation-control.html

    Now, despite the fact that his is still a sitting AFN Regional Chief, he is also secretly part owner of a company called GITPO Storm Corporation in partnership with former National Chiefs Matthew Coon Come, Ovide Mercredi and Shawn Atleo. Their corporation is set up in New Brunswick at 8 Gitpo Road in Eel Ground First Nation.

    https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada/fdrlCrpDtls.html?corpId=9061797

    This is the exact same business address used by AFN Regional Chief Augustine as his AFN office.

    Assembly of First Nations leadership

    Does the AFN itself not see this as a gross conflict of interest? Where in the Charter of the AFN has their mandate changed so dramatically? The AFN Regional Chiefs are elected to bring the views and interests of their constituents (Chiefs in their region) to the AFN. The Regional Chiefs, as part of the AFN, are elected to advocate on behalf of First Nations rights and interests. More recently, Atleo explained that the AFN was allegedly there to “open doors” for First Nations within government. It was never set up nor provided with a mandate for individual Regional Chiefs to negotiate with corporations and businesses to see how much profit they can make personally within the territories of the Chiefs they serve. The inherent, Aboriginal and treaty rights of Mi’kmaw and Maliseet peoples in New Brunswick belong to the peoples within those two Nations. These rights do not belong to the AFN or their elected representatives. I am from Mi’kmaw territory in New Brunswick, as are my family and friends, and none of us were informed about this AFN company.

    If this is a company that was set up on behalf of First Nations, then it begs the question as to why Mi’kmaw and Maliseet citizens were not informed. Why is it that this company has been in operation for a year without many knowing? We do not yet know why they are set up out of New Brunswick, or why the AFN is involved. Why would former National Chiefs be partnering in business ventures with the AFN? Some of the Chiefs worry that their company was set up to get contracts related to major natural resources projects in New Brunswick, including the Energy East Pipeline and/or Sisson Mining Project. We don’t know for sure because no one seems to much about this company or how much money its partners have made from it.

    http://www.sissonpartnership.com/s/Home.asp

    The information about this partnership is as much of a surprise as was the announcement by Atleo that took place only two hours after Perry Bellegarde was elected. Shawn Atleo announced that he had been appointed as the new Senior Advisor to Pacific Future Energy Corporation, one of the companies wanting to build an oil refinery in BC. His former AFN staffer, Jeffrey Copenace, is Senior Vice-President. It was further announced that former National Chief Ovide Mercredi would also be joining the team.

    http://www.bcbusiness.ca/natural-resources/former-afn-chief-shawn-atleo-adds-starpower-to-pacific-future-energy

    The Chair of Pacific Future Energy is none other than former Conservative Cabinet Minister Stockwell Day, who served as Minister of Public Safety and then Minister of International Trade in the Harper government. The former partnership between AFN and Conservatives manifested as a business deal after Atleo’s resignation from the AFN. Instead of advocating for Aboriginal and treaty rights, Atleo will now promote the oil industry.

    Mercredi was one of the former National Chiefs who most vocally defended Atleo during Idle No More protests and the widespread criticisms from Chiefs, despite his former role as the Treaty 1-11 spokesperson. He is now not only affiliated with Atleo in Pacific Future Energy, but also GITPO in New Brunswick. Mercredi is not just a former AFN National Chief, he is now also the President of the Manitoba NDP – ironically one of the most conservative governments in Canada. Manitoba has the highest rates of murdered and missing Indigenous women and little girls, the highest rates of Indigenous children in care, some of the highest rates on incarceration, and possibly the worst government record on mining and other industry abuses on First Nation lands. So, have the AFN and Manitoba NDP have partnered to seek natural resource contracts in New Brunswick?

    http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2013/08/manitobas-epic-failure-manitoba-and.html

    To make matters even more confusing, several months after the announcement of Atleo and Mercredi joining Pacific Future Energy, SNC Lavalin made their own announcement that they were teaming up with Atleo. Atleo’s company: A-in-Chut Business Group is set to do the pre-engineering studies for Pacific Future Energy with SNC. The overall plan is to transport Alberta tar sands oil to a refinery in BC for transport by tanker to Asia.

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/first-nations-group-partners-with-snc-lavalin-for-bc-refinery-project/article25800248/

    Aside from being surprised, I am very disappointed. These former National Chiefs and current Regional Chief were elected by the Chiefs and were given all of their power and influence from those Chiefs. Their ability to act as National Chief was a privilege and a great responsibility. The power and influence they have today is owed in part to that given to them when they were National Chief. They may no longer be National Chiefs, but many elders and traditional leaders have argued that they have an enduring responsibility to ensure that they use that power and influence in a good way. Some have even said that because of that incredible privilege bestowed on them, they have to conduct themselves to an even higher standard. I am not an elder, nor am I a traditional leader, so it is not for me to say whether or not this is the case. But it has always been my personal view, based on my Mi’kmaw upbringing, that a leader always carries that obligation for their people with them.

    These are the same people who know the conditions of our people and know the causes. They know that the dispossession of our lands and resources is the root cause of our poverty. Some of these leaders have suffered personally at the hands of government policies designed to assimilate or eliminate us. Despite their own struggles, some of these men did some good work during their tenures as National Chiefs at the AFN. That is what makes situation all the more disappointing. How does one go from advocate for First Nations to advocate for industry? It is hard enough for First Nations to battle federal and provincial governments and the massive extractive industry, but it creates a near insurmountable task for us to try to counter our own people. This is especially true when many of our Nations have cultural protocols which discourage us from acting in a way which disrespects our former leaders or elected, traditional or hereditary. We prefer to be united and support one another.

    The AFN and Manitoba NDP representatives have created a near impossible situation for Mi’kmaw and Maliseet people of New Brunswick. If these former National Chiefs sign contracts for infrastructure or projects related to natural resource extraction in our territory, it will impede on our ability to say no to the project. Imagine the optics of Mi’kmaw and Maliseet peoples deciding that no pipeline will come to New Brunswick, when a company of 3 former National Chiefs and one current AFN Regional Chief have already signed and benefitted from contracts related to those projects? Imagine the public’s confusion when former AFN Regional Chief Jodi Wilson Raybould, as Minister of Justice, appears in litigation against Mi’kmaw or Maliseet land defenders asserting our Aboriginal and treaty rights and Canada’s evidence will include affidavits from former AFN National Chiefs saying the pipeline is great business? I am wondering how much thought went into this company outside of financial and business considerations?

    However, our elders have always told us that the core of sovereignty is acting in defence of our peoples, lands and cultures – even if this means challenging one of our own who may be taking us down the wrong path. I am disappointed in these business partners because it was kept a secret from the people. Part of what makes our resistance to colonization and ongoing dispossession of our rights so difficult is the lack of information. Our people are always the last to know about projects in our territory and we never get all the information. As the last to know, we rarely have enough time to research and provide our input. Government and industry take advantage of our lack of access to information and a lack of resources to mount a defense against violations of our rights. Imagine how much harder this will be with the AFN involved on the side of industry?

    I am not suggesting that no Indigenous person ever open a business, work as a consultant, or sit on boards and committees. I think everyone benefits from the wisdom, experience, skills and perspectives of Indigenous peoples.  Nor am I suggesting that no Indigenous person should ever work with the extractive industry in certain capacities that try to help change how they do business. I admit that there is certainly no Canadian law against former AFN National Chiefs doing any of these things. But the first laws of our territories come from our sovereign Nations. While our laws are as diverse as our Nations, I think it’s pretty common knowledge that no one gets to hunt, fish or use our territories without our knowledge and consent. This has been the law since time immemorial. Even the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, quoted by AFN, says nothing happens without “free, informed and prior consent”. That applies not just to federal and provincial governments, and corporations, but also to other non-territorial First Nations. Setting up a company designed to get “Aboriginal” contracts from projects in our territory based on our Aboriginal and treaty rights is as offensive as hunting in our territory without consent.

    We have a very unique situation in Mi’kmaw and Maliseet territory. Despite many attacks on our people, and even scalping bounty on our heads, we have never surrendered our lands. Our lands are unceded territory. Therefore we have original Aboriginal title to all the lands in the Atlantic region. We also have constitutionally-protected Aboriginal rights and numerous treaties as well. Our rights are very strong and the last thing we need is for some First Nation people from other territories coming into our territory and making deals. We have not even decided as Nations what projects we accept and which we don’t. As the landowners, these are our decisions to make. In our territory, it is the province and industry who must ask us for permission, not the other way around. The discussion with the province should no longer be consultation and impact benefits (low level jobs and contracts), it’s about ownership and jurisdiction. It is certainly not appropriate for the AFN, Manitoba NDP, or the current sitting Grand Chief of the Cree to act this way in our territory.

    If we are truly to empower one another, let’s start by respecting the sovereignty and laws of our respective Nations.

