Accountability Now

I'm not making an argument. I'm stating a fact. A fact that you have always agreed with. A fact that is causing a mild issue because people don't believe that fact. Look at the article itself....http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/jason-kenney-tweets-first-nations-settled-1.3647656 The so called uproar is simply because the people that are offended don't believe in the fact that the First Nations were settlers at one time: The reality is that this wasn't an article condemning Kenney, it was an article discussing how these internet trolls were attacking him. So YES....calling out these internet trolls is part of the conversation because they are the reason for the conversation. Very simple. And so we are supposed to succumb to ignorance because these few internet trolls don't understand and are 'confused' about the actual history?

Read a number of the comments on various articles. Many people disclaiming the fact the fact that the First Nations actually were settlers at one point. Could be. But again what is wrong with saying it if it is factually correct? Does it bother First Nations to accept the fact they too were settlers at one point?

Yes...it must be since no one appears confident to actually challenge the factual validity of what he said.

Its hard to imagine him doing this after Prentice tried to ride in here and save the day only to be trampled on. Popular vote in the last election would suggest that united right would win the day but still there's that reminiscent smell of having some smug PC politician at the helm which may tip the scales again. I think that's why Brian Jean is getting the attention as of late. He doesn't offer that same pompous appearance especially during the Fort Mac fire where he lost his house and was camping in the region. If a united right happens under Jean then they will walk away with it. If Kenney comes in then there is still a decent chance they fall to the NDP.

That's only because the term 'settler' is a relative term. Relative in the sense that it is usually preceded by the group that is settling. (ie white settler, Jewish settler. The fact that it is not used with the indigenous is because our history does not cover their settlement patterns however history largely covers the Canadian/US settlement. With that said, nothing Kenney said was factually incorrect. The only reason its caused a stir was because many believe the indigenous were always here which would be factually incorrect.

But they were. https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=origins_native_peoples

Insurance typically only covers the cost for your possessions and for the house itself. It does not cover the land as you can rebuild on it. So if one chose to leave then they would have to sell the land, which might not be too difficult but does present a task.

Yes. You did

That is an excellent strawman smallC. Well done! Now by your logic, Trudeau should avoid doing anything important if it means people will criticize him for selfies. With that said, I've actually supported one of his 'selfie' moments when they were done for important reasons.

Actually the same complaint still stands....he should have been there a week earlier.

That's a good question. My brief look at the maps for pine beetle infestation don't show them in the Fort McMurray area. Not sure if they updated maps showing them in the area makes any difference though since this recent study claims that areas affected by pine beetle infestations don't show more intense forest fires, in fact they may actually reduce the severity: Pine beetle infestations reduce wildfire severity, study suggests

He probably would but the reality is it takes two to 'selfie'. I understand the public response/criticism to his popularity and resulting 'selfies' but at a time like this he needs to push aside the social media response and do the right thing. Again, there were at one point 11,000 people registered in the Northlands center but only 600 people were staying there. That number may decrease yet again by next Friday. His chance to do the right thing will have gone out the window by the time he gets there.

If helping people is 'in the way' then yes you are right. In that same tense, Trudeau was NOT in the way.

Does she not have a job in Ottawa? You keep spinning your wheels trying to back out of your bogus claim but no matter how you spin it, there is NO issue with logistics or safety if he were to only visit the evacuee centres. None. But keep trying.....

Not at the shelters. Rona Ambrose wasn't in the way. As per your linked article:

Ya...how about going a week earlier?

And so the worst thing that will happen is people might not get fed for an extra 10 minutes because he's there? You are REALLY stretching this one thin. Perhaps he should state why he's not going. He has stated why he's not visiting the front lines and I can accept that however I can't accept the weak excuses for not visiting the evacuee centres. Without a visit, people are coming to their own conclusions like family vacation getting in the way or his hatred for Alberta. The longer he takes, the more radical the conclusion. Trudeau is the LEADER of our country. Him visiting would provide LEADERSHIP to those who need it most right now. Within leadership comes hope, perseverance, and many other good qualities. Do you honestly believe there is nothing good of him visiting at this time. Coming in a few weeks will result in resentment.

Honestly....don't bring up photo op unless you are willing to talk about PM Selfie. I think we know who would win that argument. That being said, the idea of photo op shouldn't even be discussed right now. Do you think Brian Jean was looking for a photo op by sleeping in a tent after his house burned down?

Yes...I called every hotel. We are good.. There are hundreds of hotels in the Edmonton and surrounding area. The the largest and main relief centre had 600 people sleeping there which I estimate means there could be about 1000 people needing rooms. Of that its safe to assume many of those will be families and will share a room, so the number of rooms could be something like 600-700. That's 6-7 rooms per hotel at the most. Don't know if you remember...but the Alberta economy is not doing so well and hotels aren't booked up the way they used to be. Glad to see you were able to follow the math that I provided. There were 11,000 registered evacuees at the Northlands facility but only 600 needed beds. The reason why I posted that is to show that its feasible to actually consider putting these people into hotels if we wanted to. Its not like we are looking to house 30,000 as you suggested earlier.

Ok...he shouldn't be at the site that's being evacuated but why not at the evacuee centers in Edmonton, Lac la Biche or Calgary. What's the risk or harm or issue with that? He has been quoted as saying he would visit in the coming weeks which may be 'soon' in our books but probably will seem like a very long time to those who are homeless and dealing with everything that's happening. I'm trying to not to be partisan on this one but I do think that's crap.

In more recent news: Ottawa mulls recouping $1.8-million in housing funds from Attawapiskat

I agree that people would say it...just like they said that about Harper when he arrived in Kelowna for their fires. However, a good leader perhaps does what's right and not what's feared on social media.

You made the claim....you do the math. Which I know is VERY difficult for you and thus you deflect. I threw out an honest question and clearly you can't answer it. All I know is that you are ranting and raving about how the province has taken money from them, yet you can't tell me how much they have taken NOR can you justify the fact they actually received a whack load in 2011 which could possibly be an annual thing. Again your understanding of the treaties fails you. The treaties and subsequent Indian Act are with the Federal government and not provincial. Any money given by the province is external to that and is not OWED but rather given for a reason. Even in this case, the Province didn't take the money from Attawapiskat, they took it from DeBeers. However, they did give Attawapisakt 4.5 million for some reason.

I can agree that he shouldn't be visiting the fire area do to the risk but why can't he be visiting the relief centers where the actually evacuees are?

Here some facts of interest: http://globalnews.ca/video/2689073/city-of-edmonton-has-welcomed-an-estimated-14750-fort-mcmurray-evacuees From the video, there are 14,750 attended people at the Northlands facility in Edmonton however only 11,000 are registered using the evacuee services which include feeding them. More importantly, there are only 600 cots set up for people to sleep there. The vast majority have a place to sleep but don't want to burden the people with housing them with the task of feeding them. I don't know what the numbers are at other Edmonton relief centres but its safe to say they won't be as large as this one. So we're not talking 30,000 people going to hotels but rather around 1,000.