Tag: NDP

  • Indigenous issues slowly disappear from election 2019

    Indigenous issues slowly disappear from election 2019

    *This picture was taken by Michelle Girouard and the logo is from from The Lawyer’s Daily. This article was originally published in The Lawyer’s Daily on Oct.15, 2019 (see link below).

    The unofficial slogan for the 2015 Liberal election campaign was “there is no relationship more important to Canada than the one with Indigenous peoples.” It was a mantra shared repeatedly by Justin Trudeau pre- and post-election and stood in stark contrast to former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s adversarial relationship with First Nations. In fact, it was Trudeau’s election promise to make Indigenous issues a political priority, together with his commitment to a nation-to-nation relationship grounded in respect for Indigenous rights, that helped his party win the Indigenous vote.

    While not all Indigenous people voted for the Liberals, record numbers of them voted — largely to help the Liberals unseat the Conservatives. Fast forward to this election and Trudeau started his campaign with a speech that focused on the middle class and ignored Indigenous peoples entirely. Indigenous issues then seemed to slowly disappear.

    In addition to not mentioning Indigenous peoples in his first campaign speech, Trudeau also didn’t show up for the first leaders’ debate hosted by Maclean’s and Citytv, which is, in essence also failing to show up on Indigenous issues. While the Maclean’s debate started out well, with strong interventions from Elizabeth May of the Green Party, the void left by Trudeau’s absence allowed the leader of the Conservatives, Andrew Scheer, to turn every question on Indigenous issues into a discussion on forcing approval of natural resource projects regardless of First Nation opposition. At one point, he spoke against Indigenous groups “holding hostage” resource projects — the same kind of aggressive stereotypes used by the former Harper government that paint First Nations as dangerous. While both May and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called him on this disrespectful language, Trudeau was missing in action and not there to provide the kind of response Canadians expect of a leader who claimed to be committed to respectful nation-to-nation relations with Indigenous peoples.

    Trudeau’s absence also allowed the candidates the extra time to turn questions about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the dire need for safe drinking water on reserves into a debate over Trudeau’s handling of the SNC Lavalin case. While the host, with the exception of one attempt at redirection, allowed the Indigenous issues segment to devolve into pipelines and SNC Lavalin, the candidates also used their precious time to take digs at Trudeau and neglected to focus on Indigenous issues.

    Given that the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls concluded that Canada is guilty of both historic and ongoing race-based genocide against Indigenous peoples, which specifically targets Indigenous women and girls; it is unfathomable that this was not even a question by the moderator or debated by the candidates. Early on Indigenous families feared that the urgent action required to end genocide against Indigenous women and girls would be lost to talk of pipelines and elections. Sadly, and shamefully, this has become a reality.

    The first leaders debate which included Trudeau, focused more on pipelines, climate change and taxes for the middle class than on Indigenous questions asked or the multiple, overlapping crises brought about by ongoing genocide which is literally killing Indigenous peoples. While this is in part the fault of the host for framing the first question around Scheer’s proposed pipeline corridor and inviting debate about pipelines instead of focusing on Indigenous priorities, the candidates also had a responsibility to refocus the debate.

    Trudeau, May, and Singh have platforms with significant commitments on Indigenous issues, yet all failed to promote these commitments during the debate or force discussion on the bigger issues like murdered and missing Indigenous women; the crisis of Indigenous kids in foster care; the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in prison; or the extreme poverty on many reserves. Neither Maxime Bernier, leader of the Peoples Party of Canada, nor Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet made much of contribution to the debate on Indigenous issues at all.

    At this stage, it doesn’t look like Indigenous issues will feature prominently in the rest of the campaign and are at risk of disappearing entirely from focus. This development is in no way benign or the natural ebb and flow of election campaigns. This appears to be a purposeful strategy to take focus away from the national inquiry’s finding of genocide in relation to murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls; the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) finding of willful and reckless racial discrimination against First Nations children; the many interventions of the United Nations treaty bodies about Canada’s grave human rights violations of Indigenous peoples; and the failure to address water issues on reserve.

    Moreover, Trudeau’s long list of promises, like the promise to repeal former Prime Minister Harper’s legislative suite imposed on First Nations; the amendment of Bill C-51 (Anti-Terrorism Act) legislation to address its negative impacts on First Nations; the promise to review federal laws to ensure compliance with s. 35 of the Constitution Act (Aboriginal and treaty rights); and the promise to implement UNDRIP in an unqualified way, all remain unfulfilled.

    The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is not without fault here. They are a major barrier to the development of an actual nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations and have failed to strenuously demand accountability for the deaths of Indigenous peoples from Canada’s own laws, policies and practices. Instead, the AFN has been so busy praising the Trudeau government and encouraging First Nations to vote, that they too have failed to really push the candidates to prioritize Indigenous issues.

    Instead, the AFN issued a laundry list of so-called priorities that focus on meetings, processes, dialogue and more paternalistic federal laws and policies. All of which translates into millions of dollars for the AFN, but little substantive change at the local First Nation level — the actual rights-bearing governments. Any party platform that grounds reconciliation in a relationship exclusively through the AFN condemns us all to the status quo.

    Trudeau has deflected the growing national crises in First Nations thus allowing the Conservatives to downplay their political commitments, if any, to Indigenous peoples. When the two governing parties set the agenda in this way, it has a ripple effect. If the prime minister is no longer considering Indigenous issues a priority, what kind of message does that send to doctors, teachers and social workers? How bad has it become that both the Liberals and the Conservatives agree that appealing the CHRT decision is better than ending racial discrimination against First Nation children in care? If the AFN praises Trudeau in the face of broken promises, why would the public demand more?

    While the Green Party and NDP have made significant commitments in their platforms to address many of these urgent issues, practically speaking, neither will likely form the next government. So, while their attempts to elevate the urgency of these issues are commendable, their ability to raise the bar past the very low bar set by the two so-called governing parties, is limited. The ripple effect will then be felt in the mainstream media coverage and the opinions of everyday Canadians. This reconciliation train is now headed in the opposite direction of what was intended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action or the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice. How is it possible for Canada to be found guilty of genocide in June and then federal leaders focus their campaigns on middle class jobs and taxes in September? Indigenous peoples continue to die at alarming rates from Canada’s infrastructure of racist laws, policies and practices.

