charter.rights

You are wrong, and most Canadians don't care. Your perceptions hold no reality.

Thanks Borg. You just provided a perfect example of the wrong thinking that is causing the problem, identified in my post.

The first step it seems is for them to decolonize their thinking- to get rid of the idea that competition and destruction represent progress. Once this happens then their victimization stops and they are able to recover some sense of who they are. Education and employment, while essential in today's society, isn't the end-all to being a good human being. Building character is much more important, and finding personal fortitude to shield them from accepting the status quo is necessary. First Nation people each have unique ways of dealing with things and even though we may think that hereditary government structures are non-democratic, we must first let them decide how to govern themselves, without interference. All the corruption that we read about (which is embellished for media sparkle) is based on our system of government imposed on reserve and if we think about they are just a microcosm of our own corrupt system. Only, since our government organization is much larger, corruption is more easily hidden from the public. The reality is that hereditary systems do work and can operate free of corruption, so long as our government stays out of the way. How? Just look at our own family structure - the grandparent to great grandchild is a hereditary system, often loosely governed by a older matriarch or patriarch. It works because it is based on a system of family love and respect. If natives choose a democratic system, then again it doesn't mean that because they choose something other than our corrupt oligarchy that it is wrong. Children are best cared for in their own communities. We used to once have a system like that where churches held a community together looked after each other. But today we have incorporated communities and instead of having concern for our neighbours, we let the state do it for us and then complain about the loss of power over what we have to decide ourselves. First Nations communities are so rife with social illnesses that it is difficult to find a community capable of looking after their own children. However, we must trust that they can, and provide the support (and money) needed to help each other. One thing we do know is that often when you are caring for someone else, our own problems don't seem to be so bad. And by allowing them the support and space to solve problems, it will build up self-esteem and self-worth - very necessary components of good character. So the short uncomplicated answer is to leave them alone, instead of constantly fueling the problem with our best solutions that are really based on benefiting our own special interests . There are details in which we can get lost, but until we understand the very basic problem - loss of community - we'll never be in a position to criticize.

There is justification in tipping the scales in the favour of minorities in order to restore an egalitarian system. However, the complaints of most Anglo-Saxon white males is one of losing power, not competing on an equal basis for the same jobs. Remove the white male interviewers and replace them with non-white females and it becomes clear that white male privilege was behind most failures of women and brown people to advance within tight corporate and government workplaces.

What you need to recognize is that taking children out of a poor situation without the support systems properly funded to effect change in the parents poor behaviors solves nothing. While it may take the children temporarily out of the way of harm through neglect, it simply perpetuates the illness of colonialism. The trauma of being removed from their families and their communties is sometimes just as harmful as leaving them there, since children of substance abusers often grow up to be abusers themselves, regardless if they have been put in foster care. In fact once removed, many native children end up in the justice system, behind bars as that other statistic. What we should be doing is offering them the space and education to deal with the issues in their own communities. Instead the government deliberately under-funds the social services on reserve and instead boost the funding of urban centres to deal with removal of children.

These are examples of the propaganda campaign that paint Native protesters as "violent" and "out of control". They are examples of the deliberate attempt by government and media to demonize people who stand up to government over the theft of their lands. I said earlier, that native children die (just like non-native children) to unfortunate circumstances. It does not mean that natives are poor parents, or that communities are failures as many would have you believe here. These are communities in crisis chock full multi generational residential school legacy psychosis and extreme poverty. While a Caucasian father who shoots his 3 children hardly gets a mention here, when a native father has an accident and his two children die an equably horrible death, the racists here pounce all over it as another example of why we should condemn the natives and force them into our mold of society. Does anyone even know about the non-native father that intentionally ran over his native wife with his pick-up truck while his two children were watching. It happened in Saskatchewan last fall and barely even made the news. The police investigated, took a statement from the husband who said it was accidental and close the case the same day, despite there being 3 eye witnesses that saw him not only run over her, but back the truck and run over her two more times! The family did their own investigation, since the husband had a restraining order against him he shouldn't have been within a mile of her or her children. At their request of the family the police re-opened the case and within a week closed it again, still without interviewing the eye witnesses. So where is the outrage at that? The children were old enough to understand what was happening and the oldest one was heard to plead with her father not to hurt her mommy! Where's the outrage. Where's the discussion on how non-native males are sometimes racist pigs? Where's the media and demands for child and spousal protection? It isn't news of course, because it was just another native woman - one of hundreds killed without investigation in Canada in the last decade. Her children deserve no better because, well their daddy is white and has the "privilege" afforded him by a predominantly white male society and is protect by that same predominantly white male police force in a p[province that is plagued with racism and indignant treatment of native people. However, I do realize how this is falling on deaf ears and how the closet racist will pop their heads out of their asses and yell "but, but, but....". If we just raise the issue to someone that cares, then we have one more person who will fight those in power and demand equal treatment under the law and equal opportunities to native people without all kinds of attachments that demand they be like us. Truth hurts - especially those who hide it to advance their genocidal agenda. Where is the outrage!