  • The Source of Our Power Has Always Been in our People – Not Voting in Federal Elections

    Since Canada is now in full blown election mode, one issue that has been getting as much attention as the election itself is the question of whether or not First Nations should vote. Some advocates claim that if all “Aboriginal people” voted, they could influence as many as 50/338 ridings. Those against voting question those numbers but also challenge the claim that how we exercise our “power” is by voting. As for me, I choose not to vote and do not believe that we should rest our hope on a federal election any more than we should an Assembly of First Nations (AFN) election. The whole point of sovereignty is that Indigenous Nations must assert, live, and defend our sovereignty, jurisdiction, and right of self-determination – not vote for federal politicians to do that for us.

    http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2011/04/to-vote-or-not-to-vote-question-of.html

    I have had many lively debates with my family and friends about this issue and have heard a wide range of perspectives from Chiefs, elders, and community members all over Canada and the United States. There is certainly no consensus on the issue of voting in federal, provincial or state elections, nor should one expect there to be. As diverse, sovereign Nations, with distinct cultures, laws, values, governing systems, and traditions, we should expect as wide a variety of opinions as there would be at the United Nations on any given issue. I have never looked at the issue of voting as right or wrong – it’s just that we all have different views about how best to advocate for our people. I don’t think we should vote – others think we should. It’s not lateral violence, disrespect, or a radical boycott to believe firmly in sovereignty and choose to withdraw from oppressive Canadian processes.

    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-245-first-nations-voting-debate-spotting-lying-politicians-martin-short-on-robin-williams-and-more-1.3181885/first-nations-and-the-election-boycott-or-engage-1.3182006

    I firmly believe that the vast majority of our people who vote in elections or run as Members of Parliament do so with the best of intentions. They want the best for our people and see voting as an opportunity to get rid of the worst government this country has ever seen, or as a chance to vote for someone who is promising change. I look at heroes like the former MP Elijiah Harper who stopped the Meech Lake Accord, or current MP Romeo Saganash who worked on a bill to make the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples l(UNDRIP) aw in Canada. Some of the most dedicated Indigenous activists whom I respect and admire also promote voting. This issue is not personal, nor should we allow it to be divisive. We owe it to each other to vehemently assert and defend strategic ways to advocate for our people – we just have different ideas about it.

    I believe strongly in our sovereignty and right of self-determination as Indigenous Nations. The United Nations emphasizes that we not only have the right of self-determination, but that this includes the right to freely determine our political status. That means we choose how we want to relate to the Canadian state – as citizens, Nations or something else. It is internationally recognized law that citizens don’t sign treaties with their nation-states – treaties are reserved for Nation to Nation relations. Both the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (which is now constitutionally-protected) and the historical treaties recognize our status as Nations. When I think about how I want to be represented at the negotiation table with Canada, I would much rather engage in Nation to Nation negotiations than as a stakeholder, interest group, or ethnic minority Canadian citizen.

    https://ricochet.media/en/534/first-nations-and-the-federal-election-an-exercise-in-self-termination

    Being a Canadian citizen has historically meant giving up one’s Indigenous identity, culture, spirituality, traditions, customs, practices, connection to the land, community, and Nation. For a short period, this was a voluntary choice – but for the majority of history, this has been a choice made for us by often brutal means. Defending our lands in Mi’kmaw territory meant being scalped. Speaking our languages in residential schools meant beatings, starvation, and sometimes death. Giving life to new generations of our people meant forced sterilizations for our women or the theft of our children by the thousands into foster care. We were never advocating for citizenship and voting – we were advocating to protect our sovereignty, lands, and peoples. When my father fought in WWII, he did so as part of our treaty obligation to defend the lands and peoples – not to gain a vote in federal elections. Our treaties are with the Queen, not Harper.

    http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/22225

    Even once Canadian citizenship and voting rights were forced on us in the 1960’s, these rights did not afford us equal protection of Canadian law or justice. We have an ongoing crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women, over-representation of our people in prisons, the highest rate of children in care, and socio-economic indicators have declined over the last 25 years. Every federal and provincial government that has ever been in power has failed to address any of these urgent social issues, let alone recognize Aboriginal title or Aboriginal and treaty rights. Voting in the oppressor’s regime has, not surprisingly, failed to end oppression. Yet, those in power in Canada would have us believe that our power comes from voting for them – as if they represent our Nations.

    http://www.theharperdecade.com/blog/2015/7/14/harpers-10-year-war-on-first-nations

    This leads to a very important question about power. Where does our power as Indigenous Nations to make change come from? Is it federal recognition as “willing partners” or “good Indians”, Indian status cards, voter registration cards, or the election of an MP of your political choice? Surely if this was the source of our power, we really would have died off a long time ago – as was the original policy objective. But if I listen to all the elders, former activists, youth and leaders, I have to conclude that we never would have survived Canada’s elimination and assimilation policies if we did not have a firm commitment to our identities, cultures, and sovereignty as Nations. Even today, for those who vote – they are voting for which party will be our next Minister of Indian Affairs. The political players are really secondary considerations given the complex construct of laws and policies and economic structures that exist to deny us our basic human rights, let alone our Aboriginal and treaty rights.

    http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=899&Lang=en

    Our greatest source of power has always been and always will be in our people. It is our collectives that have kept our Indigenous Nations strong, helped us survive these long dark winters under colonialism, and have offered the best hope of change for the future. The most exciting and transformative times in our recent history have not been tied to voting in federal elections, but were linked to our very public collective actions against Canadian processes. Take for example the nation-wide protests against the 1969 White Paper which set out to assimilate First Nations; the Constitution Express against the constitutional talks of the 1980’s which were set to exclude First Nations; and most recently with Idle No More against Harper’s suite of legislation intent on destroying the environment. The power of our people even inspired Canadians to work alongside us in solidarity to protect our lands and waters, and basic human rights. Unions, teachers, doctors, scientists, academics, lawyers, and other civil society groups have all joined forces to demand justice in Canada for all – including First Nations.

    Canada’s last best hope at protecting our lands and waters for future generations rests with First Nations, not the other way around. First Nations voting in federal elections will not bring about the change we need. From the robo-call scandal, to changes in electoral rules to massive corporate infiltration of political parties – any concept of democracy in Canada is an illusion. Until the system is changed, voting in a corrupt system won’t bring about justice. That is why it is so important to this debate to focus on the facts – simply voting under a belief that it will solve these issues is not helpful. Some important clarifications:

    (1) To say “If all Aboriginal people voted” is not possible or realistic. Not all Canadians vote, why would anyone assume all Indigenous people would?

    (2) In Canada’s voting system you have to vote for an MP – you don’t actually vote for Prime Minister. This means, you would blindly vote for a political party, even if the MP him/herself was a crook. This has happened.

    (3) Election laws have changed to make it harder to vote for First Nations.

    (4) Electoral ridings have been changed for this election changing voter composition and number. Had the new ridings applied in last election, Conservatives would have gained 22 extra seats. Conservatives won the last election with 166 seats. For this election, they could lose 18 seats and still hold a majority government.

    (5) There is no direct link between voting and the reduction in poor socio-economic outcomes for First Nations as claimed by National Chief Bellegarde. Harper’s Conservatives had some very prominent Indigenous MPs and a Senator who towed the assimilatory party line.

    (6) Indigenous peoples are not apathetic. They have higher voter turn outs in their First Nation elections than Canadians do in their elections. Not voting in federal elections is not an issue of apathy or “lack of education” as National Chief Bellegarde claims.

    (7) Justice for Indigenous peoples should never be tied to forcing our participation in Canadian political processes. Our Aboriginal and treaty rights are protected under international law and pre-exist Canadian laws and political parties.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-riding-boundary-changes-add-to-2015-election-intrigue-1.2888547

    That being said, I agree that the “Stalinesque” Prime Minister Harper must go. The situation is so critical in Canada that if he is not removed now, he could continue to do irreparable harm to Canada – which is bad for all of us. I understand the urgent call for everyone who possibly can vote, to vote out Harper. I think we can all agree that getting rid of Harper is one of the most important things Canadians can do to save their democratic institutions. . Harper is, after all, enacting unconstitutional laws, selling natural resources to foreign countries, and committing grave injustices and human rights abuses in our territories. As treaty signatories, we committed to protecting settlers from harm. Some of us feel that we have an obligation to act – the only difference of opinion is what that action should look like.

    http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/05/18/news/harper-worst-prime-minister-history

    I would never tell someone not to vote, nor would I tell them not to run for a position as MP. I’m just saying that I won’t do that and if someone asked me what they should do, I would tell them that the best place to put all our energy is into our Nations. We should use all our education, skills, experience, knowledge, time, money and energy into advocating for our people, supporting our activists and leaders, healing our illnesses, rebuilding our communities, protecting our cultures and identities, defending the health of our lands and waters, and strengthening our Nations.

    Some Indigenous peoples believe that voting is the best way to address Harper’s frightening dictatorial regime, while others believe that resisting and withdrawing from Canada’s oppressive processes and strengthening our Nations is a better focus for our energy. That debate won’t be settled any time soon, and that’s okay. I think most of us can agree that the power of our people working in solidarity together – Canadians and First Nations – can force the changes we need to turn this ship around and restore justice in Canada for the benefit of our current and future generations. My actions don’t include voting, but I stand in solidarity with First Nations and civil society groups who are calling on Canadians to vote out Harper and demand better of whatever political party succeeds.