    Reconciliation cannot be achieved if its lifespan is dictated by what carries political currency in each election. The leaders all have a legal and moral obligation — and historic opportunity — to do better. The question is whether Indigenous issues can be resurrected in a substantive and meaningful way before the election — but that doesn’t seem likely. 

    *This article was originally published in The Lawyer’s Daily on October 15, 2019 at this link:  https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/15967/indigenous-issues-slowly-disappear-from-election-2019-pamela-palmater?category=opinion

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

    PLATFORM PROMISES

    NDP

    LIBERAL

    CONSERVATIVES

    Gov’mt to Gov’mt Relationship

    Yes, will sign accord, will work on stable revenue sources w First Nations (FNs)

    Yes, already have an accord

    L

    Land transfers back to First Nations

    L

    ? Will try to resolve land claims w FNs & Canada

    L

    Resource revenue sharing

    Yes, will share revenue w FNs,

    will give ON’s mining taxes to FNs

    ($218M over 5yrs)

    No? will continue to share “benefits of resource development” w FNs & Metis

    L

    Implement TRC

    Calls to Action

    Yes, will start w action items under prov jurisdiction

    Journey Together plan + $250M/3yrs (in progress)

    L

    Contribute to First Nation Health

    Yes, will double ON investment to $209M/year in FN Health Action Plan,

    FNs will decide health funding priorities, ex.

    expanded suicide prevention, more doctor time on reserve,

    more health care workers,

    more FN midwives,

    increase FN role in frontline care

    Yes, $80M over 4 yrs to expand child & youth mental health services for kids at risk,

    $220M over 3 years for improved access to healthcare, mental health, addiction, palliative care, Indigenous leadership in healthcare delivery

    L

    Address First Nation Hydro Costs

    Yes, FN exempt from Hydro costs,

    FN ownership stake in Hydro

    Reduce Hydro costs for remote communities by up to 50%

    L

    Safe Drinking Water

    Will address water infrastructure on reserve, then bill Ottawa

    L

    L

    Childcare on Reserve

    L

    Yes, $40M over 3 yrs for culturally relevant childcare on reserve,

    4500 new spaces on reserve

    $290M to double childcare spaces on reserve,

    $70M over 2 yrs for off-reserve children & families

    L

    First Nation Education

    L

    L

    L

    Jordan’s Principle

    No specific mention, but will pay for health services & infrastructure on reserve first, argue w feds later

    L

    L

    First Nation Policing

    Yes, will double ON investment in FNs to $30M, joint development of stand alone legislation

    Opt into provincial policing framework & create FN Police Service Boards

    L

    MMIWG

    Yes, will continue to support inquiry, provide family supports,

     increase resources to solve cold cases

    Yes, long-term strategy to end violence against Indig women,

    Address human trafficking & support survivors*

    L

    Address problematic Far North Act

    Yes, will replace it

    L

    L

    Jobs & Training & Economic development

    Yes, will prioritize FN training on & off-reserve,

    Partner w FNs to develop green energy,

    will work w FNs to develop minimum targets for FN procurement

    Yes, $30M over 2 years for skills training,

    Expanded role for institutes

    L

    First Nations/Indigenous  Institutes

    Yes, $28M in Friendship Centre repairs,

    $91M over 6yrs to 28 Centres,

    $41M programming for children & youth

    Yes, will support stronger role for Indigenous institutes, work with urban communities for off-reserve programs

    L

    First Nation Housing

    L

    Yes, will increase funds for Indigenous Supportive Housing Program

    L

    Indigenous Languages & Culture

    L

    Yes, will support Indigenous languages,

    Youth cultural camps, will support Indigenous culture

    L

    Social Assistance & Income Security

    Yes, will work w FN Income Security Reform Working Group & Urban Indigenous Table to implement Roadmap for Change Report

    Yes, will enhance access to culturally safe & responsive social assistance

    L

    North, Remote Communities

    Will replace Far North Act,

    $1B to get Ring of Fire moving now,

    Collaborate w FNs to get infrastructure projects moving

    Part of $1B commitment = year round access road to Ring of Fire,

    continue support Wataynikaney Power Grid project (16 remote FNs),

    gas price watchdog,

    invest more northern hospitals, schools, transportation,

    $500M/3yrs broadband,

    Increase access to mental health for Indigenous youth

    L

    First Nation

    Treaty Rights

    Ensure treaty rights respected

    L

    L

    First Nation Education

    Curriculum will include Indigenous history, colonialism, residential schools, reconciliation

    L

    L

    UNDRIP into provincial law

    Implement all TRC Calls to Action – starting with those in provincial jurisdiction

    L

    L

    Address Crisis in Foster Care

    Yes, will work with FN leaders & experts to identify needs of FN kids,

    No more solitary confinement,

    Mediation not courts,

    Goal = 0 kids in care

    L

    L

    Justice System

    Ban policing carding,

    Police training in human rights & racism

    Yes, will create bicultural justice centres,

    Culturally responsive supports in bail system,

    Improve FN repres on juries

    L

    Anti-Racism

    Ban policing carding,

    Police training in human rights & racism

    Data collection & analysis w partners,

    Increase diversity in gov’mt, boards, commissions,

    anti-racism education & training

    L

    Environment

    Expand parks & create new ones in consultation w FNs,

    Will clean up Wabigoon Mercury,

    Fund mercury treatment centre,

     Additional $12M for retroactive payments for mercury disability

    Support FNs to transition to non-fossil fuel energy to minimize impact,

    $85M Grassy Narrows remediation

    L

    *Please note: this chart is based exclusively on what is contained in the three platforms in terms of what they are promising going forward. It does not include external documents or statement, nor does it report on the past performances of any governments over time. It is merely a snapshot of what is being promised if you elect that party. Please send me a note if you see an error – this is accurate as of May 30, 2018. For a summary analysis of these platforms, please see my article in Lawyer’s Daily at: https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/6628/the-first-nations-agenda-in-the-ontario-election-pamela-palmater?category=columnists Or, for those without access to Lawyer’s Daily, please find it on my blog here: https://pampalmater.com/2018/06/the-first-nationsagenda-in-ontario.html

