First nations patiences waning

[WIP]

Yes, we're all going to die.

I'm betting that most people here will be too stupid to realize something is wrong with the way things are going now until it's too late.

[Smallc]

I'm betting that most people here will be too stupid to realize something is wrong with the way things are going now until it's too late.

Yes, we're all too stupid to see things your way. I am quite confident that technology will solve our problems, as it always has in the past. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to minimize damage, but it does mean that we shouldn't stop progress.

[Canuckistani]

Don't know what this has to do with Indigenous Peoples - they're not going to save the earth any more than we are. The wan the same crap we have, they just use "we're the guardians of the earth" as an excuse to extort more money. How can they get more money from a country that greatly reduces economic activity - we'd all have to go back to living in tents. Most of us would die. If IP's are so set on going back to the old ways, let them, let them live a stone age existence. It won't support but a handful of them. But then they don't want that. They want what the evil white man has, just given to them on a platter instead of working for it. "Your rent check, sir." I mean the complaint is that they don't benefit enough from the economic development carried out by Second Nation's people. How do they expect to benefit from that development is they want to shut it down?

Edited January 6, 2013 by Canuckistani

[WIP]

Yes, we're all too stupid to see things your way. I am quite confident that technology will solve our problems, as it always has in the past.

No, it hasn't. When technology impacts the environment, it provides temporary bandaid fixes to problems that require the development of counter-technnologies to keep fixing the problems of previous tech solutions. the proposals to geoengineer our way out of global warming would be a case in point.

The problem is that every new technology proposed is put to use unless there are obvious harms that may be caused - like nuclear power plants - otherwise the new tech solutions go into production, and it's not until years later that an assessment is made of what the damages may have been....and by that time the collective wisdom is 'too late to stop it now, better invent another technofix to solve the problems.'

[Smallc]

and by that time the collective wisdom is 'too late to stop it now, better invent another technofix to solve the problems.'

Yes, and so we do and we move on.

[WIP]

Yes, and so we do and we move on.

We are fast reaching a point where that's not working anymore. There are limits to growth after all. Especially when mother nature tells us that the collective toilet is backed up and we're starting to feel the effects of trying to use the environment as a giant garbage dump. There's no more moving on....now it should be a time of reckoning; and anyone who is advocating ways to live sustainably in a no growth economy, has to be taken seriously.

[g_bambino]

Except that these aren't regular landowners... [A]ccording to the Government and the corporations they take orders from, it's time to move them off the land, or just start developing treaty lands anyway, and declare the operations perfectly safe....even if it means creating giant tar sands tailing ponds.

I didn't say they were regular landowners; I said they are entitled to negotiate the terms of a sale as much as any other landowner. It's in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and a number of other treaties, all of which are now part of the constitution: the lands reserved for Aboriginals is theirs until they choose to sell it. If First Nations are getting "ripped off" in deals made with companies that want to buy reserve land, it may well be the First Nations representatives at the bargaining table who are failing them.

We would see how fast the Government would be leaning on local chiefs, and making veiled threats, if not overt threats, to reduce services, or do whatever it takes to get deal signed, and the natives are handed a few trinkets as compensation!

Creative; but ficticious.

[Bryan]

the only reason why I started to wade in here was because I seen a need for some sort of pushback against the majority at MLW who are constantly bashing natives, and usually don't have a clue about the issues at stake.

Who is "bashing natives"? A majority? Come on.

[eyeball]

An awesome article. I don't give Jeffery Simpson enough credit.

Of course, there are some communities that offer the antithesis of dependency. They benefit from participating directly in the exploitation of natural resources near their communities, which should be the driving thrust of all public policy.

That policy sometimes dispossesses or excludes others from an opportunity to participate and I would suggest that if this should be the driving thrust of all public policy that it will eventually cause deep animosity to develop between natives and non-natives. It's worth noting that native people are the fastest growing demographic in Canada. Just how far down this road do you think we can go before you come to an eventual dead-end cul-de-sac in which there are simply not enough resources to go around? We're practically there now with some species of fish and other wildlife why not water, oil and minerals too one day?

[westguy]

canuckistani you hit the nail on the head. The Fraser Institute concluded that Attawaspiskat had 4 times the funds compared to non- aboriginal communities from government grants and mineral resources ( diamond mine). The fact they want more is typical, but laughable. In typical fashion, the aboriginals always demand more government funding and are unaccountable for the funding they currently receive and they cry "racist" when someone objects. A few years the auditor-general gave a report that found that they had not accounted for $500M of gavernment grants. They are the ultimate hypocrits. I have often seen them in BUSINSS CLASS seats on flights to Las Vegas. Sympathy for the nativess - you've go to be kidding

[jbg]

Sorry, but I gotta put you on the ignore list.

Why would you come to a board where everyone agrees with you? Unless you are some typical totalitarian band leader.

[Sleipnir]

Attawapiskat audit finds 'no evidence of due diligence'

The accounting firm hired to audit the finances of the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation reserve in northern Ontario says there is little or no documentation for millions of dollars spent by the band, CBC News has learned.

The unreleased audit was requested by the federal government to ensure that the approximately $104 million it provided to Attawapiskat between April 2005 and November 2011 was spent as it should have been.

CBC News has obtained a copy of the audit. The funding was intended for housing, sewage, education and other services.

In a letter dated Sept. 20, 2012, that was written by Deloitte to Chief Theresa Spence and copied to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, that auditing firm says that of 505 transactions reviewed, more than 400 lacked proper documentation.