  • My Brief for the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations of Canada: Clarifications Related to Canada’s Testimony

    My Brief for the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations of Canada: Clarifications Related to Canada’s Testimony

    Corporate Social Responsibility

    In the review, Canada stated that international treaties ratified by Canada are not binding law in Canada. Canada also stated that Canadian companies doing business abroad are expected to demonstrate Canadian values and follow applicable human rights laws. However, if the State does not consider ICCPR applicable law in Canada, then its corporate entities would have no reason to respect the human rights contained therein.  I would thus recommend that the Committee both clarify the UN’s position in this regard and recommend to Canada to specifically implement the ICCPR into domestic law.

    Gender Equality

    In the review Canada stated that it is committed to gender equality and claimed that women make 91% of what men make. In fact, the national wage gap in Canada is 18%, much higher than other countries. In some provinces like Ontario, that gap can reach 31%. The gap is significantly higher for Indigenous peoples at 30% compared to average Canadian, and in some areas of Canada, the gap is as high as 88%. 

    I would recommend that the Committee recommend that Canada undertake specific measures and develop specific targets and measures to address sex discrimination generally and the wage gap specifically.

    The Federal Court of Appeal in McIvor case confirmed gender discrimination, but Canada enacted Bill C-3 without consulting with First Nations, and which specifically denied any compensation for Indigenous women impacted. Indigenous women and descendants are the only group in Canada that has ever been denied compensation for a Charter right violation. 

    The Committee should also recommend that Canada negotiate a compensation package for all the Indigenous women and their descendants reinstated by Bill C-3 for loss of services (education, housing, health benefits, training). 

    Violence against Indigenous Women

    Canada stated that one measure to combat violence against Indigenous women are the 40 shelters on reserve. It should be noted that there are 633 reserves in Canada, which means there are shelters in less than 6% of on-reserve communities. Canada also portrayed the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women as one of crime, when domestic and UN reports have confirmed the root causes are in Canada’s discriminatory laws and policies, the culture of violence against Indigenous women, and the chronic and discriminatory underfunding of essential human services, like food, water, housing, education and health. 

    I would recommend that the Committee support the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, IACHR and CEDAW to develop a national action plan to address the socio-economic conditions which result in the disproportionate vulnerability to violence in partnership with Indigenous communities and Indigenous women’s organizations and commit to a national inquiry.

    Indigenous Children in Care

    Canada submitted that it does not know what factors are at play to explain the gross over-representation of Indigenous children in state care. 50% of all children in care in Canada are Indigenous, despite being only 4% of the population and represent 90% of children in care in provinces like Manitoba. Canada’s own studies have shown that the root causes are poverty, the chronic underfunding of child and family services for First Nations on reserve, inter-generational trauma from residential schools and state discrimination. 

    I would recommend that the Committee recommend that Canada fund Indigenous Child and Family Services at levels no less than provincial levels, with extra funding to address the backlog and volume of cases and for additional Indigenous staff, training, and infrastructure for CFS services on reserve with a focus of keeping children in their families, communities and cultures.

    Indian Act Sex Discrimination

    Canada stated in its response to the List of Issues at para.125 that: “the Indian registration provisions in the current Indian Act do not discriminate against women”. When questioned by Committee about unresolved sex discrimination in the Act, it responded that Bill C-3 was “a step forward” and “no one sees it as anywhere near being concluded”, but that Canada prefers an “incremental approach”. This is not a good faith application of either domestic or international law obligations in relation to gender equality. Practically, this means Canada prefers to defend lengthy and costly law suits which take upwards of 25 years to reach the Supreme Court of Canada. There is no justifiable reason for Indigenous women and their descendants to wait 139 years for the Act to be slowly amended to eliminate gender discrimination. 

    Indigenous women and their descendants are already impoverished and without Indian status, miss out on health benefits, post-secondary education, and other social programs critical to their health, safety, and well-being; which we already know makes them vulnerable to violence. Canada also stated that they have a “Special Rapporteur” that is currently “consulting” with First Nations on how to clean up the Indian Act discrimination. This is simply not true – and if it has done so, they have not informed anyone. 

    I would recommend that the Committee recommend to Canada that it amend the Indian Act to eliminate all sex discrimination in the Indian Act’s registration provisions and it could start by immediately by amending the registration provisions as follows:

    (a)    remove the 1951 cut-off and ensure that all direct descendants on the female Aboriginal line, born prior to April 17, 1985, are accorded the same 6(1) status as the descendants on the male line;

    (b)   ensure that no one born prior to April 17, 1985 who is entitled to status is consigned to s. 6(2) status;

    (c)    ensure that entitlement to 6(1) status is extended to the female child of the status man and non-status woman who were unmarried; and

    (d) all administrative barriers are removed so that unmarried status Indian women are able to transmit their Indian status to their children, even if the father is unstated.

    Police Misconduct

    In responding to various concerns raised in Committee related to sex discrimination, violence against Indigenous women, and police misconduct, Canada failed to mention the major class action suit filed against the RCMP by female staff and officers for sex discrimination. It failed to mention the Human Rights Watch report which documented instances of RCMP sexually and physically assaulted Indigenous girls. It also did not mention the Donald Marshall Inquiry, Manitoba Justice Inquiry or Ipperwash Inquiry which all found that racism against Indigenous peoples in Canada’s police forces is a major problem that has yet to be addressed. 

    I would recommend that the Committee recommend that Canada develop a more robust and transparent oversight mechanism for all police forces that is completely independent from both political and police interference which a specific focus on and Indigenous ombudsperson for Indigenous peoples.

    UNDRIP

    In the review, Canada did not orally respond to the question in committee about whether Canada has changed domestic law and policy to align with its endorsement of UNDRIP. In Canada’s Statement of Support it states: (1) it is an aspirational document (2) it’s not legally binding in Canada (3) it does not reflect customary international law (4) it does not change Canadian law. When former Minister of Indian Affairs John Duncan was questioned on the impact of UNDRIP, he responded that Canada has its “own agenda” and as a result does not “anticipate any significant change”. Canada’s endorsement of UNDRIP is not done in good faith or with intention to have any practical effect. 

    I would thus recommend that the Committee recommend to Canada that Canada implement the UNDRIP in good faith.

    Indigenous Languages

    In the review, Canada stated that the reason for Indigenous language loss included migration and the media. The real cause of language loss stems from Canada’s assimilatory laws and policies, like residential schools, which tortured, abused and shamed children for speaking their languages. Indigenous languages were literally beaten out of many generations of Indigenous children. Canada admitted this in its residential school apology: “The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian Residential Schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language.”

    Immediately after this apology, Canada cut funding to Indigenous languages further exacerbating the problem. Canada’s legal and economic promotion and support of English and French has not been extended to the same degree for Indigenous languages and they have no data to show that their minimal efforts in this regard have increased language use. In fact, Canada’s $5 million/year language budget amounts to less than $5 per Indigenous person in Canada annually. It is simply impossible to save languages at this token level. 

    I would recommend that the Committee supports the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Report and recommend that Canada provide immediate and significant funding to First Nations on par with funding that supports English and French languages, to ensure immersion and adult programs in every First Nation in Canada.

    Submitted by Dr. Pamela D. Palmater, Mi’kmaw Nation, sponsored by Franciscans International, on July 9, 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland.

     Note:

                                  (Some of the NGOs in Geneva Switzerland)

    After hearing a great deal of misinformation and non-answers from Canada during the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s review of Canada’s obligations under ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); some of the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) that attended asked if we could submit clarifications to the committee before they conclude their review. We were given permission to do so, and some of us submitted briefs which were to be no longer than one page. My original submission contains footnotes and links to sources not provided here.

    Some of the other NGO’s (like FAFIA and Amnesty International), made clarifications and recommendations related to various issues, some of which included:

    – addressing homelessness as part of the right to life;

    – insufficient review and oversight of security and law enforcement under Bill C-51; 

    – the need to support unanimous recommendations by all international human rights bodies recommending a national inquiry and action plan on murdered and missing Indigenous women; 

    – need to Canada to respect laws related to free, informed and prior consent of Indigenous peoples for land use, including extractive industries;

    –  removal of sex discrimination from the Indian Act registration provisions; and 

    – clarifications around the skewed RCMP statistics which try to paint a discriminatory picture of Indigenous peoples.

    Canada was given 48 hours to submit written material to supplement their oral testimony. The Committee’s conclusions are due July 23, 2015.

  • Conservative’s Fear Budget 2015: Canada’s Future Not High on Harper’s Radar

    One need only skim through the Conservative government’s budget to see that this massive 528 page propaganda piece is Prime Minister Harper’s last big election pitch – support Harper or the terrorists will get you. The political messaging goes even further and seems to suggest that the safety and security of Canadians in all facets of life are at risk and the only way to save themselves is support to support Harper’s Cons.

    This is a do or die budget – literally, according to Harper. Menacing words like: threat, evil, terror, danger, harm, hurt, pain, suffering, risks/threats to safety appear 231 times in the budget plan. By comparison, the word “peace” only appears 3 times, and words like: Charter rights, constitutional rights, anti-poverty, equality, climate change, women’s rights, Aboriginal rights, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, self-government, or murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls do not appear at all. The word “sovereignty” only appears in a stark military context. There is no value placed in human rights freedoms, civil liberties, equality or Aboriginal rights. The climate does not seem to be on their “radar” any more than the thousands of murdered and missing Indigenous women. This is a true fear monger’s budget.