  • Praying Darth Harper and his Death Star Pass Us By: Making Sense of Election Platforms

    Over the last few weeks, many Canadians, Aboriginal people and media types have been discussing the upcoming federal election. People have been trying to analyse the platforms and see which one promises the most for Canada as a whole and for Aboriginal people specifically. I have also provided information in my previous blogs for those so inclined to vote. However, I think it is important to remember that in addition to comparing platforms, one must also compare actions. It is often said that there is no better way to predict future results than by considering past actions. This blog will be a combo of the two – a brief look at each platform as well as some highlights of past actions for each party. Given that there are literally dozens of federal election parties in Canada, I can only deal with so many in the short space of a blog. Also, seeing as the Green Party does not have any seats and the Bloc is only relevant to a certain percentage of Quebec’ers, I will only deal with the Liberal, NDP and Conservatives. LIBERAL ELECTION PLATFORM: http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf (1)  a partial removal of the funding cap on First Nation post-secondary education with an extra $200M in the first 2 years; (2) stable funding for First Nations University of Canada; (3) $5M  per year (for 3 years) for a Metis scholarship; (4) $300M for k-12 education in year 2; (5) Will continue support for Aboriginal Headstart; (6) Will create a First Nation Auditor General; (7) Will have an inquiry into the number of Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women; and (8) “Retain lessons and spirit of Kelowna process”. The Liberal Party obviously sees the huge importance of education for Aboriginal peoples. Education is a priority for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and naturally the Liberals have included an education package in their election promises. However, if you look at this more closely, you will see that they only plan to spend $100 million a year for two years on the grossly underfunded post-secondary education program. The AFN estimated that what is needed is well over $450 million right now. The Liberals will provide much needed funding in the k-12 education system but only $300 million in year two. I am not sure how effective a one-time influx of funding can be when construction projects, renovations, upgrades and hiring can and often does take several years to complete. Then what? What about operation and maintenance? These are some of the concerns First Nations have raised in regards to their schools. The other commitments are relatively minor in nature. The Liberals would provide stable funding for the First Nations University of Canada and Metis scholarships. With regard to Aboriginal Headstart, a critically important program for the development of very young pre-school-aged children, which is underfunded and in danger of collapse in many areas – they only promise continued support. That is simply not acceptable. They can’t say on the one hand that they want to respect the principles of Kelowna, while on the other hand allow critically important programs to continue to be inequitably and chronically underfunded. The Liberal platform is supposed to be about “families” – what about Aboriginal families? So aside from limited education funding, what do the Liberals offer? Very little I’m afraid. They will introduce a First Nations Auditor General that no one but the First Nation Tax Commission and Manny Jules wants. How will this improve the lives of grass roots Aboriginal people? Where is the commitment related to treaties, land claims, and First Nation governing jurisdiction? What about a serious commitment to poverty reduction? The Liberals also promise an inquiry into the issue of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, which to me is a very important commitment. I honestly believe that part of the problem is that the Conservatives quickly moved to silence NWAC when their advocacy efforts brought this serious issue to light. As soon as questions were asked about the lack of police action, funding was cut. I think there are still issues that need to be investigated and facts that need to be brought to light. I am disappointed however, that the Liberals did not offer continued funding for Sisters in Spirit in addition to an inquiry. It was the Liberal Party who introduced the 2% funding cap on First Nation funding to begin with – so they have at least a moral obligation to remove it. In fairness though, the Liberal Party was the one which participated in the negotiations that led up to the Kelowna Accord which would have seen billions of dollars in funding flow to First Nations for education, housing, water and other vital programs and services. The goal was actually to eliminate poverty in First Nations. The former Prime Minister Paul Martin made it his personal mission to continue to advocate for First Nations and the goals set out in the Kelowna Accord. I am more than a little disappointed then that they are now only promising a “partial” removal of the cap. Overall, the Liberals have a good start on the education part of their platform, but the rest is sorely lacking in any real substance. Many other key Aboriginal issues have simply not even been mentioned. So, then the question is how likely are they to fulfill their commitments if elected? Well, that is always a hard question, but if I look at some of their past actions, I am reasonably comfortable (65%) that they would follow through – after all, there is not a great deal promised in their platform. NDP ELECTION PLATFORM: http://xfer.ndp.ca/2011/2011-Platform/NDP-2011-Platform-En.pdf (1)  Increase Canada Student Grants by $200 million, with focus on Aboriginal people and others; (2) Legislation to target poverty reduction in consultation with Aboriginal and other governments; (3) Recruit Aboriginal and other medical students; (4) Lower carbon future in partnership with Aboriginal governments and others; (5) New partnership with Aboriginal people on nation-nation basis; (6) End discrimination faced by Aboriginal people – access to capital, improve housing and drinking water, remove 2% funding cap and increase education budget by $1 billion a year over 4 years; (7) Federal response to violence against Aboriginal women and support funding their organizations; (8) Work with First Nations and provinces to add 2500 new police officers The NDP have also showed a priority for education in their Aboriginal