Category Archives: Colonialism

Activism, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Corporations, Democracy, Haiti, Imperialism, Morality, Neoliberal Economics, Poverty, Racism

What If We Treated Harper Like We Treated Haiti’s Aristide?

Leave a comment

Haitians-protest-Aristide-arrest-outside-courthouse-Port-au-Prince-010913-by-Swoan-Parker-Reuters
Supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide chant and display signs outside the courthouse in Port au Prince on Wednesday, Jan. 9. When they learned that the prosecutor, Lucmane Delille, had gone to Aristide’s home to question him, a river of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people marched to his home, surrounding it protectively as they had when he returned to Haiti. – Photo: Swoan Parker, Reuters

Just imagine!

Imagine if, one day, US President Obama sent in the Marines to Ottawa [with support from, say, the Maldives, the UK and Peru, and other Coalition of the Willing partners], who then strolled up to 24 Sussex Drive, liberated Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family from their residence, spirited them off to #YOW to be deposited on a plane, without passports, to fly to a foreign land, like Mali.

We know the prime minister is a bad guy, but this is pretty rough treatment. Then, once Harper was conveniently out of the way, these foreign powers, with the help of the UN helped make Elections Canada more robust to ensure we had a better democracy.

Then, in future elections, the UN-occupied Elections Canada does not recognize Conservative Party candidates in their application to be candidates because…get this…they could not get the signature of their party leader, exiled Stephen Harper [shhh, because he’s been exiled, and incidentally a faxed signature is not acceptable]. But this isn’t entirely fiction. Read why:

Continue reading What If We Treated Harper Like We Treated Haiti’s Aristide? →

A Better World is Needed, Activism, Attawapiskat, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Economics, Environment, Equality, First Nations, Health, Politics, Poverty

Attawapiskat Audit is Merely a Distraction

2 Comments

Green Party leader Elizabeth May published a well-thought out and clear article on Wednesday, breaking down the reasons why the ongoing media banter about Attiwapiskat fund mismanagement and Chief Theresa Spence are merely distractions from an ongoing legacy of government failure to protect indigenous people and the environment. Twitter and Facebook have become virtual battlegrounds for both government supporters and those who are involved with the Idle No More uprising. Racism, sexism and classism are rampant, and tension arising from finger pointing and blame displacement are escalating. The crux of it all is that the Canadian government, and the majority of Canadians as a whole have been content to sweep First Nations issues under the rug, while sticking their fingers in their ears, and chanting “La, la, la! I can’t hear you! This isn’t my problem!”

Perhaps the most desperate and obnoxious contributions to the discussion in cyberspace is the delirious joy that right-wing carnival barkers like Ezra Levant derive from low-blow cat-calls: mocking Spence’s weight, questioning the intelligence of Idle No More supporters, and denial of third-world living conditions endemic to life on First Nations reserves. Their fear that this may gain traction beyond the frustrated residents of reserves is palpable. What are you afraid of, Canada?  That you might not like what the elephant in the room means to your current lifestyle?

The Attawapiskat audit: Distracting us from a legacy of failure

– Elizabeth May

The tensions surrounding First Nations and the federal government are, perhaps, at an all-time high.

I had hoped the Prime Minister’s decision to meet with First Nations leadership this Friday was a hopeful sign of a new beginning in building nation to nation respectful relationships. Perhaps it could finally be the beginning of implementing the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Unfortunately, there is an ugly tone in the air as Conservative spokespeople, such as Senator Patrick Brazeau, line up in the media to take pot shots at Chief Theresa Spence. Although the Attawapiskat audit covers 2005-2011, Theresa Spence was only elected chief in 2010.

The release of the audit of Attawapiskat band finances is heralded by some as evidence of – what exactly? – that the housing crisis in First Nations communities is the fault of their leadership? The audit is not evidence of fraud, but shows an unacceptable level of expenditures for which proper documentation was not provided. It does not suggest the money was spent improperly. We simply do not know. Finger pointing and attacks will not help build a relationship based on respect for treaty and inherent indigenous rights.