    I don’t recall even hearing the words “First Nation” or “Aboriginal” in the budget speech – it’s like we don’t exist. Despite there being major multiple, over-lapping crises in many First Nations – like a lack of housing, water and sanitation, education, health care, flooding, children in care, and murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls – this budget completely ignores these life and death realities. Harper has sent another very clear signal that the lives of First Nation men, women and children mean less than various frivolities like Ottawa’s tulips or Canada Day celebrations.

    The majority of the funds promised in the budget are just old announcements and much of the other funding announced is not actually “new” money, but either ongoing funding or re-purposed. Many of the funding amounts are promised “over five years” and therefore only flows if you vote for Harper. Take for example the $33M Harper promised to conduct labour market surveys in First Nations – more than $22M of that money will be re-purposed from already allocated federal funding. In other words, another program will suffer with less money so Harper can survey Indians. Other funding announced will be minuscule in its impact. The $2M a year in mental health services for First Nations equates to a little more than $3k per First Nation or less than $1 per person in many First Nations.

    Most of what appears to be big money will never find its way to actual First Nation communities. The $34M and $80M a year over 5 years for “consultations” will go to the Environmental Assessment Agency and National Energy Board – not First Nations. The federal government and its agencies are already well-funded and well-armed with Justice lawyers, policy analysts, technicians, researchers and administrative support to assist them in consultations – but First Nations have none of that. This budget makes consultations on major projects worse for First Nations.

    The $12M in funds over 3 years to Indspire does not equal new funds, but represents an ongoing prior investment and does not go to First Nations at all. It represents a drop in the bucket of what is needed to provide real support to First Nations in post-secondary institutions. There are approximately 22,000 Aboriginal students in post-secondary institutions and declining every year due to lack of funding. The Auditor General estimated that about 9,500 or more are on waiting lists to be funded for university. This $4M a year for Indspire amounts to $180 per current student, or if it was intended for those on the waiting list – only $420 per student. This minimal investment has no potential to address the current underfunding or the education attainment gap. It wouldn’t even be enough to buy text books.

    Last year, Harper and former National Chief Atleo made a surprise joint announcement that the federal government would increase First Nation education funding by $1.9B – which turns out was not all new funding and most of it was not for First Nations, but for a new, additional bureaucracy to get First Nation schools in line with provincial curriculum. It was also conditional on agreeing to legislation allowing INAC to have greater control over First Nation education. The First Nation reaction was swift and led to Atleo’s resignation and a failure by Harper to provide any of the funding promised. Harper’s budget is a sign that his plan continues to be to starve us into submission.

    The current educational deficit in First Nations is well over $6B and thus a $200M undefined investment does not address that deficit, let alone provide the much needed funding to catch up. $200M over 5 years is only $40M a year or a little more than $63k per First Nation – not even enough to hire one reading resource teacher. Keeping in mind however, that even this funding is conditional on modelling First Nation schools after provincial systems. This minimal investment should be compared to the $200M investment being made in Canada Day celebrations. Just like the budget for tulips in Ottawa instead of protections for murdered and missing Indigenous women – First Nations are clearly Harper’s very last priority.

    It should be no surprise that education was not a major investment by Harper either at the k-12 level or the post-secondary level. His focus is on skilled labour force for his resource projects. Aboriginal Labour Market Programming is set to receive $248.5M over 5 years to increase the skilled labour in Aboriginal communities. Harper has made no secret that he wants to employ as many Aboriginal people as possible in oil, pipelines, Ring of Fire, uranium, and mining industries to justify his aggressive resource and energy development plans (think hydro, nuclear, and tar sands).

    It’s hardly worth even mentioning the $30M over 5 years to permit 25 more First Nations into the First Nation Land Management Act regime as this amounts to $6M a year or $240k for only 25 select First Nations. No funding was allotted to address the billions in outstanding treaty, resource and land claims, or support for self-government agreements (for those who want them). There was nothing to address governance or crisis social issues like murdered and missing women or kids in care – despite major reports from the United Nations finding Canada to have committed “grave violations” of our human rights.

    Parties and parades is Harper’s priority along with pandas and hockey. He has not only cheated First Nations, but has cheated Canadians by selling GM shares and dipping into the reserves – in both senses of the word – to fake a balanced budget. This can’t even be called a status quo budget or play it safe budget. By failing to address significant gaps in socio-economic conditions of First Nations, he and Minister Valcourt set up a budget that violates their own mandate to improve the economic and social well-being of Canadians. By refusing to address any of the crises, the lives of our men, women and children are at risk.

    The real danger doesn’t come from terrorists, but from Harper’s destruction of the environment, his failure to address climate change, his failure to address education and health care, and his wilful neglect of First Nation lives and well-being. Perhaps is he spent less money criminalizing those who are protecting the lands, waters and people in Canada, he would have enough money to invest in our collective futures.

    This Fear Budget 2015 shows that Canadians and First Nations alike have something to fear alright – and it’s Canada’s biggest terrorist: PM Harper. He represents the biggest threat to our collective well-being and future generations that Canada has ever seen.

    If ever there was a time for treaty partners to come together – it is now.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrd4848Q064

  • Genocide? Murder? Criminal Negligence? Or Passive Indifference? Canada is Killing Our People

    Racism doesn’t just hurt our feelings – racism kills. The two senseless deaths of First Nations children in a house fire in Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation in Saskatchewan from an unpaid bill of less than $4,000 has sparked outrage across Canada. In no other place in Canada would an ambulance, fire fighter or police officer ask a provincial resident if they had paid their taxes before answering an emergency call for help. Canada has a deep-seated racism problem which is killing our people. But to truly understand Indigenous outrage and sadness, one must understand both the context and true depth of this problem in Canada.

    In the mid-1700’s, colonial governments in what is now Nova Scotia considered the Mi’kmaw Nation to be “rebels” because we refused to give up our land. As a result, Governor Cornwallis issued a scalping proclamation that decimated the Mi’kmaw Nation by as much as 80%. In 1971, Donald Marshall Jr., was sentenced to life in prison for murder and spent 11 years in jail before his wrongful prosecution was exposed. A subsequent Royal Commission found the reason for his imprisonment was racism against Mi’kmaw people by all levels of the justice system.

    In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the Mi’kmaw right to fish and trade it commercially was protected in our constitutionally-protected treaties. The result? Canada sent in law enforcement to beat, pepper spray and run over our fishing boats – in addition to legal charges. In 2013, Elsipogtog First Nation and other members of the Mi’kmaw Nation who supported their anti-fracking stance in Mi’kmaw territory were labeled “terrorists”, “militants” and “bad Indians”. The scalping law was not used but our people were beaten and imprisoned.

    From small pox blankets and scalping bounties to imprisonment and neglect – Canada is killing our people and Canadians will be next if nothing is done to change the value (or lack thereof) that we collectively put on human life – all human life. This dictatorial, police state is not what newcomers to Canada had in mind when they came to Canada. A territory shared with Indigenous Nations based on formal agreements (treaties) and information agreement (alliances) were founded on three principles: (1) mutual respect, (2) mutual prosperity and (3) mutual protection. Indigenous peoples, their families, communities and Nations protected and cared for newcomers. Our people fought in Canada’s world wars to protect our shared territory and people. Now it’s time for Canadians to stand up for Indigenous peoples.

    In 1971, Helen Betty Osborne was kidnapped and murdered in The Pas, Manitoba. Her grieving friends and family were treated like criminals while the accused men were given the royal treatment by law enforcement and left to walk free for years. This wasn’t the first time our Indigenous women and little girls have been victims of a racist Canada, but no action was taken. Today, Canadians are well aware of the thousands of Indigenous women and little girls have gone murdered and/or missing in Canada. Yet, there is no sense of alarm in Parliament, nor has the Canadian state taken any steps to work with First Nations to embark on an inquiry or implement an emergency action plan.  

    By 1996, the last residential school had closed which was supposed to mark an end to the theft of Indigenous children from our Indigenous families, communities and Nations. Literally thousands of Indigenous children were victims of murders, rapes, tortures and medical experiments – and upwards of 40% never made it out of some of those schools alive. The legacy of thousands of our children who died as a matter of state law and policy should at least have included a promise to stop stealing our children. Today, we have more than 30,000 Indigenous children in care and growing. The problems have not stopped – they are getting worse.

    The use of small pox blankets on our people to try to kill us off faster has been described by medical doctors as the first example of “biological warfare” during non-war times. Indigenous women and little girls were forcibly sterilized without their knowledge and consent for decades in an effort to stop us from reproducing. The Canadian state does not need to use such blatant policies to reduce our populations anymore – willful neglect has the same lethal effect. Federal, provincial and municipal governments are standing by while our people die. This is not an “Indian problem” – this is a Canadian problem that impacts every single Canadian and our collective future.