platform, but at a much higher level than the Liberals. The NDP are promising to COMPLETELY remove the 2% funding cap and increase the education budget by $1 billion a year for 4 years. That is the kind of significant investment that is required to compensate for the decades of chronic underfunding, but also to offer Aboriginal peoples the same level of opportunities for the future as other Canadians. They seem to grasp the concept that the damage done to Aboriginal peoples took hundreds of years to do, so the solutions will neither be quick nor cheap. While some of their promises include Aboriginal people, they are not necessarily focused solely on them like the student grants, recruiting of medical students and working towards a lower carbon future. That being said, the rest of their platform is significant. The NDP promise to deal with First Nations on a nation to nation basis, and while details are not offered, I don’t see the other parties making similar commitments. Similarly, the NDP seem to recognize the severe level of discrimination faced by Aboriginal peoples generally and have promised specifically to: “build a new partnership on a nation-to-nation basis with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across the country to restore a central element of social justice in Canada and reconcile the hopes of Aboriginal people with those of all Canadians. We will establish this new partnership by forging a new relationship with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, fostering economic opportunity and lasting prosperity, ending the discrimination still faced by Aboriginal people in Canada and supporting the process of healing the harms of the past injustices.” They hope to accomplish this by removing the 2% funding cap, adding billions for education, increasing access to capital, and improving housing and safe drinking water on reserve. They also commit to work with Aboriginal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as non-governmental organizations to table legislation that will create goals and targets for poverty reduction. Their commitment to prevent violence against Aboriginal women also includes a direct federal response and funding commitments to related organizations. Overall, I consider this platform to be the most comprehensive of the three. It certainly commits to action on education, water, infrastructure, violence against women and poverty reduction. These are all very important issues, however there was very little detail on what nation-to-nation relations might look like, how treaties would be factored into the relationship, whether First Nation jurisdiction would be more fully recognized and implemented or whether outstanding land claims would be finally resolved. These are also critically important issues for Aboriginal peoples. Now, the question of how likely they are to follow through on their election promises is a tough one because they have never been in power either as a majority or minority government. This leaves us with only their actions in opposition to use as a guide. That being said, I think we can also use some of their other actions as a loose guide to future possibilities. The NDP have generally been very supportive of First Nations issues, have sided with First Nations against paternalistic legislative initiatives and spent time in First Nation communities both inside and outside of election campaigns. At the very least, their candidates show up to debates and other Aboriginal forums. All that being said, I do have some concerns that they were willing to trade off Sharon McIvor’s equality rights for the joint process to “talk” about status issues, as requested by the National Aboriginal Organizations. I can say from personal experience that the NDP worked really hard with many of us to draft amendments to better address gender inequality than what was presented in Bill C-3. However, at the end of the day they seemed to side with the Conservatives when passing Bill C-3 which included a provision denying Aboriginal women and their children any right of compensation for the last 25 years of denying their equality rights. This looms large in my mind. At the end of the day, I can only say that I am more hopeful than confident (60%) that the NDP would live up to their election promises as I don’t have enough to go by yet. Their platform is the best of all three, but if they never become the governing party, what does voting for them actually mean? I simply can’t get away from my fear that voting for the NDP is like giving a vote to the Conservatives which is like hoping Darth Harper and the Death Star will simply pass us by. I have not seen any credible analysis that argues otherwise. CONSERVATIVE ELECTION PLATFORM: http://www.conservative.ca/media/ConservativePlatform2011_ENs.pdf (1) New investment in First Nation Land Management to promote development of their land; (2) Expand adult basic education in territories; (3) Environmental safety upgrades to fuel tanks; (4) Promote clean energy; (5) Commemoration of War of 1812 celebrating First Nation veterans and others; (6) Work with Aboriginal people and others to create National Conservation Plan; (7) New national park in Rouge Valley and will try to talk to Aboriginal people and others; (8) Hunting Advisory panel that will include some Aboriginal people; (9) Will continue to work cooperatively with Aboriginal people, by enacting accountability legislation publishing salaries of chiefs; So, at first glance this looks like a rather long list of election promises for Aboriginal peoples. Even when you read the platform itself, much of it reads as a list of what they claim to have already done for Aboriginal peoples, as opposed to what they will do. You’ll also notice that the majority of the promises they do make are not at all specific to Aboriginal peoples, but we are “lucky” enough to be included in their plans. For example, the Hunting Advisory Panel, Rouge Valley National Park, National Conservation Plan, and Commemoration of the War of 1812, are all separate commitments that may include Aboriginal participation, but these promises are not specifically for Aboriginal peoples. The one glaring omission from their platform (of which there are many) is a lack of focus on education. Despite the endless reports and studies highlighting education as one of the main solutions to poverty in First Nations – there is no commitment at all with regards to Aboriginal Headstart, k-12 schools, or post-secondary education. Almost as an aside, they commit to expand adult “basic education” in the north