Looking backwards is imperative to understanding the problem and predicting the future behavior of the government. In spite of 150 years of oppression and genocide the government is still doing what it has always done. What I'd like to know is if anyone knows a time or place that the government has said that it is stopping its assimilation policies? Gawd, they won't even apologize for the past atrocities. Perhaps it is because they don't believe they were wrong. 127,000 children were forcibly removed from their homes during the residential schools. 50,000 or more of them were buried in unmarked graves and never return to their homes. The government knew that nearly 50% were dieing but continued anyway believing that the residential school's benefits outweighed the high death rate. Yet, today - this moment in time - 27,000 native children are in foster care, most of them forcibly removed from their communities with the support of the RCMP. The government refuses to intervene and refuses to fund the native child services, preferring instead to remove children without also offering assistance to the families in need. Nearly 70% of those children are being removed with the only reason stated as "poverty". When will the genocide end? When will Canadians stand up and protect children who have become the targets of the state and are being used as hostages to get their communities to assimilate and submit to the Canadian power system? If you care so much, then perhaps you would tell us what you have done to prevent this despicable theft of young minds?

OK, one more time: do status aboriginals pay income tax, like the rest of us?? Yes. 80% of status natives live off reserve and pay income tax, sales taxes and property taxes just like the rest of us. The 20% who live on reserve work income is not considered "income" and therefore not taxable. However, the unemployment rate on reserve can be as high as 60% and those that do work earn so little the even if they were required to pay tax, they would still be in the poverty bracket of the tax scale. The taxes we pay do not directly fund our services. They are "transferred" in the system, some to bolster have-not provinces and others to fund services that should otherwise be user-pay. The government has income sources that don't involve a tax base, including royalties paid on natural resources, investment of things like CPP and even EI, which is drawn from our paychecks as an insurance and not a tax. It also receives billions in excise taxes etc. Funding First Nations at the same rate as other communities is an imperative step in their recovery. How can you heal a cut when you can't supply a band aid? That would be the first step in healing. Once all of the poverty driven problems - those that the government is directly responsible for - then they can at least start working on solutions like economic development, sustainable resource management etc. However, while they are focused on poor wealth, undrinkable water, poor education and poor social services many First Nations become distracted with the dispair of poverty, and most give up. If we really want them to succeed then we have to offer sincere and honest driven hope. Lastly I don't give in to threats or conditions, so if you want to discuss this in a calm and informative manner, I'll be glad to engage you. However, if you continue with a pious stance, this will be the last sentence.

Taxes? I've answered it before. 1. First Nations generally receive only about $1600 per person per capita in funding. The average small town receives about $16,000 per person per capita. 2. Grand River Enterprises submitted over $120,000 million in federal excise taxes last year. Six Nations of the Grand River only received about $36 million back. 3. The majority of First Nations people live in urban centres and contribute income sales and property taxes just like the rest of us. Although the numbers aren't available it is likely that First Nations people off-reserve wholly support First Nations people on-reserve through their tax contributions. 4. Six Nations of the Grand is owed over $1 trillion dollars in a trust we hold on their behalf. The interest alone on that trust using INAC compounded interest rates is over $3 billion per year. 5. INAC's budget is about $8 billion per year and salaries and other programs that never reach First Nation communities use up $5 billion. If you do the math the three billion that actually does reach First Nation Band Councils pretty much equals the interest Six Nation is owed on their trust. That means that Six Nations is essentially funding all First Nations. 6. Natives do not receive education money. There is a lottery system, just like bursaries are awarded in the mainstream and only a few of the many on the wating list get to go to post secondary school. 7. Health programs are underfunded by as much as 80% despite Firs Nations communities having the highest percentage of health problems in Canada. 8. First Nation people are in jail primarily because they can't pay fines that ordinary Canadians get convicted with. The majority of FN prisoners are for minor crimes. 9. There are approximately 27,000 native children in foster care. Child services on reserve are underfunded by as much as 80% also despite child welfare being a greater issue than in any Canadian city. 10. Native people do not have the same access to capital for business. Because they cannot own their property (banned by the Indian Act) all land is held in common by the Band. Banks will not freely mortgage new house construction without underwriting by the Band which must maintain 100% of their liabilities in real money accounts. That means that any housing money they get doesn't build houses for those that need it and gets tied up for as long as the housing loans terms. 11. Business loans are next to impossible to get because a native's income isn't considered income, and therefore they have no credit rating. Banks will not lend to anyone with poor or no credit. So you see there are lots of problems that don't stem from the First Nations' people themselves - things they have no control over.