    In 2005,  Jordan River Anderson, a little boy from Norway House Cree Nation with many medical issues, died in hospital at 5 years old never having seen his home because the federal and provincial governments couldn’t stop arguing over who would pay. In 2008, Brian Sinclair, a double amputee, whose family had roots in Berens River and Fort Alexander First Nations, died after waiting 34 hours in a hospital waiting room waiting for treatment for a bladder infection – while nearly 200 people passed him by – including staff who wrongly assumed he was “sleeping it off”.

    The former Auditor General for Canada raised the alarms about discriminatory funding and the failure by Indian Affairs to take action on programs that would significantly impact the lives of First Nations. The Office of the Correctional Investigator has called the increasing over-representation of Indigenous peoples a crisis that needs to be addressed. The United Nations Special Rapporteur has made numerous recommendations on how Canada can address this multi-faceted crisis in First Nations. But Canada fails to take action.

    Despite Canada’s failure to act, First Nations continue to try to raise the alarm bells on this lethal situation. A failure to address the chronic underfunding has led to First Nations being 10 times more likely to die in a house fire than Canadians. Indian affairs own report done in 2011 indicated that a minimum of $28 million dollars was needed to prevent deadly fires in Manitoba alone – yet all 633 First Nations in Canada only get $26 million.

    Canada sits back and watches our people die needless deaths while we struggle to heal our families and communities, to rebuild after the theft of our lands and resources and to resist ongoing attempts to assimilate and eliminate us. The herculean effort at the grassroots level to protect our people is made more difficult by state propaganda that would blame us for our own misery, or deflect media attention by vilifying our leaders. Now Bill C-51 will make those of us who speak out against such inhumanity all “terrorists”. Then who will defend this territory?

    The Chief Coroner for Ontario released an especially rare and powerful report in 2011 on the child suicide epidemic in Pikangikum First Nation which had declared a state of emergency – a desperate call for help that went unanswered by Canada. Within a two year period between 2006 and 2008, 16 children between the ages of 10-19 committed suicide. 16 children died – not from accidental car crashes or unpreventable diseases but because the “basic necessities of life are absent” in Pikangikum who struggles to heal and survive amidst the “backdrop of colonialism, racism and social exclusion” and government neglect.

    16 little First Nation children committed suicide because the Canadian state creates and maintains the conditions of life that will either kill them or make them so hopeless they will kill themselves. That’s the UN definition of genocide.

    In the words of the coroner, this “was not a story of capitulation to death, but rather, a story of stamina, endurance, tolerance, and resiliency stretched beyond human limits until finally, they simply could take no more.”

    In what vision of Canada are the ongoing deaths of our people ok? We need Canadians to stand beside First Nations and support us as we defend the health of our lands and waters as well as the rights and freedoms of Canadians. This should not be our burden to bear alone anymore. Help us turn this ship around before we lose any more precious children.

    #StopBillC51 #RacismKills #Genocide #FirstNationsLivesMatter #foodfor7gens #mmiw P. Palmater, Genocide, Indian Policy and legislated Elimination of Indians In Canada (2014) vol.3, no.3, Aboriginal Policy Studies 27-54. http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/22225/pdf_22 P. Palmater, Stretched Beyond Human Limits: Death by Poverty in First Nations (2011) No.65/66, Can. Rev. of Social Policy 112-127. http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/viewFile/35220/32057

  • Bill C-51 The Anti-First Nation, Environmentalist, Scientist and Bird-Watcher Act

    Bill C-51 The Anti-First Nation, Environmentalist, Scientist and Bird-Watcher Act

     

    Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative government has introduced Bill C-51 The Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 which it claims is needed to protect Canadians from terrorism. Experts and commentators have called the bill, which will create a secret police force for Harper: terrifying, illegal, unconstitutional, dictatorial and totalitarianism. In case you don’t know what totalitarianism means, it’s a term usually reserved for fascist (extremist or dictatorial) leaders that lead a centralist government that does not tolerate differences of opinion and tries to exercise dictatorial control over many aspects of public and private life – including thought. Voila: Bill C-51.

     

    The media reports that the Liberals and NDP have all but acquiesced to the bill and will only offer mild resistance in the form of suggested amendments. They may even call for some oversight, but will not challenge the massive violations of Canadian rights, liberties and freedoms which are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and constitutionally protected. And this is how it happens. Dictators throughout history have only been able to do what they did to their citizenry because they were permitted to do so. No single man has the power to destroy a country governed by the people for the people – unless the powerful people around the dictator allow it to happen.

    In a world where Canada used to pit environmentalists, scientists, doctors, teachers, and even bird-watchers against First Nations who peacefully defended their lands, Idle No More helped bring us together. As treaty and territorial allies, First Nations and Canadians face a formidable foe and threat to our collective futures. Idle No More raised awareness about the break down in democracy in general and human and Aboriginal rights specifically. Hundreds of thousands of people across Canada rose up against Bill C-45 – the large, unconstitutional omnibus bill pushed through Parliament without debate which threatened our lakes and rivers. This time, the threat is personal – any one of us could go to jail for thinking or voicing our opinions.

     

     

    I originally hesitated to include this chart in my blog, but I think we all need a reminder of the freedoms upon which Canadian democracy rests – for without them, Canada descends into the lethal, dark hole of a deadly, dictatorial police-state.

    CHARTER

    RIGHTS, FREEDOMS or LIBERTIES PROTECTED

    2(a)

    Freedom of conscience and religion

     

    2(b)

    Freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression

     

    2(c)

    Freedom of peaceful assembly

     

    2(d)

    Freedom of association

     

    6

    Right to enter, remain in and leave Canada

     

    7

    Right to life, liberty and security of the person

     

    8

    Right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure

     

    9

    Right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned

     

    11(b)

    Everyone charged with an offence: right to be tried in a reasonable time

     

    11(d)

    Everyone charged with an offence: innocent until proven guilty

     

    15

    Everyone is equal before and under the law

     

    25

    Charter can never be interpreted to deny Aboriginal & treaty rights

     

     http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html

    All of these rights, freedoms and liberties will be suspended with Bill C-51. This bill creates what has been described as Harper’s “Secret Police force” with terrifying expanded powers. The purpose of the bill is to eliminate any “threat to security of Canada” which includes any activity that undermines the sovereignty, security or territorial integrity of Canada. It also includes some of the following:

    –          interference with the administration of justice;

    –          interference with diplomatic relations; –          the economic or financial stability of Canada; –          terrorism; and –          interference with critical infrastructure. .

    http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=6932136

      

    The specific powers granted under the bill greatly expand the powers of CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from an organization that collects and analyzes information related to security – to one which can take law enforcement action. They are further empowered to take measures against anything they deem to constitute a threat to Canada – inside or outside of the country. Additional anti-terrorism powers under the bill include:

    –          Materials deemed to be terrorist propaganda can be seized or removed from a website; –          Standards of investigation and arrest will be lowered from proof to suspicion; –          Police may arrest someone if they merely “think” that a terrorist act “may” be carried out; and –          Deny air transportation to anyone who they “suspect” may be engaging in terrorist activity.

    According to security law experts like Craig Forcese and Kent Roach, this new offence of “advocating or promoting terrorism” is not at all clear and Canadians should be extremely concerned about its conflict with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One of their concerns is that it gives the police “substantial and unusually invasive powers” to be exercised under their own discretion. A significant change from offences against the promotion of hatred, is the fact that anti-terrorism applies to statements made in private and implies extensive wire-tapping. They fear this bill will result in “speech chill” – the fear to exercise our right to free speech.

    http://www.antiterrorlaw.ca./

     

    For First Nations, this completes the circle of criminalizing every aspect of who we are as Mi’kmaw, Maliseet, Mohawk and Cree Nations. When they made it against the law to be a Mi’kmaw person, our population was reduced by 80% for the scalping bounties placed on our heads. When speaking our languages and practicing our culture was considered anti-Canadian, they enacted laws to outlaw our ceremonies and killed upwards of 50% of our children they forced into residential schools. When we refused to die off, they forcibly sterilized our Indigenous women and girls without their knowledge and consent to reduce our populations. Standing by and watching our Indigenous women and girls go murdered and missing was a gross violation of our right to life by the RCMP, provincial police and Canadian governments.

      

    When we survived, Canada made our traditional way of life a criminal act – hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering became criminal or regulatory offences which landed us in jail, resulted in beatings by the RCMP and/or our gear, vehicles and boats were seized. The defense and protection of what little lands we have left resulted in Canada bringing out the RCMP and army to stop our people. When we drummed and danced in Idle No More, we became the targets of illegal monitoring, publicly vilified and categorized as radicals, militants and terrorists. Now, our very voices, our private discussions and even the defense of our sovereignty is now an act of “terrorism”.

     

     

    We warned Canadians, that what happens to First Nations under Harper’s dictatorial regime is just a sign of things to come for Canadians. To Canadians who value their freedoms, the beauty and bounty of our shared lands and waters, and the peaceful right to live the good life as you see fit – everything is about to change. Canadians will, for the first time, be treated like First Nations people – without the protection of their basic rights, freedoms and liberties. Even someone who re-Tweets or reposts a comment made by someone else on Facebook could potentially be captured under this sweeping legislation. Our ideas themselves will now be criminalized. Our private lives and opinions will be invaded, monitored and criminalized. For Canadians, this is a frightening new turn of events that may well override our basic human rights, liberties and freedoms – an end to Canada as a democracy as you’ve known it.