So let’s just step back for a moment and admit what everyone knows. Millions of dollars in federal funding for indigenous peoples goes to non-indigenous consultants and lawyers and the bureaucracy supposedly at the service of First Nations communities. Many First Nations communities could benefit from better book keeping and financial controls, but so too could the federal government as the Auditor General has frequently reported. There is a reason that former Auditor General Sheila Fraser dedicated so much of her final report to the unacceptable multiple failures of the federal government in delivering on goals in meeting minimum obligations to First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. In 2005 and again in 2011, the Auditor General set out a litany of abuse. In a report prepared by Sheila Fraser and released by her successor, she noted, “I am profoundly disappointed to note … that despite federal action in response to our recommendations over the years, a disproportionate number of First Nations people still lack the most basic services that other Canadians take for granted.” She did not point fingers at the individual communities, but rather at the Department of Aboriginal Affairs for relying on vague policy rather than the kind of clear legislation found at the provincial level to meet non-indigenous needs for health, housing, water and education.

So, just as the Idle No More movement was not an off-shoot of Chief Spence’s hunger strike, neither is the audit of Attawapiskat’s finances a relevant response to the litany of undeniable and shameful neglect of the treaty obligations of the nation of Canada to the people on whose land we live and whose resources make us wealthy.

Numerous Supreme Court decisions make it clear that the federal government, as well as private sector corporations with an eye of First Nations’ lands and resources, have a duty to consult. Yet, numerous legislative changes made by the Harper Conservatives over the last year had no advance consultation, despite significant impact on First Nations. Both Omnibus bills, C-38 and C-45, had significant impacts on First Nations, without consultation. The Canada-China Investment Treaty, signed by the Prime Minister in early September and not yet ratified, could also have huge impacts on First Nations, yet there was no consultation. From neglect, we seem to have moved seamlessly to an assault on First Nations, as though we could erase Constitutionally-enshrined rights should they stand in the way of mines, dams and pipelines. The issue of non-consultation should be addressed immediately.

The abandonment of the 2005 Kelowna Accord was the beginning of numerous blows, including cutting the following programmes aimed at redressing the scandalous disparity in health outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians: health awareness programmes curbing tobacco addiction, Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative, the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative, the Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, the Aboriginal Health Transition Fund, the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Program, the Maternal and Child Health Program, and the Blood Borne Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections/HIV/AIDS Program. As well, institutions to assist in understanding the disparities, such as the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) and First Nations Statistical Institute (FNSI), have been axed. As well, the high cost of food and fuel in the North is a serious problem and remains unaddressed.

Despite all the evidence, we owe it to the embryonic potential of Idle No More to hope that all leaders present will rise to a new level of decency and respect – towards each other and towards the peoples and lands they represent. As the first indigenous leader of Bolivia has done, could we not begin to discuss the constitutional protection of nature itself? Could we not start designing a path to replace the Indian Act, establish a set of meaningful goals to ensure that all children on this piece of Turtle Island, indigenous and non-indigenous, have equal access to proper education, safe drinking water, decent health care and safe housing? Could we not live up to our promises of treaties past and lay the groundwork to a future premised on the respectful sharing of this land? I believe we can. In fact, we must.

 

Activism, British Columbia, Colonialism, Corporations, First Nations, Imperialism, International Relations, Justice, Racism

Musqueam Burial Ground Win Makes the Developer Look Brutally Ignorant

Leave a comment

The provincial government has finally relented in its dignity-crushing stance of continuing to allow a developer to pursue building condos on top of a Musqueam burial ground. And while this change of provincial policy does not extend to a solution of land ownership, this is a critical first step to see the provincial government is not blatantly racist. I guess that’s a kind of win for them too. Though, a sad one.

News of this change of heart came out around 4pm today. A Friday. And any Aaron Sorkin devotee knows that’s when the government takes out the trash: releases news they don’t want the media to run with since few people follow the news leading into the weekend, all because it’s bad news, or embarrassing or otherwise something they’d rather hide, but can’t.

