Idle No More and the Audit of Chief Spence's Band

[Mr. Ambien]

A question for wet for sure but I doubt the constitution lays out specific parcels that correspond to specific bands.

Land and housing doesn't have to mean this land and this house.

Historically (right or wrong) natives have been moved from one spot to another in the past.

[Wetcoaster]

The meeting went ahead but a number of Chiefs are boycotting it.

The split between the two aboriginal positions - the progressives led by National Chief Shawn Atleo and the traditionalists led by his defeated opponent Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi’kmaq lawyer who is on faculty at Ryerson University has become apparent.

It looks like there will be an ongoing challenge to Atleo's leadership by those who do not accept his views. Much like those who want to re-fight the last federal election that resulted in a CPC majority.

And there are threats to shut down the Canadian economy by way of protests and blockades.

National Chief Shawn Atleo has defied some of his key regional chiefs for going to a meeting that the Governor-General was not at and that was taking place on the prime minister’s turf.

After a night of tumult, Atleo was able to find support from Quebec, the East Coast and British Columbia.

But it remains to be seen whether the two sides can find enough common ground to re-establish Atleo’s leadership, repair the Crown-First Nations relationship and quell restless protesters across the country demanding a better quality of life for aboriginal communities.

...

Questions also continue to emerge about Atleo’s leadership, with a number of chiefs saying they stand with Spence about refusing to participate in Friday’s meeting with Harper unless the Governor-General also attends.

Ontario chiefs have joined others from Manitoba and Saskatchewan in refusing to participate in Friday’s meeting with Harper, although chiefs from Quebec and Atlantic Canada said they supported Atleo and would attend the talks.

...

“If the AFN decided to go to that meeting against the will and decision of the chiefs, then the AFN would no longer be a valid representative organization of the chiefs,” said Pam Palmater, the Ryerson University professor who was Atleo’s chief rival in last summer’s national chief elections.

“Atleo has no choice but to listen to the chiefs, because he has no independent political authority,” she added.

...

Sharp divisions were evident as up to 200 chiefs gathered at the hotel Thursday evening.

“No longer will the prime minister dictate to us,” said Onion Lake First Nation Chief Wallace Fox.

“If we have to shut down this economy, then we will.”

And Chief Spence?

Spence, meanwhile, argued the federal government has for years been violating longstanding treaties with First Nations and that Friday’s meeting is an opportunity to help “resolve broken promises” and renew the Crown’s relationship with aboriginals. First Nations deserve better housing, health care and revenue sharing from the federal government, Spence said.

“We share the land all these years and we never got anything from it,” she said.

“This government has been abusing us, raping the land,” she added. “The treaty was not about control, it’s about sharing, honouring and respecting each other.”

http://news.national...olds-in-ottawa/

[Coda]

Spence is becoming increasingly annoying. She and other like-minded native leaders should be careful: you are turning the Canadian population against you.

[My Account]

I am not really educated on the subject but I think they are trying to get the best of both their heritage and society today, we have left them some land to live off of but they want money from us because they live in a crappy location

[Jet_91]

Good, lets start up with the cross county blockades. That'll get the public on your side...

This whole movement is absolutely ridiculous. The chiefs can't even seam decide what they want, they just know they're angry and want something different. What that is nobody seems capable of explaining it. Whenever I hear any interviews the people all just speak in generalities. I think most people in these rallies don't even know what they're fighting for...

And the whole Spence nonsense is just embarrassing. Somebody just give her a hamburger and tell her to go back home and embezzle some more funds and leave the negotiating to the people who should be negotiating.

[Common sense]

This whole movement is absolutely ridiculous. The chiefs can't even seam decide what they want, they just know they're angry and want something different. What that is nobody seems capable of explaining it. Whenever I hear any interviews the people all just speak in generalities. I think most people in these rallies don't even know what they're fighting for...

[JeremyW]

It probably hasn't yet been posted because no one takes the movement seriously.

IMO the Indian Act is inherently divisive and needs to be scrapped entirely.

I personally support Bill C-45 so you can ofc understand why I would be pissed off to hear a bunch of individuals feel they have the right to shove their opinion down my throat through illegal protest.

They have every right to protest legally, but doing so illegally is incredibly disrespectful for those who have a differing opinion than them yet feel that their opinion is just as significant as theirs.

I think the entire movement is garbage, and the meeting with the PM was scrapped because the movement failed to respect Canada's political structure and failed to understand that the GG's involvement would be both highly offensive to Canada and further very unfair and biased.