and THAT IS IT! It is like they have heard National Shief Shawn Atleo’s calls for education and have completely ignored them. So, strategically, is it better for the Conservatives to have educated or uneducated Aboriginal people? I wonder…. What they do promise is to complete environmental safety upgrades to fuel tanks in northern communities. However, for those of you who practice in this area, you might know that many argue that INAC is liable for these fuel tanks to begin with and that any servicing they might do is part of a risk-reduction plan for their own benefit and not that of the Aboriginal communities. Their “promotion” of clean energy will likely not translate into basic funding to address mold and asbestos in houses, or the lack of safe drinking water and sewage systems in First Nations. These are really empty promises. So, then what is left in the platform? They promise to invest not in First Nations communities, but in land management to encourage First Nations to develop their lands. The English equivalent of this promise is the introduction of legislation to privatize reserve lands and open them up to commercial development and settlers. In case anyone thinks this is a new initiative, it is not. Remember Tom Flanagan’s book “Beyond the Indian Act” advocating for the privatization of reserve lands? That was the one promoted by Manny Jules of the First Nation Tax Commission and allegedly supported by federal funds (my ATIP request will hopefully provide some answers to this). Their second promise is to enact accountability legislation to make chiefs’ salaries public. Holy innovation Batman – is it me or does this sound like the reintroduction of Kelly Block’s Bill C-575? I’m sorry if I missed this, but what First Nation asked for this legislation? So, then this is not really a promise for Aboriginal peoples, but more of a political statement reiterating the Conservative position that they know what is best for First Nations and they will enact whatever legislation they want to control the Aboriginal population as they see fit. This leads me to my analysis of how likely they are to follow through on their election promises. I am VERY confident (90%) that the Harper Conservatives will fulfill their election promises to Aboriginal people for two reasons: (1) there are no real promises in their election platform and (2) the two promises they do make do not involve any expenditure of funds, nor do they have anything to do with Aboriginal priorities. I am also quite confident that I can use their past actions to predict their future actions Given my past blogs, there is no point in repeating the many, many past actions of the Conservatives in relation to Aboriginal peoples, so I will just highlight a few. Harper has not lifted the 2% funding cap and has never indicated any intention to do so. Harper has also not been interested in consulting and accommodating Aboriginal and treaty, but instead settles for “engagement” if any discussion at all. While he apologized for residential schools, the assimilatory polices upon which they were based, and for the past views of cultural superiority, Harper introduced a whole suite of paternalistic legislation against the will of Aboriginal peoples. For example, there was Bill C-575 (chiefs salary legislation cleverly introduced by a private MP), Bill C-3 (legislation that did not remedy gender inequality in the Indian Act and excluded compensation for women), Bill S-4 (matrimonial real property on reserve that provided more rights for settlers on reserve lands than for Aboriginal women), and Bill S-11 (drinking water on First Nations that promised federal control and increased regulation and no funding). We can expect more of this should Darth Harper gain control of the rebel citizens with a minority government and even worse should he gain control of the Empire with a majority. Overall, the Harper Conservatives have not made any promises to Aboriginal people, do not participate in debates on Aboriginal issues and continue to treat First Nations like sub-humans while he and his elite Cabinet group plan for a complete take-over. They do all of this with the arrogance of knowing very few will stand up to them. We have to take some ownership over this and demand that our NAO’s, leaders and ourselves do better. We also have to keep in mind that the Harper Conservatives are a collection of right-wingers, fringe groups and even some red necks. Harper had as his advisor Tom Flanagan, the man who advocated for our assimilation, called us primitive communists and tried to explain our First Nation property rights by citing studies of chimpanzees in his book. Collectively, chimps, especially adult males in small groups patrol the boundaries of their group territory and kill chimpanzees from other bands when they can achieve numerical advantage…. Individually, chimps also seek control over resources…” (emphasis added) Flanagan is like Brazeau in that he plays with words so that he can send his negative message about First Nations in a superficially “neutral” way. Is there any doubt that a Harper government is NOT good for our people? This is why, for those of you who vote, I ask that you consider your vote very carefully. Do you vote for the NDP because they have the best platform? Does voting for the NDP really risk a majority Harper government? I simply can’t say for sure. The Liberals are offering some education initiatives and little else, but at least they are not advocating our complete assimilation as do many of the right-wing Conservative party members and friends. So, then  Liberal vote might not be that bad. If someone were to ask me how they should vote, I would say NDP on platform, but Liberal to defeat Harper. It really is a difficult situation especially since for Aboriginal people, we may be voting, but all we are doing is picking our next Indian agent. I know there are only a few days left to think about it, but as you consider it, here is a neat website that argues that to defeat the Death Star, perhaps what needs to be done is vote strategically versus the ususal best platform or favorite party wins. Something to think about anyway… http://catch22campaign.ca/ I guess its all about the end game. Do we want more body bags and slop buckets sent to First Nations instead of dealing with the real crisis of poverty under a Conservative government, or do we want a chance to get democracy back and put our people, communities, lands and treaties back in the forefront of our nation-building activities as Mohawks, Cree, Mi’kmaq, Ojibway and Maliseet peoples?