There’s no way we’ve missed the idea that instead of Friday afternoon, they could have released this news, say, on Monday morning at 9am to capitalize on all the press it would receive, except they’d look like people who have just learned that they are being racist when they keep saying, “I’m not a racist, but…”.

But even more stunning is the “outrage” that the developer feels about being shafted by the provincial government because they are no longer free to develop their private [sic] property. Now, before you read this hilarious, irony-free quote, please remember that around 95% of BC is unceded traditional First Nations land, covered by no treaty and not gained through conquest:

“In effect they have expropriated the property without compensation and bascially said you can’t do anything with that property and we are not doing anything to compensate you for that and I think every owner of private property in BC should be very concerned about that.”

http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1782485

The phrase in bold is my emphasis. I want you to now re-read that sentence, but replace the words in bold with First Nation in this land. Because that is exactly what has happened in this majestic province of the Queen of Canada for centuries. Ten bonus points to Shane Woodford for noting this fantastic quote which epitomizes the systemic racism or ignorance that so often surrounds “Canada’s” relationship with the first peoples.

So I ask this in all seriousness: do the owners [sic] of this property honestly not understand the colonial history of BC?

Their punishing ignorance should be an embarrassment. But I fear they are beyond shame.

Now we move forward to address why the Musqueam were legally barred from purchasing their burial site decades ago [hint: racism] so that we can seek a solution which restores dignity to those buried there, and to our settler society that has been a party to this shameful abuse of a burial ground.

A Better World is Needed, Activism, British Columbia, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Democracy, Economics, Education, loi78, NDP, Neoliberal Economics, Quebec, Soft Fascism

Let’s Watch Where Quebec Leads Us All

Leave a comment

Less than 12 hours after being elected to a minority government in Quebec, the PQ has announced it will cancel the socially and economically regressive tuition fee hikes and repeal the flagrantly unconstitutional Bill 78, which trampled on expression and assembly rights.

Quebec, long one of the most progressive socially and economically progressive cultures in our federation, is showing the rest of us once again what a stern devotion to progressive policies looks like.

Every NDP government or government in waiting needs to watch what assertiveness looks like.

And while we will likely see much discussion about language policies from Quebec [do, though, consider the history of oppression of the French in Canada when you assess things now; context matters], we see that a PQ minority will likely spend more time shoring up social pillars than pushing for a referendum. After all, a minority in the National Assembly and 32% of the vote is no mandate for separation. So that’s conveniently off the table.

And while Canada seems to be taking the lead in regressive social, economic and environmental policy, we need to illuminate good policy when it comes around.

And if you doubt how high tensions are in this country and what’s at stake, the shooting at the PQ party last night should let you know that we have a great deal of healing to do before we can steer our nation of nations in the direction of global moral and progressive leadership.

Guns at political rallies and the demonization of environmental activists as enemies of the state are the wrong way to go.

We must build the right way together!

Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Deep Integration, Democracy, Executive Overdrive, Imperialism, International Relations, MexAmeriCanada, North American Union, Security and Prosperity Partnership, Soft Fascism, USA

GroupThink ReSpun: On US Police Forces Operating in Canada

1 Comment

We have decided that “GroupThink ReSpun” will be the name of the process whereby various of the Politics, Re-Spun crew collaborate on editorializing about a current event. Enjoy the poetry of the term!

So apparently, the RCMP wants to ease into allowing US agents to operate freely in Canada:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/rcmp-ease-canadians-idea-u-agents-canada-201905380.html

1. Do you want to be American? Discuss.

Amputating one of my limbs with a nail clipper and then sewing it to my forehead sounds more appealing, really. I don’t make a very good American. Clinging to my sacred socialist cows and such. – Tia

First of all, this question makes me want to sing “I am not American” by the Arrogant Worms. I, too, wonder how two entire continents can lose their identity to one constituent. Secondly, no. I do not want to be an American. I find it distressing that being Canadian increasingly means being saddled with failed American political policies, ten years out of date. – Anna

Despite parts of my idealistic self liking their historical rhetoric about democracy, freedom and such, their inability to implement it and all that current and historical imperialism demonstrate that actually joining that club is not a good thing. – Stephen

2. The FTA and NAFTA were the beginnings of an economic love-in with the USA. Is developing closer ties to the USA handcuffing ourselves to a drowning man or a good move for Canadians?