The letter says "an average of 81 per cent of files did not have adequate supporting documents and over 60 per cent had no documentation of the reason for payment."

The letter to Spence also says there is "no evidence of due diligence on the part of Attawapiskat of funding provided by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for housing projects and Health Canada for health-related projects."

See more at

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...dit-monday.html

Edited January 7, 2013 by Sleipnir

[TimG]

"an average of 81 per cent of files did not have adequate supporting documents and over 60 per cent had no documentation of the reason for payment."

I am curious what would happen to a non-native city manager that dispensed millions without keeping a record of what the money was spent on. I would expect immediate termination and possibly jail time. Of course, the native apologists will likely tell us that we are dealing with natives and we can't expect them to live up to such standards because proper book-keeping is offensive to aboriginal culture... Edited January 7, 2013 by TimG

[Keepitsimple]

I'll be curious to see if CBC's Power & Politics will present THIS story with as much enthusiasm as they've been using to portray Theresa Spence as a courageous martyr. In retrospect, Theresa Spence is putting herself out there for all Canadians to see - a perfect example of why some reservations are failing their people so badly. In doing so, Canadians will rally around Harper's request for more transparency and accountability.....and in the end, it could very well be the single most important step that Canada and First Nations have taken together since Confederation. If the CBC could put aside their resentment of all things Conservative, they could play an important role in this story - and all they have to do is professionally report the facts, research similar issues on other reserves, and manage a storyline that actually has some substance.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Keepitsimple

[Michael Hardner]

If the CBC could put aside their resentment of all things Conservative, they could play an important role in this story - and all they have to do is professionally report the facts, research similar issues on other reserves, and manage a storyline that actually has some substance.

KIS - you DO realize that it was the CBC that broke this story don't you ?

[Keepitsimple]

KIS - you DO realize that it was the CBC that broke this story don't you ?

Yes, I do......but there's a difference between reporting the results of a government audit - which in the normal course, they HAVE to do.....and actually RUNNING with the story (on Power and Politics) which should now be a continuous main thread of any news relating to Theresa Spence - and it should form a major thread in the continuing journalistic dialogue relating to the relationship between First Nations and the Federal Government. We'll see how much traction they give it - or whether they adapt an apologist attitude.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Keepitsimple

[Michael Hardner]

Yes, I do......but there's a difference between reporting the results of a government audit - which in the normal course, they HAVE to do.....

They BROKE the story, though. They didn't REPORT it, they got inside information prior to it being published.

They could have spiked it but they made it front page news, so the idea that they `could` play an important part of this story is old news - they made the story.

[Sleipnir]

A quick wikipedia search tells me that there are around 2,000 people on the Attawapiskat reserve, over $100 million given to that reserve in 6 years. That is $8,333 per person per year for six years, where did it all go? Understandably the cost of living is high, but seriously?

This is a complete joke. By comparison the government spend $7,885 (according to expenditure of 2012 federal budget) per person in 2012. That's

$448 less then Attawakpiskat reserve and yet they still live in appalling poverty?

[Michael Hardner]

This is a complete joke. By comparison the government spend $7,885 (according to expenditure of 2012 federal budget) per person in 2012. That's

$448 less then Attawakpiskat reserve and yet they still live in appalling poverty?

Where did you get your numbers ? I'm not saying they're wrong, but I am curious. Also, the federal government doesn't provide housing, water, healthcare and so on directly to its citizens, so you're kind of undercutting your own argument I think.

[g_bambino]

Where did you get your numbers ?

Media.

[Sleipnir]

Where did you get your numbers ? I'm not saying they're wrong, but I am curious.

The $100 million given over six years: http://news.national...g-in-six-years/

I made an error, the population for Attawapiskat is 1,500 not 2,000 as of January 3rd according to the article. Another source pins it at 1,300 but that's from 2011.

http://ca.news.yahoo...-201047085.html

Federal government expenditure:

http://en.wikipedia...._federal_budget

Fixing the math:

Reserve math: $100,000,000 / 1,500 people = $66,666 per person in six years / 6 years = $11,111 per person per year for six year.

Federal math: $271.6 billion / 35,000,000 people = $7.888.57 per person in 2012.

Also, the federal government doesn't provide housing, water, healthcare and so on directly to its citizens, so you're kind of undercutting your own argument I think.

That may be, but where is the money going to? For the amount Attawapiskat is getting and the looking at the end result, one seriously need to question the finance practices on reserves.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Sleipnir

[DogOnPorch]

Band spokespeople claim the audit 'got it wrong'...uhhhhh....ok.

[Michael Hardner]

Media.

Thanks -

The Attawapiskat band council has received approximately $104 million from the federal government between April 1, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2011 for housing, infrastructure, education and administration.

[Michael Hardner]

That may be, but where is the money going to? For the amount Attawapiskat is getting and the looking at the end result, one seriously need to question the finance practices on reserves.

That's the real question. They need somebody to run these projects for them IMO.

[Canuckistani]

The Attawapiskat band council has received approximately $104 million from the federal government between April 1, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2011 for housing, infrastructure, education and administration.

Thanks -

Not to mention 450,000 a month in welfare payments. What happened to the 325 million on contracts they got from DeBeers but claim to only have made a profit of 100,000 on? Why did they have a housing emergency when they had at least 10 million in investments? Why did they buy a Zamboni for their rink while people froze. Why is the cost of administering their band so high, why are the salaries so high while others have no houses?