    Our decades long experiences with murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, Starlight tours and the deaths of our Indigenous men while in police custody, the wrongful shootings of our unarmed peaceful protestors, the over-imprisonment of our Indigenous men and women, and the palpable fear many of us have of law enforcement will be part of the Canadian reality unless we stop this Bill now. We are allies in this territory. First Nations fought alongside Canadians in many wars to protect these lands. We lived up to our treaty obligations to protect you and be your allies. Now it’s time for Canadians to stand up and restore this treaty and allied relationship – and protect our collective rights.

    Canada has violated First Nations’ constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights and basic human rights for decades. If we do not stand together now, this is what Canadians have to look forward to for their children. Please act to stop Bill C-51 now – before it becomes an act of terrorism to even speak about.

     

     

    #stopBillC51 #rise #standup #idlenomore #INM #mmiw #foodfor7gens

     

     

     

    *pictures linked from Google Images – copyright rests with individual sites.

  • Myth of the Crooked Indians: C-27 First Nations Financial Transparency Act

    Can you think of any Prime Minister, President or World Leader that would withhold food, water, or health care as a bullying tactic to force its citizens into compliance with a new government law, policy or scheme? Can you ever imagine this happening in Canada? I don’t think most of us could. Yet, this is exactly what is happening with Harper’s implementation of the illegal C-27. Minister Valcourt has threatened to cut off funds for food, water and health care if First Nations do not get in line and abide by this new legislation – despite the fact that it was imposed without legal consultation and is now being legally challenged. How many First Nations children will have to die for Harper to sit down and work this out with First Nations? Bill C-27 (formerly C-575) First Nation Financial Transparency Act (FNFTA) is the classic deflection tactic by Harper’s Conservatives to distract Canadians from the extreme poverty in many First Nations and Canada’s role in maintaining those conditions. The solution to chronic underfunding of essential human services like water, food, and housing lay not in more legislation, but in addressing the problem: the underfunding. Presenting accountability legislation as the solution implies that First Nations are the cause of their own poverty – a racist stereotype Harper’s Cons use quite frequently to divide community members from their leaders and Canadians from First Nations.

    This racist stereotype is recycled again and again when Harper is pressed to account for the fourth world conditions in some First Nations. The response always seem to be: “Well, we gave them x million dollars, where did all the money go”? What Harper never tells Canadians is that in giving First Nations x million dollars, that he has given them half of what is needed to provide the specific program or service. Without all the facts, this propaganda serves to distance Canadians from First Nations.

    In the last couple of years, Harper has been hit hard in the media about Canada’s persistent failure to address the basic needs of First Nations. The following high-profile poverty-related crises in First Nations meant that Harper needed some instant damage control and distraction – which he got with C-27:

    – Cindy Blackstock’s discrimination case for inequitable child and family service funding to First    Nations kids in care;

     – Numerous housing, water and suicide crises and states of emergency in individual First Nations; – Auditor General’s numerous findings related to inequitable funding in housing, water and education; – RCMP’s report about over-representation of murdered and missing Indigenous women; and – United Nation’s finding that Canada’s human rights violations leads to “abysmal” poverty in First Nations despite Canada’s enormous wealth;

    The Cons also use third parties, like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, to advance their racist propaganda and deflect from the real issues. How many times have we heard the phrase “millionaire chiefs” or “exhorbitant salaries”? Yet there has never been a millionaire Chief in the history of Indian Act Chiefs. Canada has failed to show where any Chief ever received a million dollar salary from federal funding.

    But let’s pretend all 633 Chiefs in Canada got million dollar salaries (which they do not). That would mean $633 million dollars a year in salary to Chiefs. The annual budget for First Nation programs and services is approximately $10 billion.  It would be pretty hard to argue that 6% of the budget going to give all Chiefs a million dollar salary would be the actual cause of First Nation poverty.

    We simply can’t have this conversation around accountability without the facts. The facts are this: the average Canadian salary is $46,000/year. The average elected First Nation leaders’ salary is $36,000/year. Yet, there are numerous municipal librarians making $100,000 a year to manage books, while First Nation leaders must manage human lives.

    http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/accountability/5_-_the_straight_goods_on_first_nation_salaries.pdf

    But why are we even talking about salaries when we should be talking about funding First Nation food, water and housing? That’s because of C-27 FNFTA and all the media hype around an alleged lack of transparency in First Nations. There are critical problems with this legislation which make it both unconstitutional and illegal: (1) it was done without legal consultation, accommodation and consent of First Nations and (2) it’s a direct interference with inherent First Nation jurisdiction;  and (3) it violates their internationally-protected First Nation right to be self-determining.

     http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/F-11.66.pdf

    FNFTA states that its purpose is to “enhance the financial accountability and transparency of First Nations” – which presumes, of course, that this is lacking. The Act itself provides that:

    – financial statements must be audited yearly;

    – it must include a schedule of salaries and expenses of Chiefs and Councillors;

    – Canada can publish the information on the Internet; and

    – Copies of the audits must be provided by First Nations to their band members.

    These may seem like harmless provisions, except when you realize that First Nations already have to submit audited financial statements every year, or their funding can be cut off. First Nations band members have always had the right to obtain copies of their First Nation audits – either directly from the First Nation or from Indian Affairs.

    What’s not obvious in this Act or its associated rhetoric, is that First Nations are the most accountable governments on the entire planet! The Auditor General has made very disturbing findings about the level to which First Nations must report on their federal funding – a “burdensome” 60,000 reports a year! That’s over 95+ reports per First Nation every year or one report every 3 days. The Auditor General even found that many of these reports are not even read by federal bureaucrats. So what’s the problem?

    http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201106_04_e_35372.html#hd5j

    Enacting FNFTA seems more like an exercise in smearing First Nation leaders, than addressing any real glaring omission in accountability. And, with the Harper government, there is always a hidden gem. While he is turning community members against their leaders and distracting Canadians from the real issue of underfunding, here is what Harper is REALLY doing in this Act:

    – reporting of any salary, income or expenses of Chiefs and Councillors made in the PERSONAL capacity;

    – First Nations must make their audits accessible to the PUBLIC on the Internet for at least 10 years;

    – refusal by a First Nation to comply with any of these provisions means Canada can CUT FUNDING.

    So let’s look at each of these provisions more closely.

    Personal Income:

    Imagine if any political leaders in Canada had to report their personal wealth in addition to the salary of their public office. Prime Minister Harper is the 6th highest paid political leader in the world with a salary of approximately $300k/year. Harper not only makes 7 times what the average Canadian makes, but makes far more than other world leaders with much larger populations and economies.

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/stephen-harper-6th-highest-paid-world-leader-study-134621685.html

    But let’s forget about his salary for a minute. What is Prime Ministers and federal politicians had to publicly disclose their PERSONAL wealth? Then we are no longer talking about over-paid Prime Ministers, we are talking about million dollar Prime Ministers. Stephen Harper’s personal wealth has been estimated at $5M. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin is in the hundreds of millions. Why the double standard?  Why did so many federal MPs refuse to disclose their own expenses? I agree there is an issue of accountability in Canada, but it’s with the federal government, and not First Nations.

    Public Access:

    The other issue is about accountability and to whom? This act makes First Nations accountable to the Minister first, the Canadian public second, and lastly to their band members. This Act does nothing to improve accountability of leaders generally to their membership. In fact, band members will not get any information that they were not entitled to previously. What is new is that the Canadian public has a NEW right to access that information. One has to wonder why that is the case. Canadians don’t participate in First Nation governments, they don’t vote for the leaders, and they certainly don’t pay for their programs and services – despite that persistent myth.

    There is no reason for Canadians to have access to this information – especially any information related to First Nation PERSONAL financial information. Some lawyers have even argued that this Act creates not only a double and higher standard on First Nations than on Canadian politicians; but also violates their legal privacy rights. There is simply no need for this piece of the legislation.

    Cutting Funding:

    Here is the real issue. Harper’s bully government has been meticulous in designing heavy-handed, paternalistic legislation with extreme-force compliance mechanisms built in and FNFTA is no exception. If First Nation do not or cannot comply, they can have all of their funding cut. We are not talking about funding for Ottawa-type expenditures like summer tulips, Canada Day fireworks, or international trips – we are talking essential human services like food, water, heat and housing. As temperatures reach -40 degrees in the north right now, this could be disastrous.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/first-nations-to-resist-complying-with-financial-transparency-act-1.2849517?cmp=rss

    Many Idle No More grassroots citizens, Indigenous lawyers, academics, activists and leaders have come out against this legislation – not because any of us are against the general principle of open, accountable and transparent governments, but because Canada has no right to interfere in the governance of our Nations for any reason. We have never surrendered our sovereignty or right to govern ourselves. In 1997, Canada even recognized as a matter of policy, that our right to be self-governing is constitutionally protected.

    I know there have been some bad individual leaders during our time.  I know that some individual communities struggle with internal leadership issues. But that’s not all our communities.