Albatross. Neck. Millstone. Neck. – Tia

Let’s be honest. American hegemony essentially died with the Iraq war (v2.0) and the American economy isn’t exactly winning all the monies, either. I’d like to see Canada develop greater distance from the U.S., but since Harper seems hell-bent of carrying out his creepy, Buffalo Bill-style inhabitation of Bush’s political skin, I don’t see that happening.  Come on. You know he has a Bush costume he puts on when he wants to feel pretty. – Anna

I’ve always felt free trade was always a great policy to pursue when your nation already is strong, so you would get an unfair advantage over weaker nations who are trying protectionism to improve their standard of living, you your nation had done. The global economic system is founded upon exacerbating inequality. Solutions lie in post-neoliberal trade, like fair trade and ecologically sustainable economic activity. So the FTA and NAFTA are not good in that sense. Plus America is in monstrous economic decline and has been for a generation, so increasing ties with them is a problem. – Stephen

3. Most Canadians don’t like NAFTA [http://canadians.org/blog/?p=15196], so would this kind of security cooperation be welcome to Canadians?

I would like to believe that most Canadians inherently enjoy being citizens of a sovereign nation with its own boundaries & with rules and legislation more or less untainted by the interests of an outside nation.  The idea of the US government being able to operate autonomously with any sort of gravity within our borders is frightening at best. – Tia

Honestly, this is like trying to get your kid over his dislike of baths by sticking him in the washing machine. – Anna

Security cooperation, even for a weekend, is a crisis in sovereignty. Why don’t we develop security cooperation agreements with Russia or some place? Simple, we don’t want to develop critical dependence with a country like that. Sure, the USA is physically close [and imperialistic, and threatening, and has lots of guns and a desire for resources under our part of the melting Arctic], but is that any reason to give them a house key? – Stephen

4. Should Canadians be worried about our sovereignty, privacy and civil liberties with American policing agencies operating here freely?

In a word? YES. – Tia

Of course we should. We’ve seen the sterling work American agencies have done of respecting their own citizens’ liberties. – Anna

Yes, easily. However, I will add that even if we were to stop or reverse any security harmonization with anyone, federal and provincial governments in Canada are already doing a great job of undermining our privacy and civil liberties: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/opinion/our-not-so-friendly-northern-neighbor.html. – Stephen

5. Why won’t Stephen Harper defend our sovereignty instead of engaging in more perimeter/continental security schemes?

Puppet. Strings. Dennis Lee said it best in a poem that appeared in his book “The Difficulty of Living on Other Planets.”

“When I went up to Ottawa,
I met man who sang tra la.
What did you do with the country today?
I gave it away, to the USA!” – Tia

Because he’s not interested in Canada, he’s interested in power. And money. Which is another way of saying “power”. – Anna

His economic agenda for a very long time was for more economic integration with the USA. This kind of integration leads to more strangleholds on neoliberal policies, like in the EU, which makes it harder for us to domestically fight for progressive economics. The same works for security and rights. The Conservative government has open contempt for democracy, so partnering with the USA on security and punitive policing accomplishes the same goal as his economic agenda. – Stephen

6. How contemptuous or condescending is it for the RCMP to want to ease Canadians into the notion of accepting American police forces operating here?