Finally, I think that if the majority of Canada feels that expiring treaties or agreements is what is required to advance Canada socially and economically, Canada should have every right to. We cannot be bound as a country to contracts made hundreds of years ago that lack any mutual benefit for the country.

[Wetcoaster]

It probably hasn't yet been posted because no one takes the movement seriously.

IMO the Indian Act is inherently divisive and needs to be scrapped entirely.

I personally support Bill C-45 so you can ofc understand why I would be pissed off to hear a bunch of individuals feel they have the right to shove their opinion down my throat through illegal protest.

They have every right to protest legally, but doing so illegally is incredibly disrespectful for those who have a differing opinion than them yet feel that their opinion is just as significant as theirs.

I think the entire movement is garbage, and the meeting with the PM was scrapped because the movement failed to respect Canada's political structure and failed to understand that the GG's involvement would be both highly offensive to Canada and further very unfair and biased.

Finally, I think that if the majority of Canada feels that expiring treaties or agreements is what is required to advance Canada socially and economically, Canada should have every right to. We cannot be bound as a country to contracts made hundreds of years ago that lack any mutual benefit for the country.

[Wetcoaster]

Chief Spence will be continuing her hunger strike saying her meeting with the GG did not make her "feel good" and she left early while the GG sounded a message of hope and trust. Spence appeared before the press but would take no questions and issued a statement (described as brief and rambling) that noted:

"He (Prime Minister Harper) makes false statement about fundings. He doesn't give details about where it goes. Most of the funding that we have, it goes back to you, to taxpayers. It goes out of our reserve. For example, housing: we have to hire contractors, we have to order the materials from out of town and to shipment. We pay tax on that. Even when we hire lawyers, that's from our reserve. Consultants, that's where the money goes, "

It seems Chief Spence missed the import of the recent audit - no one seems to know where the money has gone due to a lack of records and audit trail.

PM Harper has agreed to continue the meetings to try to reach agreement on a number of issues including resource revenue sharing that is to a great extent in the hands of the individual provinces.

AFN Chief Shawn Atleo downplayed divisions in the aboriginal leadership and one of his main supporters Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come of Quebec said he was pleasantly surprised that PM Harper was positive and that he had "moved a couple of posts forward." In particular Coon Come said the environmental aspects of the Omnibus bill "are on the table" and Harper indicated he was willing to carry out his duty to consult with First Nations on legislative matters that impact their territories. Aboriginal delegates representing Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon as well as AFN representatives from its Youth Council, Women's Council and Elders Council were present.

Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of Manitoba and Pam Palmater, an Idle No More spokesperson who ran against Atleo for the AFN leadership stressed that Atleo had no power to act unilaterally and it was in fact the chiefs who boycotted the meeting with Harper who held the real power.

Chiefs from Ontario and Manitoba have called for a non-confidence vote for the AFN national chief Atleo. There have also been threats of a blockade of major roads and rail lines in Ontario on Wednesday by Ontario Grand Chief Gordon Peters of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians who also threatened to go to international investors and tell them their resource extraction projects are not safe if the government pushes through developments without consent from First Nations.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence vowed to remain on a hunger strike, shortly after she and about 100 other chiefs attended a ceremonial event with the Governor General at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Spence, who has become an inspirational figure for the grassroots Idle No More movement, had refused to attend the earlier "working meeting" between some First Nations chiefs and Prime Minister Stephen Harper unless the Governor General was present as well, but she decided in the end to go to the Rideau Hall meeting, which was described by the government as "ceremonial."

Shortly after that meeting, a Spence spokesman said the chief would continue her hunger strike. Spence has been on a diet of fish broth and medicinal tea for the past four weeks.

GG stresses hope

The event was to include a greeting by Gov. Gen. David Johnston, a procession, and a smudging ceremony and prayer performed by a native elder, according to a statement from Rideau Hall.

Johnston's remarks to the First Nations leaders, released by Rideau Hall, included concern for Spence and fellow aboriginal hunger-strikers Raymond Robinson and Jean Sock. "My deepest wish is for the well-being of all Canadians and for dialogue to always take place in a safe and healthy manner."

Johnston stressed themes of hope and trust in his remarks.

"We can strike a balance between diversity and unity that will strengthen as us nations and as a nation," he said.

Spence left Rideau Hall early with the sense that the gathering had accomplished little.

"It didn't feel too good inside that house … but we stood up for your rights," Danny Metatawabin, who speaks for Spence, told gathered First Nations chiefs as he described the meeting as "a show, a picture opportunity."