    http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/first-nations-water-plight-needs-action-chiefs-120533874.html http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20090916/flu_bodybags_090916/ If a Harper minority government can do this to their own people, imagine what they would do with a majority government? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsogv4Bw5kM&feature=share For those who Aboriginal people who don’t vote, thanks for standing up for our sovereignty – we need our next generation to be as committed and assertive about our nationhood as you are. I think we’d all be alot further along if we put our sovereignty first. For those who do vote, thanks for trying to make a change for our people and for engaging in the debate to see how we can best use the vote to effect that change. As always, I welcome your comments, suggestions and emails.

  • 2011 Federal Election Platforms and NAO Positions – Woefully Empty

    Thanks for all your e-mails, texts, FB messages, and comments. I am encouraged to see so many people interested in the legal and political issues affecting our people. I know first hand that trying to sort out each political parties ACTUAL position on issues can be very overwhelming, confusing, and even impossible at times. There are so many political players out there saying one thing and doing another, or making promises that seem great but are not considered in the whole context, or even worse, saying things that have hidden meanings which are not so great. How are any of us supposed to figure this out? I do am certainly no genie who can know anything for certain, but what I do know is that our issues have no priority in this election – which is a shameful situation given that we are the First Peoples of this land and that so many Canadians live off the prosperity gained from our lands and resources. In my last blog, I provided a chart which compared how the platforms compared with my own list of important issues. I have now fully updated that chart with all the major parties’ platforms. https://pampalmater.com/2011/04/comparison-of-federal-parties-platforms.html I admit that this chart is not the best as blogger has certain space limitations, so I will try to summarize the platforms here in a more concise way: LIBERAL Election Platform: http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf (1) a partial removal of the funding cap on First Nation post-secondary education with an extra $200M in the first 2 years; (2) stable funding for First Nations University of Canada; (3) $5M  per year (for 3 years) for a Metis scholarship; (4) $300M for k-12 education in year 2; (5) Will continue support for Aboriginal Headstart; (6) Will create a First Nation Auditor General; (7) Will have an inquiry into the number of Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women; and (8) “Retain lessons and spirit of Kelowna process”. CONSERVATIVE Election Platformhttp://www.conservative.ca/media/ConservativePlatform2011_ENs.pdf (1) New investment in First Nation Land Management to promote development of their land; (2) Expand adult basic education in territories; (3) Environmental safety upgrades to fuel tanks; (4) Promote clean energy; (5) Commemoration of War of 1812 celebrating First Nation veterans and others; (6) Work with Aboriginal people and others to create National Conservation Plan; (7) New national park in Rouge Valley and will try to talk to Aboriginal people and others; (8) Hunting Advisory panel that will include some Aboriginal people; (9) Will continue to work cooperatively with Aboriginal people, by enacting accountability legislation publishing salaries of chiefs; NDP Election Platformhttp://xfer.ndp.ca/2011/2011-Platform/NDP-2011-Platform-En.pdf (1) Increase Canada Student Grants by $200 million, with focus on Aboriginal people and others; (2) Legislation to target poverty reduction in consultation with Aboriginal and other governments; (3) Recruit Aboriginal and other medical students; (4) Lower carbon future in partnership with Aboriginal governments and others; (5) New partnership with Aboriginal people on nation-nation basis; (6) End discrimination faced by Aboriginal people – access to capital, improve housing and drinking water, remove 2% funding cap and increase education budget by $1 billion a year over 4 years; (7) Federal response to violence against Aboriginal women and support funding their organizations; (8) Work with First Nations and provinces to add 2500 new police officers BLOC Election Platform: http://www.blocquebecois.org/dossiers/campagne-2011/documents/EnoncePolitique-Anglais.pdf (1) Establish nation to nation relations with Aboriginal Nations. GREEN PARTY Election Platform: http://greenparty.ca/files/attachments/vision_green_april_2011.pdf (1) Small scale project funding to restore wild fish stocks; (2) Greater role of Aboriginal people and others in managing fishery; (3) Encourage Aboriginal eco-tourism; (4) Work with Aboriginal people and others to extend land and marine protected areas; (5) End trophy hunting but protect Aboriginal and other hunters’ subsistence hunting; (6) Eliminate exposure of Aboriginal people and others to toxins; (7) No commercial seal hunt, only subsistence hunting by Aboriginal people and others; (8) No bowhead whale hunting for Aboriginal peoples or others; (9) Honour intent of land claims agreements; (10) Regulate all arctic activity, except traditional Aboriginal activity; (11) Restore $5.1B in funding and Kelowna Accord; (12) Create baselines for Aboriginal health; (13) End to policies of assimilation and strong support for health and education; (14) Will ensure governments and corporations respect 1990 Sparrow decision and that Aboriginal people be consulted and accommodated; (15) Nation to nation relations and no more shameful events like Oka, Calendonia etc; (16) Honour fiduciary duty and inherent right to self-government; (17) Implement treaties and land tribunal, respect Douglas Treaties of Vancouver Island; (18) Fully implement Royal Commission on Aboriginal People’s 1996 recommendations; (19) Promote Aboriginal culture, language and history as part of Canadian identity; (20) Set up task forces on violence against Aboriginal women and over-representation of Aboriginal peoples in the justice system; FIRST PEOPLES NATIONAL PARTY Election Platform: http://www.fpnpoc.ca/cgi-bin/news1.cgi?search_for=1302757723&action=’search’ There is no real platform contained on their website. However they have a two-pronged “vision” which includes: (1) Make Native studies courses compulsory in high school and university; (2) Abolish Senate and replace with elected First Nations House. So that is the overview of the party platforms with regard to Aboriginal peoples in Canada. There is also the English leadership debate that can be viewed online at CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/leaders-debate/# While I had fully intended to do a thorough debrief of everything said by the party leaders with regards to Aboriginal peoples, it turns out that Aboriginal issues were not raised or discussed. The SOLITARY comment made about Aboriginal issues was made by Jack Layton of the NDP at 1 hour and 30 minutes into the 2 hour debate. Layton commented that violence against women needs specific attention by addressing underlying issues like those raised by Aboriginal leaders around housing. That’s it – not a single word was raised by anyone else on any other issues specific to Aboriginal peoples. It was simply too brief to debrief. What about information and positions from our own National Aboriginal Organizations (NAOs)? I reviewed the websites for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Native Womens’ Association of Canada (NWAC), the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK); the Metis National Council (MNC) and even included the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) for good measure. While the AFN had the most information posted, CAP and NWAC’s websites were embarrassingly empty. The AFN provided information related to the AFN’s election platforms, questions they asked of the parties, a survey asking for feedback on election priorities, news releases and statements about election issues and a summary of the party platforms. http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/news-media/current-issues/2011-federal-election-first-nations-count-our-communities-our-nations-our They also provided an easy to read chart on how the party platforms measured up to the AFN’s priorities: http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/summary_of_2011_election_platforms_final.pdf The MNC has an “Election Page” which highlights the MNC election priorities, the questions they asked of the federal parties and the corresponding responses they received: http://www.metisnation.ca/2011election/index.html The ITK has one media release about the election questions it asked of the parties but no other information was posted. http://www.itk.ca/media-centre/media-releases/national-inuit-leader-delivers-11-questions-election-2011 CAP and NWAC on the other hand had nothing posted on their websites. In fact, if their constituents relied solely on their organisations’ websites for information, they’d be out of luck. CAP’s homepage has outdated information from October of 2010 and NWAC’s most recent announcement concerns the Joint Process for Bill C-3. These two organisations, which allegedly represent the majority of the Aboriginal population, and especially the urban Aboriginal population should be more “present” in the lives of their constituents. Even the NAFC has information posted on their website for urban Aboriginal people and they are not even a political organization: http://www.nafc.ca/nafc-federal-election-party-questions.htm For all those Aboriginal people that want to vote and want to be informed about the party they may vote for, I think we all need to help inform each other. I hope you all find this summary useful and if not, please keep emailing me about what you would like to see. With regard to my own opinions, I will be offering my commentary on these platforms in the days to come, but for now I will try to highlight as many resources as possible based on the questions and comments I get in the interim.