It was kind of them to buy some Vaseline before they decided to ram an unwanted, crooked foreign object up our asses without permission. – Tia

My knee jerk reaction is to say “very”. But upon reflection, the contemptuous thing is allowing American forces to operate in Canada at all. Metaphorically taking the country out to dinner and using lube before attempting to violate us is just common sense. Otherwise, there would be violent uprising in the street, or at least a sternly worded online petition. – Anna

In the old days, authorities wouldn’t come right out and say that we’re stupid and need to be managed. But now the level of contempt that our governments and security organizations have for civil rights is so blatant that they’re fine just saying nonsense like that. We should all be banging pots and pans in the streets. – Stephen

7. We have been harmonizing our regulatory and border security systems with the USA at a faster pace since 911. We generally go with their weaker standards. How will this initiative weaken Canada’s identity?

If you keep siphoning off booze from your father’s stash, and replacing it with water, eventually you’ll have nothing but water. So goes our identity. The more you dilute our legal system and security with that of the USA, we become more and more diluted and less Canadian. – Tia

It galls me that we’re constantly sold this narrative that our standards are weak, and that Canada is practically a nursery school for terrorists, and that our Polite Canadian Standards will DOOM US ALL. I would like to make the radical proposition that instead of assimilating, we try cooperating. Like, actually cooperating, for realsies. It’s an idea so crazy it just might work. – Anna

When a large company “merges” with a smaller one, it’s not an equal deal. There are two different parties with a unique, often deeply tilted balance of power. However much anyone talks about equality in the new relationship, the larger body will define more of it. So harmonizing with the USA on pesticide issues [we raced to the bottom and adopted their weak standards] or on trade or on security means our larger neighbour will dictate more than there are equal discussions. And given the Conservative government’s contempt for democracy, embracing the Americans in the security arena means adopting their more fascist elements. – Stephen

A Better World is Needed, Activism, Attawapiskat, British Columbia, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Corporations, Economics, First Nations, Imperialism, International Relations, Racism, Vancouver

Stop the Condo Development on the Musqueam Burial Site

Leave a comment

March 15, 2012 Update!

Discussions have led to a 3-week moratorium on digging while more dialogue continues. Thank you for all of you who spread the word to your people, in social media, and in the email link below to politicians. Your integrity has been a shining example of what motivated people can accomplish. All that activity has helped create the will to seek a resolution and avoid a completely avoidable catastrophe in an era where expansive, true dialogue is critically lacking. Keep watching the Facebook event page for more updates: STOP the destruction of the village and midden site of c̓əsnaʔəm (Marpole).

What kind of racist government issues a permit for a condo developer to bulldoze a Musqueum burial site? BC’s government.

I visited c̓əsnaʔəm, the 1338 SW Marine Drive site this morning and had a chance to talk with some of the demonstrators. I learned a number of important points in this issue, below. But first, here are some links to previous coverage of this issue.

  1. STOP the destruction of the village and midden site of c̓əsnaʔəm (Marpole)
  2. Musqueam Block Destruction of Ancient Burial Site
  3. Project on burial site sparks protest
  4. Protesters block Vancouver building project
  5. Musqueam First Nation members protest over Marpole development

Here’s what I learned this morning during my visit to the site:

  • Musqueam Midden has been recognized as a Canadian Heritage Site since 1933.
  • There is rich local historical heritage at c̓əsnaʔəm: Great Fraser Midden, 1908
  • The City of Vancouver has been protecting the site since 1908 and has so far not issued a building permit to the developer, but they will have to: “We’re required to issue it if they meet the criteria and one of those criteria is not the archaeological issues because that’s not within our jurisdiction,” said Vancouver City Manager Penny Ballem. So the province is responsible for allowing development on the site.

So what can you do?

  • Support the peaceful protest/demonstration/occupation by going down and joining them.
  • You can also use the universal sign of solidarity by ordering pizza to be delivered there. Blankets, rain gear and coffee shop gift cards would help too, as the demonstration is a 24 hour a day event.
  • You can email the various people asking for their political support for the Musqueam and for the provincial government to not desecrate a burial ground because honestly, would you want someone to build a condo on top of your Nana’s grave? You can use this link to email the following people [use this link if you’re on a Mac], with a CC to the Musqueam band:
    • the Vancouver Mayor and council,
    • the premier,
    • the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation,
    • the leader of the opposition,
    • the aboriginal affairs critic,
    • both independent MLAs,
    • the Vancouver-Langara MLA,
    • as well a host of federal politicians: the prime minister,
    • the leader of the opposition,
    • leader of the federal Liberals,
    • the aboriginal affairs minister,
    • the NDP and Liberal aboriginal affairs critics,
    • and the MP for Vancouver South.