POP! Goes the weasel..... No. Us white guys are not discriminated against. People like you only think we are because the balance of power has shifted and you no longer call the shots!

But if outside of that, as we hopefully, are by now..... We are not outside of it at all. In fact the government is bent on controlling First Nations more today than 20 years ago. First Nations accounting is over scrutinized (according to the auditor general) and accountability on under-funding is a constant problem. First Nations are typically funded at less than 10% that we are in our towns and cities. Natives are over-represented in our jails and in foster homes. The genocide is still taking place albeit the government tries to hide that fact by calling it a "program". Natives are adapting and have always adapted. Progress is not possible because native people do not have access to capital to start businesses. Employment therefore comes from Band government "programs" or people must travel from their homes and families in order to find low-wage jobs. Education is key to building healthy communities for sure, but how can you get an education when you can't get loans and bursaries to get there? How can you get to a college or university when the secondary school system cannot teach them successfully? How can they finish high school when they have to quit to work and support their households? Poverty is an unending cycle. Many people are finding ways out of hit, but the government is often prone to try to keep them there. For someone who has probably not ever experienced the type and depth of poverty that First Nation people have, it is pretty smug to sit in judgment and suggest simplistic ways of dealing with their predicament. What happens is that smugness leads to making "programs" that seek to "improve" natives by removing their culture and community from them. Like I said earlier, most natives want to be left alone to find their way out of this mess with their own identity intact. Unfortunately do-gooders are too quick to make suggestions that have no basis in reality, just because in their pious position, life has been handed to them through privilege.

I've never heard of a white man FORCING some FN gangbanger to shoot innocents! When the government keeps reserves in an impoverish apartheid state, then people start to take the "I don't give a shit" attitude about life. That would include gang related violence that is as prevalent in our large urban centres as it is on reserve - maybe even more so. The fact is that there are a number of factors which you don't seem to consider that create those low-income neighbour hoods and our societal attitudes - those same colonialist attitudes - are to blame for our failings in this country. Somehow you don't want to listen to the straight answer as I suspected you are looking to bend it towards your own prejudices.

I corrected the link. I guess I had too many links open...

Still you aren't addressing the issue. There is no hostage taking and things are not getting more violent. If anything it is actually getting more peaceful as people understand the issues and the frustration that comes with them.. The lands occupied are adjacent to the town and the reserve. People can come and go as they please. Blocking a road is not a criminal act, either. Nor is proprietary estopple. It is a legal remedy to have the government live up to the law and our obligations under the agreements we made to share the lands. Maybe educate yourself before you make any more comments. You are starting to dig yourself into a hole.

Where do you get the idea that Natives are becoming "increasingly violent"? The media? The government propaganda perhaps? At Caledonia the only violence that occurred initially was when the OPP raided the site and then taser old women and some children, clubbing others and threatening force with high powered rifles. Same thing at Ipperwash and with the RCMP at Gustafen Lake (the later 2 being racially motivated). Later in response to an intrusion by the OPP and the US Border Control / ATF some warriors stopped their unmarked vehicle and order them off the reserve. The OPP laid charges of assault and attempt murder but the charges were recently dismissed as unfounded. Other clashes have occurred as a result of Caledonians holding "Friday night rallys" where they drove golf balls at the natives or yelled racial epithets towards the occupiers. There would not have been any issues if not for Calendonians' attempts to stir up shit. (which a few are still trying to do.) Other than a few rogue natives who punched somebody in frustration, the event has been relatively peaceful, considering it has been on-going for 2 years. As to other events in the news they too have been peaceful events. Erecting barricades across a road is not a violent act. It isn't "hostage" either. Just because a group doesn't agree with another, it doesn't give any group the right to hold another hostage. You haven't looked up the term "colour of right" have you?. If you did you would know that native do have the right to prohibit access to their lands, and to occupy and stop developmnet on lands they believe belong to them.

"Colour of right" Look up that term. It has some very interesting repercussions for "US". The church continues to deny the location of the burials despite admitting that native children died in their care and their bodies were never returned to their families. The Anglican church even shredded thousands of documents when it was announced their would be an inquiry into the deaths of children under their care. The church and the government are culpable and the only thing that is derogatory is the fact they continue to refuse to divulge the locations of these unmarked graves. Diplomacy doesn't work because the government is not honest in their discussions with native people. They not only deny legitimate claims but have their lawyers hold up those claims for decades, until the money runs out for the natives. And unless they are in our face, the natives' grievances will never be heard. There is no benefit to settle claims, or protect children unless WE pressure the government to do something about it. You call it "terrorism"? NO it is not. They have a colour of right to prevent development of their lands and to stand up to an oppression government, just as we all do. That you won't exercise that right to stand up against the wrongs is society just means that someone else has to do it for you.