  • Comparison of Federal Parties Platforms on Aboriginal Policy

    Below you will find my chart of some of the election issues that are important to me and my family. What I did was compare what was important to us against the election platforms of the major federal parties. The first three issues are fundamental to First Nation-Crown relations and the most important to me. After that, the issues I listed are in no particular order, but are all important. If you are wondering why there are so many blank spaces in my chart -so am I. I have reviewed all the election platforms on all the parties websites and it is SLIM PICKENS when it comes to real meaningful promises or commitments for Aboriginal peoples. I wonder if the parties think that because Harper was so bad with Aboriginal issues that we are so desperate as to accept any promise, no matter how small? BLOC – The word “Aboriginal” only appears once in the Bloc’s platform and simply says they will deal with First Nations on a Nation-to-Nation basis.  http://www.blocquebecois.org/dossiers/campagne-2011/documents/EnoncePolitique-Anglais.pdf NDP – The NDP’s platform outline on their website lacks any details yet and there is no mention of Aboriginal issues – more to come I am sure. http://www.ndp.ca/platform FIRST PEOPLES – Even the First Peoples National Party has next to nothing on their website except for a call to abolish Senate and replace it with elected Aboriginal people and to ensure all schools and universities teach Native Studies courses. http://www.fpnpoc.ca/cgi-bin/news1.cgi?search_for=1301720468&action=’search’ GREEN – The Green Party commits to add $800M a year to federal funding for education, housing, and water. They also promise to have Canada implement UNDRIP as well as Kelowna. http://greenparty.ca/files/attachments/vision_green_april_2011.pdf PC – The Conservatives do far more boasting than offering any real substantial commitments to Aboriginal peoples. It ends up being more assimilation with a side order of paternalism with their tiresome focus on chief’s salaries. http://www.conservative.ca/media/ConservativePlatform2011_ENs.pdf LIBERAL – Then there is the Liberal Party, who has produced a detailed platform which does mention Aboriginal peoples. The Liberal promises are as follows: (1) a partial removal of the funding cap on First Nation post-secondary education with an extra $200M in the first 2 years; (2) stable funding for First Nations University of Canada; (3) $5M  per year (for 3 years) for a Metis scholarship; (4) $300M for k-12 education in year 2; (5) Will continue support for Aboriginal Headstart; (6) Will create a First Nation Auditor General; (7) Will have an inquiry into the number of Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women; and (8) “Retain lessons and spirit of Kelowna process”. http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf So, as the weeks go on and the parties speak more about their platforms and release more details, if they make any promises for Aboriginal peoples, I will add them to my chart. In the meantime, this chart should stand as a glaring reminder of how little attention our issues have received so far and to demand more from these parties. What is being promised so far leaves something to be desired. Perhaps if any of the parties are reading my blog, they might want to consider either including or beefing up their sections on Aboriginal peoples. We are the First Peoples of this land and our rights are constitutionally enshrined. We have treaties signed between Nations that have yet to be recognized and implemented. We also have a crisis in First Nation poverty caused by colonial policies of land and resource theft, denial of basic rights and freedoms and an active policy of assimilation. Until those issues are addressed, a few election promises won’t make much of a difference in the everyday lives of Indigenous peoples.

    Issue

    Liberals

    Conservatives

    NDP

    Bloc

    Green

    FPNP

    Nation-Nation Relations

    Honour FN vets in War 1812 commem.

    Yes

    Yes

    Yes

     Remove Senate, elect Abs

    Treaty Recog & Implementation

    Priority funds to enhance fish stocks, greater FN role, Land & treaty tribunal, respect douglas treaty

    Address Land Claims

    Invest in FN land management

    Eco-tourism for FNs, extend protect area, honour intent of land claims agrees, no extinguish

    Remove 2% Funding Cap

    Partial, $200M/2 yr

    Yes plus capital $ for business

    Implement Kelowna

    “lessons & spirit”

    Yes, restore $5.1B in funds

    “fight poverty”

    Increase PSE Funding

    FNUC stable $,

    $5M Metis scholarship

    Adult education in north, skills training in north

    Yes, $1B per yr for 4 years, grants for Ab students

    Yes *$800M/yr

    Increase k-12 Funding

    $300M in yr 2

    Yes

    *$800M, promote culture & language

    No,Native courses

    Proper Funds for Housing

    safety upgrades to fuel tanks in north

    Yes

    Yes

    *$800M

    Proper Funds for Water

    promote clean technologies

    Yes

    Yes

    *$800M

    Child & Family Equal Funds

    Reduce toxin exposure

    Make all Laws s.35 Compliant

    work in collab w FN re national conservation strategy, hunting advisory panel, respect economic groups

    Respect s.35, but no commercial seal hunt, no whale hunt

    Ab Headstart

    Will “support”

    Make all laws s.15 Compliant

    recruit more Ab doctors

    task force re Abs in justice system

    Fund FN police, fire & EMS

    No, but FN AG

     Murdered & Missing Ab Wom. Inquiry

    yes

    federal response to violence, funds for Ab women orgs

    FNs Lead Any Legislative Changes re FNs

    accountability legislation re chiefs salaries

    phase out Indian Act

    Implement UNDRIP

    Yes

    Consult & Accommodate!!!

    Consult with Abs in poverty legislation, lower carbon

    (c) Pamela D. Palmater

    I welcome all comments and feedback on this chart as it gets filled out – well, at least I hope it gets filled out. For anyone who is interested, the following link provides details on all the Aboriginal people running as candidates in the federal election for the various parties: http://www.mediaindigena.com/tim-fontaine/issues-and-politics/an-aboriginal-who%e2%80%99s-who-of-canadas-2011-federal-election

  • Conservatives’ Election Platform for Aboriginal Peoples is “Assimilatory”