You can tell them all the reasons you want to protect the burial site, including things like these:

  • The Musqueam burial site is important to you, important to Canada since 1933 and to Vancouver since 1908.
  • Canada’s relationship with the First Nations needs to be built on respect, not exploitation.
  • The BC government is responsible for protecting national heritage sites.
  • We should be able to expect respect and leadership from elected officials and meaningful contributions to improving relations between Canada, BC, Vancouver and the First Nations.
  • Link to the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/185622338219534/

 

A Better World is Needed, Attawapiskat, Canada, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Equality, First Nations, Gaza, Identity, Imperialism, International Relations, Israel, Neoliberal Economics, Racism

Politics, Re-Spun on The Rational on Co-op Radio, March 12 Lineup

Leave a comment

Politics, Re-Spun is on The Rational on Coop Radio on Monday, March 12, 2012 from 6pm to 7pm with an intriguing lineup! Listen live online or at 102.7fm in the Vancouver area.

Here’s the lineup:

1. Dylan Penner will talk with Stephen Elliott-Buckley about the Canadian Boat for Gaza: why, what happened, what’s happening now and what’s in store for the future?

2. Greg Felton will talk with Alnoor Gova about the NDP and Israel.

3. The first of 3 parts of a conversation between Stephen Elliott-Buckley and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council President Cliff Atleo. Topics orbit around the greater relationship between “Canada” and First Nations, in this era of post-Attawapiskat media concentration. Plus forestry, fishing and living holistically with each other and our world.

Activism, Afghanistan, Canada, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Executive Overdrive, Imperialism, International Relations, Neo-Conservatism, Psychology, Society, Soft Fascism

My Canada Does Not Include Militarizing Canada Day

Leave a comment

I have a great deal of respect for Canadian Forces personnel. I have generally disagreed with virtually every one of their foreign deployments in my lifetime, but that is a criticism I make of our political leaders who order our forces to go here and there.

I support our troops by encouraging the government not to continue slashing their pensions and healthcare, and to actually treat soldiers with respect and dignity by providing the kind of care they need: vocationally, psychologically, emotionally, etc.

I do not, however, like the militarization of Canadian culture because it is priming us for a warfare mentality and drifting us into a soft fascist state. And I do not at all respect war re-enactments during Canada Day celebrations.

My Canada does not include militarizing Canada Day.

My Canada does not include the government getting kids to make war posters for Canada Day.

The Harper government has hired a consultant to inject a little war into this year’s Canada Day bash on Parliament Hill.

A Toronto theatre expert has been asked to find ways to insert a War of 1812 commemoration into the July 1st festivities that typically include pop music, dance and pyrotechnics.

“I do big-ass special events all the time, so they asked me to do that,” artistic producer Paul Shaw said in an interview. “It’s sort of tricky to do a War of 1812 theme when you’ve got so many modern things in and around it.”

via Feds hire consultant to inject some war into annual Canada Day party – Winnipeg Free Press.

Instead of this nonsense, we should all be signing the Canadian declaration for Peace and Prosperity, not War and Austerity.

A Better World is Needed, Activism, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Democracy, Economics, Haiti, Identity, Imperialism, International Relations, Neo-Conservatism, Neoliberal Economics, Poverty, Privatization, USA

A Happy Birthday for Haiti

4 Comments

So I’ve just turned 45. What a sweet age!

Instead of asking people to only bring a quirky 45rpm record to my party next month, I’d rather give people an opportunity to donate money to the Canadian Red Cross for Haitian earthquake relief.