"Sadly," he said, "the hunger strike continues."

Harper meeting results in promise of more 'high-level' dialogue

While Spence and other chiefs dismissed the usefulness of the government's efforts, at least two of the chiefs who attended the Harper meeting earlier Friday sounded a more positive tone — as did the government.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan, addressing reporters on Parliament Hill, said the prime minister had agreed to:

• High-level dialogue on treaty relationships and comprehensive land claims.

• Enhanced oversight from PMO and Privy Council.

• Holding further meetings with the head of the AFN.

However, on the environmental changes in the omnibus bills that so concern the Idle No More movement, Duncan insisted that constitutional obligations to Aboriginal Peoples were in fact respected by the government when it drew up the bills.

On the issue of resource revenue-sharing, Duncan said, "The federal government does not receive resource revenues, and so that's a question that really will involve the provinces and that's — that was recognized by the room."

Asked about Spence's hunger strike, Duncan said he once had a "small part" in convincing Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to end a hunger strike, and he hoped to have that conversation with Spence. So far, Spence has refused to meet with him.

Divisions remain among AFN chiefs led by Shawn Atleo who attended the Harper meeting and chiefs who boycotted the talks.

After the meeting, Atleo downplayed any rifts between aboriginal leadership.

"We have full consensus on the substance of the issues that were pressed fully today by the delegation that went to the prime minister," Atleo told The National's Wendy Mesley. "It's going to require real work to follow through, but we have now a highest level mandate from the prime minister. I cannot understate that the voices of our people helped create the level of urgency."

Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come of Quebec, who also attended the Harper meeting, told CBC News Network's Power & Politics that he was surprised by the reaction of the prime minister whom he said "moved a couple of posts forward."

Coon Come seemed optimistic, and even though Harper didn't promise to remove the controversial environmental provisions in two omnibus budget bills, Coon Come said those issues "are on the table" and that the prime minister indicated he was willing to carry out his duty to consult with First Nations on legislative matters that impact their territories.

Coon Come said there was no commitment to hold an inquiry into the issue of missing aboriginal women. However Coon Come added he thinks there are too many inquiries, and said he favours "concrete measures" to reduce harm to women.

Divisions during the day

Before the meeting ended, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of Manitoba, who shunned the event, called Friday "a great victory" and said he was "ecstatic about our drums and about our people today."

Pam Palmater, an Idle No More spokesperson who ran against Atleo for the AFN leadership, said Atleo has no independent decision-making power. The fact Atleo and what she called "a minority of chiefs" attended the meeting "doesn't mean good things for the AFN," Palmater said on Power & Politics.

She also said that chiefs, such as Nepinak, who boycotted the meeting, "took their control back" and that they are the ones who control the AFN.

Earlier, some protesters attempted to block the door to the Langevin building where the meeting was being held. Chiefs from Manitoba spread tobacco on the steps to "protect" their people, and several dozen women linked arms to try to stop people from entering. When Coon Come entered despite their pleas, one woman broke down in tears.

"I know there's times for small groups to meet. But now is not the time," another woman said. "Today's the day to stand for our ancestors ... there will be other prime ministers to meet with. The gold in the land is not going away. The water is not going to go away," she added, to cheers from the crowd.

Atleo joined by other chiefs

Joining Atleo and Coon Come inside were delegates representing Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon.

AFN representatives from its Youth Council, Women's Council and Elders Council were present as well. But Saskatchewan AFN Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde, who appeared with Atleo at a press conference yesterday, did not attend, saying he wanted "to respect other chiefs," including large groups from Manitoba and Ontario who were vocal in their dissent. However, Bellegarde planned to meet with the Governor General at Rideau Hall.

Speaking earlier on behalf of Quebec leaders, Coon Come said that his colleagues want to be able to go home and tell their people they didn't come to Ottawa just to protest, but to have a meeting and address real issues.

Spence stuck to her refusal to attend Friday's meeting with Harper because Johnston and all First Nations leaders weren't participating.

In a brief appearance before the media on Victoria Island on Friday morning, Spence offered a short statement and took no questions, even as some yelled, "What did you do with the money, Theresa?" as she spoke.

In a brief, rambling statement, Spence criticized Harper for earlier remarks he made about millions of dollars going into the Attawapiskat reserve.

"He makes false statement about fundings. He doesn't give details about where it goes. Most of the funding that we have, it goes back to you, to taxpayers. It goes out of our reserve. For example, housing: we have to hire contractors, we have to order the materials from out of town and to shipment. We pay tax on that. Even when we hire lawyers, that's from our reserve. Consultants, that's where the money goes, " she said.

