Topic: Call for CF to help First Nation (merged)

[Canadian.Trucker]

Taken from CBC News Posted: Dec 2, 2011 11:23 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/12/02/attawapiskat-chief-friday.html

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that First Nations communities must develop "strong, accountable" systems of self-government in the long run, as Ottawa grapples with a housing crisis in the remote First Nations community of Attawapiskat.

Local leaders in the Northern Ontario town of 1,800 declared a state of emergency about a month ago, as winter moved in and some residents were living in unheated tents, while many others suffered in crowded, substandard housing.

The crisis has propelled the issue of living conditions in First Nations communities onto the national agenda, and will likely be a hot topic during scheduled talks between the Crown and aboriginal leaders on Jan. 24.

Harper's long-term goal is to see "strong, accountable systems of self-government for aboriginal communities," he said Friday during a press conference in Burlington, Ont.

"I think we all realize we're not going to get there in one giant leap, but I continue to look forward and continue to enjoy working with Chief Atleo and other communities to move us in that direction," he told reporters.

Harper's comments came a day after he met with Atleo, who called the upcoming meeting with aboriginal leaders an opportunity.

"We can perhaps consider this moment and the idea of us gathering as a moment to reset the relationship between First Nations and the federal Crown," Atleo told the prime minister.

Federal intervention
Meanwhile, the federal government has placed Attawapiskat under third-party management, meaning that the community's finances have been taken out of the hands of the local band council.


What's third-party management?

The federal government has put Attawapiskat First Nations under third-party management. Here are five things to know about the government's intervention policy and Attawapiskat.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has said the move allows Ottawa to take immediate action to address the housing crisis and health and safety issues.

The intervention has angered the chief of Attawapiskat, who called it "mere political deflection.”

In a statement issued Thursday, Chief Theresa Spence said, “It is incredible that the Harper government’s decision is that instead of offering aid and assistance to Canada’s First Peoples, their solution is to blame the victim."

"This rationale is mere political deflection as the conditions cited by the department are present in numerous other First Nations communities," said the statement from the chief.

Emergency response
Duncan said that on an emergency basis “there is adequate clean, dry available shelter with running water and electricity available in the community.” A healing centre, sportsplex and other buildings could house people in need of shelter “today,” he said on Thursday.

The healing centre, however, is about five kilometres out of town on a rough road, reported the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault in Attawapiskat, and the building does not have running water or phone lines.

“When that statement was made yesterday, people here in Attawapiskat said, ‘Today? Really?’ It is a lot more complicated than just saying there is a building, there are people, put them in, let’s go, we’re done,” said Arsenault. “You are dealing with elderly people and children, and this will take some time.”

Attawapiskat’s chief said the government’s notification it was appointing a third-party manager was delivered by an official who interrupted an emergency planning team “in the midst of implementing a strategy to assist people living in tent frames and shacks.”

The statement from Spence and the council alleged that third-party managers in other First Nations in Canada “are allowing similar conditions to exist while offering little or no [aid].”

For almost 10 years, the band has been under co-management, an administrative system in which the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AAND) and the band agree on a co-manager who is paid by the band and gets signing authority for all accounts containing AAND funding.

Under third-party management, all funding goes through a manager appointed by the department to administer it. The manager, whose salary is paid by the band, decides which band staff are required to run its programs and services.

The band's co-manager, Clayton Kennedy, has acknowledged being in a romantic relationship with the band's chief, Spence. But he has denied there is any conflict of interest.

Spence said the funding the community receives leaves residents “well below the poverty line.” She said the First Nation had “completed all of the necessary reporting requirements of [Aboriginal Affairs]…If the government of Canada wishes to re-examine the audits previously accepted by the department, the First Nation will welcome, and co-operate fully with the exercise, and the true costs to operate in a remote northern environment will be quantified.”

Spence noted the presence of a diamond mine located about 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat on traditional lands, “the pride of the Canadian and Ontario governments, as well as De Beers Canada.…While they reap the riches, my people shiver in cold shacks, and are becoming increasingly ill, while precious diamonds from my land grace the fingers of Hollywood celebrities, and the mace of the Ontario legislature.”