As many of you know, the case study in my master’s thesis was on how Haiti is the poster child for Canada pursuing, then undermining, the Human Security Agenda, with our economic exploitation of the country culminating in helping the USA kidnap Aristide on February 29, 2004 and flying him to the Central African Republic.

And many of you also know that I got my start in political awareness and international development work from Red Cross Youth seminars like this one over 25 years ago.

So, I’m fundraising in support of the Canadian Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. It’s estimated that three million people have been affected by the disaster, and 200,000 have been left homeless. Thanks to hundreds of local volunteers with the Haitian Red Cross—many of whom lost loved ones, the Red Cross was able to respond immediately. Please donate and help the Red Cross. Haiti needs your help.And they need your help more then I need presents!

Donate Now!

 

$45 for my 45th birthday, or more or less. Or maybe even $208 for Haiti’s 208th anniversary of the Haitian slaves declaring their independence. It’s up to you!

A Better World is Needed, Activism, Attawapiskat, Canada, Class War, Colonialism, Conservative Party of Canada, Equality, Family, First Nations, Health, Identity, Imperialism, Morality, Poverty, Racism, Society

Occupy #Attawapiskat, Phase Two

Leave a comment

Clearly, the people living in Attawapiskat are existing in a crisis that represents Canada’s dysfunctional relationship with the first peoples.

How can we truly “fix” Attawapiskat? By fixing the underlying broken relationship.

Occupying #Attawapiskat in Twitter two weeks ago was a great start to engaging in serious improvements.

Phase two begins now with a call for a national dialogue to address the past and create a healthy future. This means looking at cultural genocide, racism, the Indian Act as obsolete in the 21st century, residential schools, language and potlatch prohibitions, treaty neglect and so much more.

Read more about this month’s Twitter action down below, but first join the call by emailing these MPs.

Your email will go to the following email addresses: John.Duncan@parl.gc.ca, Stephen.Harper@parl.gc.ca, Nycole.Turmel@parl.gc.ca, Bob.Rae@parl.gc.ca, Louis.Plamondon@parl.gc.ca, Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca, Linda.Duncan@parl.gc.ca, Carolyn.Bennett@parl.gc.ca, Charlie.Angus@parl.gc.ca.

Fixing Attawapiskat
Your First Name:
Your Last Name:
Your Postal Code:
Your Email Address:
Please Email Me A Response:
Call for a National Dialogue:
Please Type This
Image Code:




Reload Image

On December 7, traffic for the Twitter hashtag #Attawapiskat grew 2 to 3.5 times higher than most days in the previous week. And while the hashtag didn’t trend because it was not new that week, it nevertheless became a focal point, especially as Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan attempted to spin/deflect/skew the issues in question period. And thanks to George Stroumboulopoulos for drawing some attention to the Twitter occupation. David Ball also wrote an integrating piece at the Vancouver Observer covering the Twitter action.

The occupation also drew a small but annoying group of racists, with predictable bigoted and stereotypical comments. It also featured government apologists whose main message box ideas was to focus on solutions and steer away from blaming anyone for anything. The king of apologists was Conservative Senator Don Meredith, who, in but one tweet, managed to offend people in three different ways!

Senator Don Meredith @SenatorDonM Senator Don Meredith
The events in #Attawapiskat are troubling. We need to focus on the solution & not on the problem. Children & families are at stake. #cdnpoli
  1. There are no “events” happening there. There are current manifestations of generations of systemic bureaucratic neglect and abuse.
  2. Nothing is troubling. That word captures but 1% of the extent of the crisis there and throughout the country.
  3. While focusing on a solution is great, the advice to not focus on the problem is extraordinarily dismissive and also symbolic of Canada’s broken relationship with first peoples.
So now we have an opportunity to channel our demands to our leaders with a call to act. Scroll back up if you didn’t send in your letter to the Aboriginal Affairs Minister, the prime minister, leaders of all four federal parties, the Aboriginal Affairs critics and the Attawapiskat MP.Truly fixing Attawapiskat means fixing our national shame: looking back to address our past and looking forward to build a new future together.