*Originally published in Globe & Mail Feb. 27, 2020 CANADA’S INDIAN POLICY HASN’T CHANGED MUCH After the events of the past few weeks in Canada, one thing remains clear: Canada’s Indian policy hasn’t changed much since its inception. Indian policy has always had two objectives: to obtain Indian lands and resources and to reduce financial…
Continue reading…about Clearing the lands has always been at the heart of Canada’s Indian Policy
AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT ON CLEAN WATER IN FIRST NATIONS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had no problem finding $7 billion dollars to buy Trans Mountain oil pipelines – so, where’s the money to pay for clean water pipelines in Indigenous communities? It may be hard to believe, but many First Nations in Canada still lack access…
Continue reading…about Canada Fails Again: First Nation Communities Without Clean Water
RACISM IN BC HEALTHCARE Imagine living in a country, where hospitals refused to treat you for a stroke, because the doctors and nurses assumed you were drunk? Imagine further, that the emergency room doctor refused to treat your young child for epilepsy, because they assumed she was on drugs? Well folks, that country is Canada….
Continue reading…about In Plain Sight: Widespread Racism in BC Healthcare
Today, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer made the shocking statement that protestors and activists need to “check their privilege” and let people whose jobs depend on the railway systems get to work. In this case, it is Scheer who needs to check his own privilege. His comments appear to be racially motivated as the people occupying…
Continue reading…about Check your White Male Privilege Andrew Scheer
(Public domain image) Canada’s colonial objectives have always been to clear the lands…
Continue reading…about Overincarceration of Indigenous peoples nothing short of genocide
(Picture by Pam Palmater, Rally for Justice for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls in Winnipeg) This article was originally published in The Lawyer’s Daily on May, 28, 2019. “Her life mattered. She was valued. She was important. She was loved.” R. v. Barton [2019] S.C.J. No. 33. Cindy Gladue was an Indigenous woman…
Continue reading…about Justice system still not protecting Indigenous women and girls
(Pam Palmater, photo by Ben Powless) As expected, the Assembly of First Nations was first out of the gate offering glowing praise for this Liberal government’s federal budget, followed shortly thereafter by the Metis National Council and…
Continue reading…about Federal Budget 2019: Indigenous Women and Children Left Behind – Again
(Photo taken when I marched in Trump Protest in NYC) Donald Trump shocked countries around the world when he won the election for President of the United States of America (USA) on November 8, 2016. Trump was formally elected as the…
Continue reading…about Trump’s “Crazy Town” Represents a Clear and Present Danger to Canada
(Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp, Wascana, Saskatchewan, 2018) Saskatchewan is known as the “land of the living skies” for its breathtakingly colourful northern lights. It is also one of the most beautiful prairie-provinces in Canada, with stunning purple sand beaches and the incredible Sahara-like Athabasca…
Continue reading…about Saskatchewan: The Land of Living Skies and Lethal Racism
The violent deaths of Colten Boushie in Saskatchewan and Tina Fontaine in Manitoba hit their families, communities and First Nations pretty hard. These were youths who had their whole lives ahead of them. The fact that deep-seated institutional and societal racism and violence against Indigenous peoples is what led to their deaths is a glaring…