I fully agree with accountability required for the First Nations leaders needing to be accountable for the funds they're given.  As it is there is little to no accountability when money is transferred to these communities, and in some cases you have rampant corruption.  I will not name names or lable communities, but there are some Council leaders that live in homes worth over $1million dollars in Thunder Bay while their communities suffer.  In other cases money is simply mismanaged and not used in the way it should be to help the community.  While this is not the case in all places, it is a systemic problem as every two years a new leader and council is voted in and it turns into a popularity contest.  It's commonly referred to as the "two year cash grab".

The last line sparks some outrage as many in the local communities have benefitted heavily from the mines being in existence.  They are given jobs and the communities do receive benefits from the mines being there, one of which is having their winter roads fully maintained by the company's that use them on a regular basis which is a large cost saver.

As for the housing issue, there have been incidents where a new home was given to residents in communities and they didn't like it for whatever reason so they refused to move in until given a better one more to their liking.  I wish I could provide you with concrete examples, but I don't want to implicate names and specific communities as it is a rather touchy subject.

Moving forward on fiscal responsibility is the way to go in the end so that the communities can receive the funding they require, and the government can have transparency with Canadians as a whole on how their taxes are spent.  All Canadians regardless of geographic location are entitled to certain rights.

[Bass ackwards]

First of all, this should probably be in Canadian Politics or some other such thread.
Secondly, this may well turn into a bun fight and get locked before very long.

Having said all that, you're absolutely right, Trucker.
In my experience, no one -absolutely no one- can screw over Indians better than other Indians. Custer, Sheridan et al would be envious.

Accountability ain't gonna happen though. They can freeze, starve, die of disease, commit suicide en masse, or just fade off the radar... the compassionate crowd in Ottawa Just. Doesn't. Care.
They care about not being accused of racism. They care about being in power. And if a bunch of sad, sorry, perpetually ****** over people have to suffer for that..well, the ends justifies the means -doesn't it ?

I'll be blunt and admit that a decade and a half of living in places like Sioux Lookout and Thompson has seriously whittled away my sympathy for aboriginals, but yeah, they're getting screwed. They will continued to get screwed -by their own- and nothing will be done about it. Mr. Harper and his party may try - but they'll be hauled down by the CBC, the Libs, the NDP and the band chiefs.
More of yours and my tax dollars will be sent -that's the solution after all, isn't it ? And the cycle will continue.

Cynical, I know, but hey, there it is.     

[dapaterson]

The very existence of a department of "Aboriginal Affairs" is representative of the great national failing.  (I once read a rather telling suggestion:  compare the homes of the senior ADMs in that department with the average homes of those their department is intended to help.)


Indeed, the needs and concerns of first nations / Métis / Innu and other groups vary widely - the needs of the Dene differ from those of the Sto Lo which differ from the concerns of the Mohawks; within the Mohawks there are significant differences between largely urban Kanewake and trans-national Akwesasne.  There is no "one size fits all" solution.

[MJP]

They care about not being accused of racism. They care about being in power. And if a bunch of sad, sorry, perpetually ****** over people have to suffer for that..well, the ends justifies the means -doesn't it ?

Bang-on

I was bored at work and decided to see what our friends at Rabble.ca had to say about the issue.  I was reading this topic here.  There were some good bad, some bad and a bunch of itsharpersfault posts.  Nothing out of the norm for a rabid left forum.  Then came reply #44 which basically said that some residents are glad of the audit and 3rd party control (which I also heard via interviews).

That somehow was racist posting that and the next 10-20 posts where nothing but dogpile on the poster.  It was disgusting how fast they trip over themselves to accuse folks of racism when it comes to sensitive matters like this.  It seems that making people accountable for taxpayer money if they are not of the predominant "race" in this country is racist. 

My thought is that a large part of the problem is apathy within the native community at large to demand change from their people in how they are managed and governed.  The governments at all levels have made mistakes, I fully admit but to continue to play the "woe is me card" is starting to get tired.  Start making your people work for you rather than blaming the rest of Canada for all your problems.