    With all this talk of a possible federal election, I was wondering how long it would take for the three major national parties (Liberals, NDP and Conservatives) to start talking about their platforms in relation to Aboriginal peoples. Thanks to APTN National News, we got to hear a preview of their platforms last night. For anyone who missed the APTN panel, please go to the following link and watch it before you read my commentary: http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/02/04/aptns-mp-panel-back-in-business-but-for-how-long/ For those who don’t have video capabilities, I will briefly review the discussion. Appearing in this broadcast was Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, NDP MP and Aboriginal Affairs critic Jean Crowder, and Liberal MP and Aboriginal Affairs critic Todd Russell. The purpose of this panel was to discuss the possible federal election, whether the parties had a platform on Aboriginal issues and what their views were on First Nations tobacco industry and sovereignty. Here is an overview of what they had to say: (1) WILL THERE BE AN ELECTION? Russell – He was concerned with direction that the Conservatives are taking, i.e. billions in tax cuts to wealthy corporations and little for families and First Nations education. While they will try to work cooperatively, if the Conservatives don’t change direction, they will vote against the budget. Crowder – The issue is whether Harper will work with minority parties to make Parliament work for Canadians and substantial work needs to be done for Aboriginal communities. Brazeau – This Conservative government does not want an election and Canadians don’t want an election. Canadians want them to focus on the economy and creating jobs and training opportunities for Aboriginal people to “hold” jobs. (2) WHAT ABORIGINAL ISSUES ARE MOST IMPORTANT? Russell – Liberals have already spoken about their vision for Aboriginal policy going forward: (1) they would remove the 2% funding cap on post-secondary education, (2) substantial investments in Aboriginal education and k-12 system, (3) national response to murdered and missing Aboriginal women, and a (4) commitment to endorse UNDRIP which has happened. He also stresses that there must be a rebuilding of trust between government and Aboriginal peoples and criticized the Conservative government for their plans to get rid of communal property ownership on reserves and for their overall “assimilationist” approach to Aboriginal issues. Aboriginal peoples are not the same – they have legally protected rights. Crowder – When NDP develops platform on Aboriginal issues, they work with their Aboriginal Commission which is made up of Aboriginal peoples and they are working on running Aboriginal candidates in the next election. The larger issues are Nation to Nation status, inherent rights, treaties and other issues like education, health care and water. Brazeau – “There may be a disconnect” between the Conservative government and Aboriginal peoples in “some cases” but “the relationship is getting better”. The Liberals are just fear-mongering. Brazeau said he heard 5 years ago about the Conservative plans to take away First Nation rights and promote assimilation. He refers to their record: (1) residential schools apology, (2) funding for murdered and missing Aboriginal women and (3) UNDRIP. However, their focus is Aboriginal education and economic development. (3) HOW DO THE PARTIES VIEW THE TOBACCO TRADE BETWEEN SOVEREIGN FIRST NATIONS? Brazeau – The topic of “illegal tobacco” needs to be addressed. “Many of the tobacco shops on reserves” “are being used for other illegal drugs” and other “illegal things that are happening”. We have to start treating Aboriginal people equally with other manufacturers and store owners who sell tobacco”. Perhaps we need to start to “tax” them and their is a “role for the federal government in this”. Crowder – (1) There is a public health issue with the availability of cheap tobacco. (2) You have to control the supply of the raw product to control the manufacturing and (3) There are solutions like a First Nation tobacco tax imposed by First Nations and that goes back to First Nations. Russell – Aboriginal communities and the public have identified issues of health and economics. There are also issues of sovereignty, jurisdiction and treaty rights. We need to have these discussions around a negotiating table. So what we have seen in this panel on the part of the Conservatives is really more of the same. Brazeau accused Russell of fear-mongering when Russell said that the Conservatives were using an assimilatory agenda to make Aboriginal people the same as other Canadians and ignore their legally protected rights. Yet, Brazeau could not help himself when he later said that the Conservative goal was to treat First Nations the same as other Canadians. While the Conservatives try to dance around their ultimate agenda so that their assimilatory views do not look so overt, the fact of the matter is that this is exactly what they are attempting in their Aboriginal policy. You can look at any of their activities over the last few years and see the common thread of trying to making Aboriginal “the same” as everyone else and an almost complete rejection of their legally and constitutionally protected rights. For example: (1) Bill C-3 did not remedy gender inequality which leads to loss of status. In fact, Canada defended the second-generation cut-off rule despite the fact that it guarantees the legal extinction of First Nations. (2) Bill S-4 does not provide real access to justice for Aboriginal peoples living on reserve after a marital break-up, but it does guarantee land rights to non-Indians of reserve lands for the first time in history. (3) Bill C-575 does not address the severe poverty of First Nations that lead to their early deaths. It creates more reporting requirements for First Nations who already report more than any other entity in Canada. (4) There have been numerous studies, reports, commissions and inquiries that prove that Aboriginal men and women are incarcerated at a disproportionately higher rate than non-Aboriginal peoples and sometimes the cause is pure racism. Yet, the Conservative response is to spend millions building new prisons and hiring new corrections officers so they can house the increasing numbers which will effectively remove any remaining Aboriginal people (who are not assimilated through the Indian Act) out of society. (5) When the Native Womens’ Association of Canada identified an alarming number of murdered and missing Aboriginal women in Canada, the Conservatives cut the funding and poured millions into policing to help “all Canadians”. (6) When the Corrections Ombudsperson identified discrimination against Aboriginal offenders; the former auditor general Sheila Fraser identified inequality in funding critical services like child and family services and education, when the Ministerial representative for INAC noted that matrimonial real property legislation required consultation, when the UN identified numerous unresolved issues in Canada with regard to Aboriginal peoples, the response is always the same – there is no response. (7) Now it is reported that Canada is providing funds in one form or another to people like Tom Flanagan and Manny Jules to promote the privatization of reserve lands. No land = no community = assimilation. I could go on and on, but my blogs cover alot of this stuff. Brazeau focused on education and jobs – assimilating Aboriginal people into Canadian society, and no recognition of their special legal, constitutional and cultural status. It is the Flanagan-Cairns-Helin-Gibson-Widdowson-Canadian Tax Payers plan: Step 1 – underfund essential services so that First Nations off reserves, Step 2 – educate them in the Canadian system and put them in “regular” jobs and debt, Step 3 – entice individuals with financial incentives not tied to their community and villify their leaders, Step 4 – bleed off Indian women and their descendants through the Indian status provisions, and Step 5 – innocently promote individualism under the guise of equality. I am not saying that jobs or education are bad. In fact, I am a huge promoter of education so that we can build capacity to help heal our communities and rebuild our Nations. Having jobs and income to finance these projects are also essential. But I don’t agree with the requirement that we abandon our cultures, languages, identities, histories, legal rights, lands, communities, governments, laws, or treaties. The Conservatives hope to entice us down the path of assimilation “voluntarily” – but we have another choice. We can be Indigenous and educated. We can be Indigenous and own our own businesses. We can be Indigenous and have relations with Canadians. We do not need to give up our identities, communities and Nations to be entitled to demand fair treatment and respect of our rights. I have never been a voter myself, nor do I belong to any political party, but in recent years I have started to think that we need to take action on multiple fronts. I am still thinking about it, but the Conservatives are getting scarier as each year passes and their arrogance and paternalism on Aboriginal issues becomes more and more apparent. MP Todd Russell spoke of jurisdiction, treaty rights, and negotiation. MP Jean Crowder spoke of inherent rights, treaties and Nation to Nation relations. Brazeau preached about federal taxation of “illegal” First Nation business, the disconnected relation they have with Aboriginal peoples, and the need to treat Aboriginal peoples the same as other Canadians. Could the message be any clearer?