    I also know that we have all suffered many generations of colonization, inter-generational trauma from residential schools, and the impossible choices forced upon our leaders in managing extreme poverty.

    We have so many problems because of the systemic racism, assimilatory government policies, chronic underfunding, failure to implement our treaty and Aboriginal rights; lack of access and control over our lands and resources; and federally-imposed laws which tell us how to govern.

    One bad leader does not justify calling in the colonizer to further control our communities. Our Nations thrived here since time immemorial and our Nations will continue for many more millennia. We can survive and heal from colonization, just as we can get past any one bad leader. We simply can’t let Harper’s racist propaganda divide us. He wants community members to invite him in to control their communities – but once he’s in, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get him back out.

    Say no to FNFTA and stand with those First Nations who are resisting its illegal imposition on our communities.

    http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2010/10/bill-c-575-first-nations-financial.html

    #rise   #idlenomore   #warriorup   #sovereignty   #No2FNFTA

  • The Emperor’s New Clothes: First Nation CONTROL of First Nation Education Act?

    Today Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) Bernard Valcourt and National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Shawn Atleo announced “re-tooled” education legislation. It should be pointed out that despite all the hype leading up to this announcement, there is no actual legislation to scrutinize. So, what did First Nations get from this announcement?

    http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/02/07/first-nations-control-first-nations-education-act

    The Prime Minister explained that this legislation is an agreement between Shawn Atleo of the AFN and Harper’s government. For Harper, this is about filling the labour shortage with Canada’s fastest growing population – First Nations – not about addressing socio-economic conditions imposed on First Nations through Canada’s archaic funding formulas which purposefully and chronically under-fund First Nations in comparison to provincial residents.

    http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/viewFile/35220/32057

    He also referenced the many employers who sat in the audience ready to hire and train high school students. We all know from past announcements this means hiring First Nations to be the pick and shovel labourers for mining companies and other extractive industries. This is about creating a new kind of dependence for First Nations – dependence on labour jobs from extractive industries to undermine attempts by their leaders to defend their territories and the resources on them.

    Minister Valcourt also stated that they are looking at this legislation through an “economic lens” and not a treaty or inherent right lens. Therefore, the inherent right to be self-determining and exercise our own jurisdiction over education does not play into this legislation. He reconfirmed that Atleo was instrumental in the agreement which will ensure “stable and predictable oversight” by the federal government. He further noted that this legislation is about “Canada”. The Conservative government is not hiding their intentions here: it is assimilation into the body politic as they have stated over and over again.

    During the brief question period, Harper confirmed that the legislation was about the deal he struck with Atleo – uniform standards, curriculum and accountability. Atleo didn’t really say much of anything to add to the announcement. It looked more like a political endorsement of the Harper Government for their 2015 election than anything else. One lone woman stood up and stated that AFN and Harper did not consult with all First Nations and that she stood as a Treaty 6 person in objection to the legislation. The protestors on the ground were not permitted inside, so we could not hear their voices.

    Here’s a quick look at today’s “promises”:

    (1) There will be legislation, with a new name, but not shared today;

    (2) The regulations will be drafted later;

    (3) The focus of the legislation will be on provincial training, provincial rules, provincial certification, provincial curriculum and provincial standards (emphasis on provincial);

    (4) The legislation will impose “transparency and accountability” on First Nations as opposed to give First Nations any real control;

    (5) There will be funding, but not until 2015 and/or 2016 (after Harper’s term);

    (6) The funding will not be based on need or in line with the treaty right to education. Instead, an “elevator” (a.k.a. “cap”) will be placed at 4.5%; and

    (7) There is nothing to address the funding crisis in First Nation post-secondary education.

    It should be noted that nowhere in the announcement was there any description of whether this funding was “new funding” in addition to the current core funding; whether it is re-purposed monies from education or other programs that have been cut; or how this funding will be accessed by “non-willing partners” – i.e., those First Nations who reject the legislation.

    This appears to be more about deflecting the nasty publicity around the increasing litigation and human rights claims being brought by First Nations in relation to discriminatory funding in areas like education, housing and child and family services. The future funding promised after Harper’s term could evaporate as easily as the Kelowna Accord did when the Liberal term ended. A promise about future money, doesn’t educate First Nations kids now.

    None of it is really new. This announcement is just re-packaging of old promises that have taken years to come to fruition:

    (1) Election platform – promised adult education and skills training (note announcement yesterday on skills);

    (2) AFN-Harper Joint Action Plan – promised national panel on education

    (3) Crown-First Nation Gathering – promised national panel

    Then came the national panel to which AFN agreed, despite the objections of about half the First Nations in Canada. Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec pulled out of the national panel process and submitted their own reports in an unprecedented protest against AFN’s unilateral actions.

    http://www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/sites/default/files/files/OCOFOV%20Education%20Report%202012.pdf

    This was followed by numerous AFN resolutions from the Chiefs in Assembly telling Atleo NOT to talk education legislation with Harper. And most will not forget Idle No More’s rallying cry against the suite of legislation intended to be imposed on First Nations. AFN heard them and proceeded anyway. Atleo said he “respected their views” and proceeded anyway. This led to a large number of First Nations wanting to pull out of the AFN and set up their Treaty Alliance to protect their treaties. All this and Atleo still forges this deal with Harper.

    The promise of future funding is being used as a carrot to gain support for legislation that has not even been shared with First Nations yet. They are hoping that we are desperate enough to support this plan before we can see the army inside the Trojan Horse.

    This is really about tricking First Nations into voluntarily turning their treaty right to fully-funded education into a program privilege that is subject to federal legislation, control and budgets. Even without treaties, First Nations have internationally protected rights to be self-determining, they have specific jurisdiction over their own education and a right to funded education.

    This proposed legislation is meant to strike down any attempts at litigation against discriminatory funding – which they likely wish they could do with Cindy Blackstock’s case against discriminatory funding in Child and Family Services.

    This is just another delay tactic. While we sit in meetings, the natural resources are removed from our territories. While we negotiate announcements, Justice Canada drafts the details of our surrender.

    Had the Emperor actually looked at what his tailor had sewn for him, he’d have realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes, despite the fact that people he trusted told him how wonderful he looked.

    It’s always our choice. We can choose to say no. Canada does not need legislation to properly fund education. Remember what was promised today: nothing. But we stand to lose a great deal in supporting this legislation. Recognize First Nation jurisdiction over education. Implement the treaty right to education. Properly fund First Nation education. Say no to FNCFNEA.

  • 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 countless scandals since they have come to power.

    Harper’s control over his own party, together with his party’s majority power in the House and Senate has made him so arrogant that he appears unconcerned about the extreme excesses of his “people”. His over-confidence is apparent in his bullying tactics within the party ranks and in his dictatorial governance style. He wields his majority power like an iron sword through the hearts and minds of Canadians. He acts as though he is untouchable and has such control over his own people that they will fall on their swords before implicate Harper. Now, this government wants to control the fate of First Nations children in their new First Nations Education Act. This is a scary thought.

     

    http://www.indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2013/10/defer-deflect-deny-destroy-harpers.html

    As with all false leaders, Harper’s arrogance is testament to his weakness – he is all puffery and no substance. If his front line is as weak as the media reports it is, then there will be very little loyalty left to support Harper when the pressure hits. We have an opportunity to put the pressure on. How much more fraud, sexual assault, theft, and lying will Canadians stand? Canadians have the power to unseat this dictator and reset Canada on a path which ensures health, prosperity and the good life – however we choose to define that for ourselves – for all our future generations.

    How many more scandals will it take? More importantly, should they be passing legislation dealing with the lives of First Nation children when they can’t seem to even act within the law? If these “leaders” of the Conservative party are any example, I wouldn’t want them anywhere near my children or making decisions on their behalf. These people are scary and not the kind of role models we want for our children.

    MAXIME BERNIER may be long forgotten, but he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was forced to resign from Cabinet after leaving classified documents in the possession of his biker-gang-friendly girlfriend posing a possible risk to national security.