[Technoviking]

Because we treat them differently from other human beings we call Canadians, they will suffer.

frig the entire racist policy of the department of *whatever the current politically correct term for the various tribes of Canada is* affairs, and disband it.  Treat them exactly as they treat me, you, and every other Canadian.  And hold them equally accountable.  Problem solved.

[Staff Weenie]

So, approx $90 million in funding provided over the last six years, for a pop of 1,800. That comes to approx $8,333 per person per year. I wonder how that equates to the provision of federal funding per person in other locations.

That said, I really have little to no sympathy at all - how many generations of welfare do we have to pay for? Their honoured ancestors were never, ever, so pathetically foolish and unmotivated - if there were no resources in a region, they moved. They didn't wait for somebody to fix their problems, they looked after themselves perfectly well. I refuse to accept any personal responsibility for their condition, neither myself or my family have done them any wrong, and I'm tired of them trying to blame every other Canadian for events generations in the past - get over it and make something of yourselves.

[Danjanou]

First of all, this should probably be in Canadian Politics or some other such thread.

Done

Secondly, this may well turn into a bun fight and get locked before very long.

Lets try and prevent that shall we.

Milnet Staff

[Retired AF Guy]

Because we treat them differently from other human beings we call Canadians, they will suffer.

frig the entire racist policy of the department of *whatever the current politically correct term for the various tribes of Canada is* affairs, and disband it.  Treat them exactly as they treat me, you, and every other Canadian.  And hold them equally accountable.  Problem solved.

Hear, Hear!!

[Brad Sallows]

At cbc.ca/news, I found this gem:

In a statement issued Thursday, Chief Theresa Spence said, “It is incredible that the Harper government’s decision is that instead of offering aid and assistance to Canada’s First Peoples, their solution is to blame the victim."

Translation: It pisses us off that the Harper government’s decision is that instead of offering more funds without strings, their solution is to demand and enforce accountability.

[Haggis]

Translation: It pisses us off that the Harper government’s decision is that instead of offering more funds without strings, their solution is to demand and enforce accountability.

That can't be a Google translation.. Google isn't that astute.

[DBA]

Natives want the trappings of modern and native societies without being part of modern society. That hasn't worked in the past and won't work in the future. They have to find some middle ground where they assimilate enough to get what they desire of modern society while retaining a lot of the native culture they value. In the past forced assimilation had others making the choices for them. Now they are free to make the choices themselves but make them they must. Some reserves have made the choices and a lot have been successful, others haven't and are not.

[Rifleman62]

Has anyone reported, (the CBC, Angus, et al), the results of visiting the Chief, former Chief or Band Councillors residences (both on and off the reserve) or did they look for tents/shacks and visit thoes?

[Michael O'Leary]

Warmington: Send the army to help Attawapiskat

By Joe Warmington ,Toronto Sun

Military compassion has proudly assisted other countries in crisis and is now urgently needed in our own.

When it comes to troubled Attawapiskat there will be plenty of time for investigations, accounting of misused taxpayers’ money and political score settling.

But having just been there Saturday, John Tory says there are more pressing needs.

“We need to mobilize and we need to do it now,” the Newstalk 1010 host and former provincial Progressive Conservative leader said Sunday.

With below freezing temperatures, and squalid conditions felling the people of Attawapiskat, there is no time to waste.

“I suggest deploying, unarmed, and for logistical tasks only, the Canadian Rangers branch of the Canadian Forces working with the experts we know they have on board,” Tory said.

For the same humanitarian reasons that Canadian military personnel were deployed to earthquake ravaged Haiti, Tory’s assessment is they could really help in the remote village of about 2,000 in Ontario’s north, next to James Bay.

“The Canadian Rangers are a part of the Canadian Forces with a largely aboriginal membership who help maintain patrols in the far north,” said Tory. “I would put them together with a Hercules aircraft or two, a helicopter or two — and their fantastic track record of logistics and getting relief in places which our Canadian forces have demonstrated over and over again in country after country.”

Excellent idea.

More at link.

[ballz]

I used to be part of a non-status band, but now that they've gotten status and all of a sudden everybody wants to be part of the band so they can milk the benefits (and they are milking the tits off the cow, let me tell ya), I've reneged on that. More importantly, I always grew up proud of my roots and loved the cultural aspects of being Mi'kmaq. Anyway, a lot of aboriginal issues hit close to home for me.