Not about strength

As the meeting with Harper began, a group of about 20 protesters, many of them from Manitoba, managed to get inside the House of Commons.

First they were invited into Parliament's Centre Block by MP Carolyn Bennett, the Liberal critic for aboriginal affairs. The protesters then were able to get inside the chamber where MPs usually take their seats, because it just so happened that a university student group was holding a mock parliament.

The speaker for the group invited the protesters into the House, moving the proceedings to a committee of the whole and calling the leaders as witnesses.

Earlier, interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae, who pointed out he had been a mediator during the explosive Burnt Church crisis that occurred after the Supreme Court recognized some native fishing rights, said at a news conference that it wouldn't be a "big deal" for the Governor General to be present at the meeting alongside Harper.

"No one's caving," Rae said. "If you use the language of caving, you'll never understand the nature of a discussion. It's not about I'm stronger than you, I'm better than you, I'm bigger than you. That's a truly silly way of looking at it, in my view."

Rae indicated he disagreed with Harper's "imperial style," and said, "This country has a rendezvous with this issue, and we have to figure out a way to deal with it in a way that's actually going to work."

Divisions in sharp relief

By last night, the talks were thrown into disarray, with chiefs from first Manitoba and then other regions including Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories saying the talks must be held on their terms: involving more chiefs, in a bigger room and including the Governor General.

Former AFN national chief Ovide Mercredi, from northern Manitoba, who was part of behind-the-scenes negotiations with Harper's chief of staff Nigel Wright earlier, said late Thursday that Atleo himself had tried to persuade the PMO to bend. But with no luck.

The dissident group from Manitoba joined the national Idle No More march to Parliament Hill after the prime minister and the Governor General did not acquiesce to their demands.

Protesters will block roads

Chiefs from Ontario and Manitoba have called for a non-confidence vote for the AFN national chief because Atleo didn't boycott Friday afternoon's talks with Harper.

Grand Chief Gordon Peters told reporters Friday that aboriginal protesters will block major roads and rail lines in Ontario on Wednesday if their demands are not met. He also threatened to go to international investors and tell them their resource extraction projects are not safe if the government pushes through developments without consent from First Nations.

Recent omnibus budget legislation aimed at streamlining resource projects has been a major irritant for the ongoing Idle No More protest movement. Other Harper government cuts to aboriginal programs and organizations are also concerns.

But part of the Idle No More movement is a criticism of the current First Nations leadership as ineffective in dealing with the needs of their people.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...lks-friday.html

[vancanfan]

BORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

[-DLC-]

VCF: if you find a thread boring simply scroll/move on....we don't need spam to announce it (please/thanks)

[JeremyW]

The majority of Canadians are woefully uninformed on these issues.

You cannot simply scrap the Indian Act and to the extent the the government attempts unilaterally to derogate from aboriginal rights, that is not possible without a negotiated agreement or a constitutional amendment... and a constitutional amendment is not happening.

You are not going to see expiring treaty agreements.

The current treaties and agreements historically are continuing agreements with rights and obligations entrenched in the Constitution. New treaties and land claims settlements are similarly going to be continuing agreements with complex resource and revenue sharing provisions and those future treaty rights and obligations will be similarly entrenched.

[Wetcoaster]

Lol...

Trust me, I do not expect to see expiring treaty agreements. What I am saying is that it would be best if they were expired.

[Tearloch7]

Why wish for something that has no basis in reality?

[JeremyW]

Why wish for something that has no basis in reality?

[Wetcoaster]

Obiously you didn't read much of what I said, because I didn't at all wish for it. However...

What I said was this:

I think that is a pretty basic application of democracy.

[JeremyW]

No it is not.

The Supreme Court of Canada made that clear during the Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217.

[nucklehead]

VCF: if you find a thread boring simply scroll/move on....we don't need spam to announce it (please/thanks)

[Wetcoaster]

If a majority consensus doesn't allow something like a treaty to be changed or voted upon, then IMO there are some flaws in our political structure.

I haven't actually looked into what you reference there, but do you mean to suggest that treaties are not at all negotiable with the general population of Canada?

Can you references where exactly I can find this (and preferably a general section of the article, as they are typically quite long.)

[Tearloch7]

The final result will be many lawyers becoming very, very rich, and we, the Canadian taxpayers, will be paying the costs on both sides of the conflict .. oh, and "Big Chief" may be able to fit into her original wedding dress again ..