"British Columbians need to know the investment that's made into this ministry and when it comes to aboriginal children, how poorly they've been looked after ... you know, as a chief, this could have been my grandchild. It could be any one of our children," said Betty Patrick, the band's chief. Members of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs pointed to the fact 77 per cent of children in government care in northern B.C. are aboriginal, including most who died in custody in recent years."

Blockades (or information pickets) raise awareness that there is a problem. Most of us wouldn't even have a clue that there were lands claims issues without formal protests taking place. How many of us would even know that our country and our churches stole 150,000 native children and buried half of them in unmarked graves. How many would have known that land that was never ceded to Canada has been used by us without compensation? Still, does anyone actually understand the extent of poverty occurring on many reserves? And do we really even care? Blockades and reclamations work for them. And since we are still stealing their children and denying them prosperity, what would you do if you were in their shoes and couldn't use the courts to seek fair treatment?

Within their communities they are talking responsibility for all kinds of things. However, they can't solve their problems while the government is still removing children from their homes and whisking them away to non-native foster homes. (more native children are in foster care today than all that went through the residential school system). They can't solve their water problems because the pollution comes from upstream where we have decided that it was the best place to locate our major industries. They can't solve their welfare problems because generally speaking the reserves don't have enough housing and therefore not enough workforce to sustain any of their own industries (save and except the ma and pop tobacco industry). They can't solve their food problems because we have polluted the land air and water and mercury, heavy metals and an abundance of chemicals have made it into their food chains. There are all kinds of initiatives being used on reserve to solve problems. But government interference continues to impose colonialism on them instead of letting them find their own solutions. We profit off their land, yet deny them a cut in the profits. We continue to mine for things like uranium on their territories and leave the tailings for them to deal with. Hell, we even dump our garbage on their land because we don't want it in our cities or rural areas. Then look at what has happened just in the last year with mining exploration, no consultation, education funding cuts, etc. We're still doing it to them. Just when they think they are getting ahaed, we pull the rug out from under them and manipulate their (read: the extension of our government) band governments by controlling their money, when in fact we owe them so much more monetarily than we could ever pay. No, what we are doing is the same thing we have always been doing. We are imposing our colonialism - our ways and our thinking - on them against their will. That isn't democratic rule, it is tyranny and oppression. They can't participate unless they act like us. Regardless, the tobacco industry as an example is a way for economic freedom. They are using profits to invest in more sustainable development, having been denied all their lives to capital and business opportunities because we seen them as non-people when they live on a reserve. And what is our response to the tobacco industry that once made cigarettes a multi-billion dollar a year business? We try to stop them. We raid their shops, steal their inventory and confiscate their vehicles. We label them as gangs so that the RCMP (and the OPP) can search without warrant, arrest them without cause and jail them until trial. No. We are the problem. Leave them alone and let them prosper. Get off their land and pay them what they are owed in full. Do you think for a minute that if Six Nations had the $1 trillion we owe them in their trust that we would really be worse off for it? Where do you think they spend most of their money?

The surviving Jews weren't subjected to colonialism. That is the difference.

Seems native people want to be left alone too. but the government cannot stay out of their business. There are traditional healing programs, and traditional justice programs that have proven successful. However, every time there is a successful model, the government interferes and destroys it with their program modifications and legal opinions. There is still a belief among the government and Canadians in general that unless native people look and act like us, they are worthless human beings. A wound will never heal if you keep picking at it. And in the words of Redjacket 1811, “Brother! – If you wish us well then keep away; don’t disturb us.” In 200 years we still haven't gotten right.

Wrong. It is the result of community wide familial dysfunction caused by genocide and residential schools. And if you are really interested in the children (and not just finger pointing at natives) then perhaps you will join the growing number of people demanding that the government and the churches come clean with the locations of more than 50,000 native children's graves that never survived the residential schools.... Canada's Holocaust Of course the survivors were subjected to rape, molestation, physical and psychological abuses and complete detachment from parental modeling that has passed as a legacy through countless generations. What we are actually seeing is the result of colonialism imposed on people against their will. We also find the same kinds of dysfunction occurring in many other colonized countries where aboriginal children were treated with the same kinds of abuses designed to improve them....

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I agree. For years the white Anglo-Saxon male has had far too power to the detriment of other non-Anglo Canadians. I am glad that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms removes that power and allows other whom the Anglos have oppressed with his tyranny, to participate in government and in corporate systems. The CPC knows that law and cannot go against it. Fortunately for those of us who know the law and support individual and collective rights, your opinion is worthless. And in spite of your ignorance on the subject I would suggest that race has nothing to do with it. It is all about law and historical evolution....but then again, if you knew the law, you would have already known that.

So in other words if you are going to abuse a public trust, make sure that it is private money and not public money. Now that's real Conservative leadership..... The CPC is as dirty as the rest of them.