I don't know whether Attawapiskat needs military intervention, but what sticks out to me is the idea of sending the Canadian Rangers so that there is an "aboriginal face" showing up.

Why? If we're going to send in the Canadian Forces, why can't we send in the the Canadian Forces and all it's white, brown, black, red, male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, transexual, transgendered, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Athiest people.

We are all Canadians aren't we? Why not show that to the First Nations people in Attawapiskat, and let them know that they are, too.

[1984]

I used to be part of a non-status band, but now that they've gotten status and all of a sudden everybody wants to be part of the band so they can milk the benefits (and they are milking the tits off the cow, let me tell ya), I've reneged on that. More importantly, I always grew up proud of my roots and loved the cultural aspects of being Mi'kmaq. Anyway, a lot of aboriginal issues hit close to home for me.

I don't know whether Attawapiskat needs military intervention, but what sticks out to me is the idea of sending the Canadian Rangers so that there is an "aboriginal face" showing up.

Why? If we're going to send in the Canadian Forces, why can't we send in the the Canadian Forces and all it's white, brown, black, red, male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, transexual, transgendered, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Athiest people.

We are all Canadians aren't we? Why not show that to the First Nations people in Attawapiskat, and let them know that they are, too.

Best post ever.   

[medicineman]

I'm still trying to figure out what the Rangers will able to bring to bear in way of logistics and such...beyond an Aboriginal face.  Sounds like what they need is engineer support to help sort out infratructure issues as well as folks to distribute supplies.

Please don't get me going about hyphenated Canadianism stuff...

MM

[Scott]

ballz, sometimes I think you tread jump up and down on yours. But that was a great post, thanks.

[PanaEng]

I used to be part of a non-status band, but now that they've gotten status and all of a sudden everybody wants to be part of the band so they can milk the benefits (and they are milking the tits off the cow, let me tell ya), I've reneged on that. More importantly, I always grew up proud of my roots and loved the cultural aspects of being Mi'kmaq. Anyway, a lot of aboriginal issues hit close to home for me.

I don't know whether Attawapiskat needs military intervention, but what sticks out to me is the idea of sending the Canadian Rangers so that there is an "aboriginal face" showing up.

Why? If we're going to send in the Canadian Forces, why can't we send in the the Canadian Forces and all it's white, brown, black, red, male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, transexual, transgendered, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Athiest people.

We are all Canadians aren't we? Why not show that to the First Nations people in Attawapiskat, and let them know that they are, too.

CHIMO!

[Thucydides]

Sending in the engineers is applying a pressure dressing rather than a band aid, but still will do little to resolve the issues of corruption and mismanagment that the band is suffering under. No one can sit there and claim that $80-90 million dollars was "spent" on the people in the reservation; a cheque was sent but where did the money go afterwards?

Ballz has it right about the milking of the cow...

[jasonf6]

I'll agree with sending in the Canadian Rangers as an aboriginal face to the operation but maybe some Engineers to shore up/build a proper water & sewer system.  But what they really need is an accounting firm to find out where that $90-million over 6-yrs has gone. I'm not math whiz but that much money should be more than enough to provide the services they require.  And the money hasn't stopped as Im sure they get annual payments. 

It's been reported that there are A LOT of First Nations Chiefs making in excess of $300,000.00/year which is FAR too much seeing as the PM doesn't even make that much and he runs the country (though some may disagree ). 

I don't think we can sit idly by but there is a much larger picture to look at also.

[GAP]

The major trouble I see with this is the precedent that would be set....kinda like clearing Toronto's snow......

[Rifleman62]

All salary is tax free.

[jasonf6]

The major trouble I see with this is the precedent that would be set....kinda like clearing Toronto's snow......

That's what I am thinking as well.  Although, the military is there for operations, both foreign and domestic. 

[CDN Aviator]

  Although, the military is there for operations, both foreign and domestic.

That does not mean that everything is an operation for the military.

[jasonf6]

That does not mean that everything is an operation for the military.

True enough, maybe operation isn't the word to use.  What would you call it?