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/maxime-bernier-timeline-1.701000

    BEV ODA was the Minister of International Cooperation who was also forced to step down due to a funding scandal which had her denying and then admitting that she directed staff to alter documents. She was later found to have used public monies to fund her lavish over-seas trips staying in posh hotels and hiring expensive drivers all while sipping $16 orange juice.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/07/03/bed-oda-quits-international-minister-mp_n_1646699.html

    PETER MCKAY, the Minister of Defense was also a big-spender with public monies. From a $3k seafood show, $5k Grey Cup game to a $16k helicopter ride for his personal fishing vacation – McKay defended himself by threatening to sue the people bringing these allegations. However, it was reported that government documents showed that even military officials tried to warn McKay over the helicopter ride.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/16/peter-mackay-spending-scandal-grey-cup_n_1153532.html

    VIC TOEWS who stepped down as Public Safety Minister, was embroiled in several political and personal scandals including a conviction for election violations and a divorce reportedly brought on by an affair with a political staffer that resulted in a child. He was also criticized for implying that environmentalists and First Nations peoples were terrorists.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/vic-toews-divorce/

    The list seems to just go on and on. Then you have the fringe element who shock normal Canadians with their racism, bizarre opinions and allegedly illegal activities like:

    –        Former Minister of Indian Affairs, John Duncan who was opposed to “race-based rights” like the Aboriginal and treaty rights protected in Canada’s constitution;

    –        Current Minister of Indian Affairs, Bernard Valcourt whose scandals are infamous in New Brunswick (where he was forced to resign as Cabinet minister due to drunk driving), but are apparently forgotten in Ottawa;

    –        Tom Flanagan, well-known Conservative and PM advisor, Indian-hater and reportedly supports child porn; http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/02/28/former_adviser_to_harper_tom_flanagan_ok_with_viewing_child_porn.html

     

    –        Conservative Senator Pamela Wallin who, along with Senators Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, was suspended from Parliament. Wallin recently had her documents seized and is now being investigated by the RCMP for filing improper expense claims;

    –        Senator Brazeau is a case unto himself. Aside from bizarre late night rants on Twitter; trying to double dip salaries as President of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and Senator; never showing up for work as Senator; media reports of him not paying child support; formal charges laid in senate expense scandal; and then his charges for both assault and sexual assault nearly take the cake for Harper’s Conservatives; but now

    –        The Prime Minister’s band mate, drummer Phillip Nolan has been suspended from work as a teacher and charged with sexual assaults on children.  http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/06/stephen-harpers-drummer-an-ottawa-teacher-  arrested-for-sexual-assaults-on-a-minor/

    If you were a First Nation whose band members had suffered through the rapes, torture, medical experimentation and abuse that occurred in residential schools, would you want the Canadian government running your schools again?

    If you were a First Nation and the Conservative government was telling you that your choice was status quo under-funded schools, or extra funding under the condition of federal legislative control, would you feel safe sending your kids to those schools? If you were a First Nation and Harper was standing beside you in a headdress saying “Trust me” – would you? The last thing we need is for a federal party, who acts without accountability or any moral compass going anywhere near our kids. We are already suffering the inter-generational impacts of residential schools – we don’t need to hurt our future generations too.

    Say No to FNEA. Stay away from our children.

    Recognize First Nation control over their own education systems; and

    Properly fund these systems.

    We have treaty rights and internationally protected rights to fully-funded education.

     It’s time Canada lived up to its obligations.

  • Feathers verus Guns: The Throne Speech and Canada’s War with the Mi’kmaw Nation at Elsipogtog

    *As I write this blog, Canada is at war with the Mi’kmaw Nation – again – this time in Elsipogtog (Big Cove First Nation) in New Brunswick. The Mi’kmaw have spoken out against hydro-fracking on their territory for many months now. They have tried to get the attention of governments to no avail. Now the Mi’kmaw are in a battle of drums and feathers versus tanks and assault rifles – not the rosy picture painted by Canada to the international community.

    The failure by the federal and provincial governments, as well as the Houston-based fracking company, Southwestern Energy, to consult with the Mi’kmaw and obtain their consent is what led to the protests all summer. According to their web page: “In March 2010, the company announced that the Department of Energy and Mines of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada accepted its bids for exclusive licenses to search and conduct an exploration program covering 2,518,518 net acres in the province in order to test new hydrocarbon basins.”

    http://www.swn.com/operations/Pages/nb.aspx

    In response, the Mi’kmaw have led peaceful protests at hydro-fracking sites to demonstrate their opposition and protect their lands and resources. They have always asserted their sovereignty, ownership and jurisdiction over their territory. There has been relatively little coverage of their actions, but they have been active for months now. More recently, the company obtained an injunction to stop the protest and it was served on protesters today.

    http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/author/miles-howe

    It is more than coincidental timing – it was obviously strategically calculated with the completion of the Governor General’s Speech from the Throne and the end of the United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya’s visit to Canada. This morning, we awoke to reports from the Mi’kmaw of swarms of RCMP dispatched to Elsipogtog to enforce Harper’s aggressive natural resource agenda. He has effectively declared war on the Mi’kmaw.

    http://www.speech.gc.ca/sites/sft/files/SFT-EN_2013_c.pdf

    This is not the first time Canada has declared war on the Mi’kmaw. In 1981, law enforcement led an attack on the Mi’kmaw at Restigouche to stop them from controlling their own Aboriginal fishery. During this attack, Mi’kmaw suffered multiple injuries, some severe and numerous arrests.

    In 1998, the government intervened in Listuguj because the traditional Mi’kmaw government shut down the logging company that was stealing timber from Mi’kmaw lands and because the Mi’kmaw started to harvest their own timber.

    Between 1999 and 2001, Canada once again declared war on the Mi’kmaw Nation at Esgenoopitij (Burnt Church First Nation) in NB to stop them from fishing lobster. This was despite the fact the Mi’kmaw had proven their treaty right to fish lobster at the Supreme Court of Canada. Law enforcement rammed Mi’kmaw fishing boats, injured fisherman and issued numerous arrests.

    All of these actions were done in violation of the numerous treaties between the Mi’kmaw and the Crown which were peace and friendship treaties intended to once and for all end hostilities and work together as Nation to Nation partners. Given that our treaties are constitutionally protected, Canada’s actions are not only tyrannical and oppressive, but also illegal.

    Today, in 2013, the government has once again decided that brute force is the way to handle The Mi’kmaw women, elders, and children drumming and singing in peaceful protest against hydro-fracking at Elsipogtog. Media reports 200 RCMP officers were dispatched, some of them from the riot squad, armed with shields, assault rifles, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and snipers. Some of the RCMP, in full camo, hid in the woods, while the others formed a large barricade on the highway blocking any movement by protesters.

    The Chief and Council were arrested, as well as numerous other protesters all while scrambling cell phone signals, cutting live video feeds and blocking media access to the site. Reports of RCMP pointing their assault rifles at elders and snipers aiming their scopes at children led to the burning of several RCMP cruisers. Yet, so far, the mainstream media has focused on the burning cars and not the acts of violation and intimidation by RCMP on the Mi’kmaw.

    This heavy-handed deployment of heavily armed RCMP cops against women and children shows Canada’s complete disregard for our fundamental human rights and freedoms, and their ongoing disdain for Indigenous peoples. One RCMP officer’s comments summarized government position perfectly: “Crown land belongs to government, not to fucking natives”. The RCMP have it wrong – Mi’kmaw treaties never surrendered our lands and we are still the rightful owners.

    http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/10/17/crown-land-belongs-to-the-government-not-to-fcking-natives/

    Of course, this sounds eerily similar to the words of former Ontario Premier Mike Harris who was reported to have said of the protest at Ipperwash “I want the fucking Indians out of the park”.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ipperwash-inquiry-spreads-blame-for-george-s-death-1.666937

    And we all know what happened there – law enforcement killed a peaceful unarmed protester named Dudley George. One might wonder if history is going to repeat itself. If we look to the Speech from the Throne as any indication, Harper has sent Canada on a direct collision course with First Nations – all in the name of resource development.

    Contrary to the Governor General’s introductory comments about Canada using its military force sparingly and that Canada responds “swiftly and resiliently to aid those in need”, the strategic wording indicates a much more ominous plan. Canada’s position vis-à-vis First Nations and natural resources is laid out as follows:

    –        First Nations are incapable of managing their own affairs and Canada will control them and make them accountable via legislation;

    –        Canada owns the natural resources  and will sell them;

    –        Canada will make major investments in infrastructure to protect these natural resources;

    –        Canada will increase military strength to protect Canadian sovereignty; and

    –        Increased military will protect Canada’s economy from terrorism.

    In other words, Canada does not recognize the ownership or rights of First Nations to their lands, waters and natural resources and will expend billions to ensure that no First Nations prevent the extraction of those resources. Canada and its military have referred to First Nations as terrorists before, and will no doubt be labeled as such when they defend their right to say no to mines or hydro-fracking, like in Elsipogtog for example.

    This aggressive display of power and intimidation in Elsipogtog was not met with an equal display of violence. Instead, the women, elders and children continued to drum and chant and pray for the health and safety of their peoples, their Nation and the lands and waters for all Canadians. Instead of scaring people away, this unconstitutional show of force is being met with solidarity blockades all over Canada and the United States.

    Listuguj in Quebec has blocked a bridge; Six Nations in Ontario has shut down a highway, there are protests outside Canadian embassies in New York City and Washington; and hundreds of rallies, marches, protests and blockades planned for later today and tomorrow. The horrific images of police violence at Elsipogtog inspired First Nations peoples all over Canada to collect supplies, send warriors and advocate for justice. Harper has inspired Indigenous resistance and action on the ground. There will be more First Nation protests and blockades in the coming days as well.

    The Idle No More flame that he lit last year has never faded – it was just waiting to be fanned once again. The solution has always been there:

    (1)  Respect the Nation to Nation relationship (our sovereignty and jurisdiction over our governments, lands and peoples);

    (2)  Address the current injustices (crises in housing, education, food, water, child and family services, murdered and missing Indigenous women); and

    (3)  Share the benefits and responsibility to protect the lands, water and natural resources like the treaties envisioned.

    It’s Harper’s move now – more tanks and RCMP violence or a negotiating table? http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/ID/2412799896/ *Picture taken from Google images.