Harper’s assimilation agenda just had a head-on collision with indigenous resistance

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This is our refusal to watch our children’s futures assimilate into oblivion. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the AFN both need to seriously consider their next steps.

The Hill Times photograph, Michelle-Andrea Girouard

Idle No More protesters, pictured on Parliament Hill in 2013. The coming weeks and months will determine in what direction the relationship between Canada and First Nations turns, but one thing is for certain: First Nations will never allow Canada to repeat the harms suffered by the residential school policy again. Our resistance to Bill C-33 is testament to that, writes Idle No More spokesperson Pam Palmater.

By PAM PALMATER   http://www.hilltimes.com 
Published: Monday, 05/12/2014

TORONTO—This has been a difficult month for Prime Minister Stephen Harper in terms of Crown-First Nations relations. Harper seemed too busy picking fights with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin and defending another “dodgy” Senate appointment, to notice that Canada’s already brittle relationship with First Nations was crumbling.

In the last few weeks, Harper refused to conduct an inquiry into murdered and missing women or allow the RCMP to release its own investigation until “reviewed” by Canada. The auditor general’s recent report criticizes Canada for lack of transparency and adequate funding in First Nation policing, an all too familiar conclusion in most, if not all previous reports, which highlighted chronic underfunding in other areas like housing, water, and education. Even the international community is taking notice of Canada’s abrupt governance personality change under Harper. While the United Nations has been consistently critical of Canada’s treatment of indigenous peoples, the Bertelsmann Foundation is the latest to note that Canada’s record on governance has declined under Harper, especially when it comes to indigenous peoples.

It was, therefore, no surprise when the Harper government introduced Bill C-33 First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act on April 10, 2014. Contrary to the joint Atleo-Harper announcement on Feb. 7, 2014 which promised increased funding for First Nation education; First Nation control over education; and support for First Nation languages and cultures—this legislation did just the opposite. Bill C-33 increased ministerial control over education in very paternalistic ways (including co-managers and third-party managers of education); it did not guarantee specific levels of funding; and English and French were made the languages of instruction. 

The opposition to this bill was immediate and widespread across various demographics, from First Nation chiefs, citizens, educators, lawyers, and academics and served as the final straw in the Atleo-Harper relationship. Harper had been running roughshod over First Nations and their rights since he was first elected, but this time Harper went too far and lost his primary ally—Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo who recently resigned. Although most will see this bill as the primary reason for Atleo’s resignation, the widespread calls for his impeachment were a long time in the making.

The Joint Action Plan between Atleo and Harper announced June 9, 2011, was the first sign that Atleo was headed down the wrong path. The plan promised a National Panel on Education instead of much-needed funding to address the crisis in education. Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec First Nations pulled out of the National Panel in protest. 

Atleo stood by Harper’s side during the Crown-First Nation Gathering on Jan. 24, 2012, where Harper told First Nations his plan to enact legislation and unilaterally change the treaty relationship and rules in education. When Atleo did not heed warnings from First Nations leaders about Harper’s assimilatory agenda, many First Nation leaders started to pull away from the AFN.

Atleo was re-elected as national chief in July 2012 and continued to stand by Harper’s side as he introduced more paternalistic legislation, more funding cuts to First Nation organizations, and allowed the issue of murdered and missing indigenous women to go unchecked. As a result, the people rose and Idle No More was born in late fall of 2012. Even with such mass opposition to Harper’s agenda, Atleo stood by Canada’s side. 

Seeing little hope for change, Chief  Theresa Spence went on her hunger strike and the people ramped up their Idle No More rallies and protests. Atleo did not stand with the people. The chiefs reacted by gathering for a week in Ottawa and told Atleo not to meet with Harper on Jan. 11, 2013. Atleo killed our leverage and unity by sneaking in the back way to meet with Harper and then had a “ceremonial meeting” with the GG in the evening.

The chiefs reacted with letters calling for Atleo’s resignation and withdrawing from the AFN. The Treaty First Nations started conducting their own gatherings to strategize on how best to protect their rights. Yet, Atleo continued to meet in secret with Harper. The surprise joint Atleo-Harper announcement on Feb. 7, 2014 was quickly followed by the introduction of Bill C-33 and was the final nail in the coffin for both Atleo and Harper. The widespread calls for Atleo’s impeachment and the rallies organized in Ottawa against Bill C-33 ultimately led to Atleo’s resignation and Harper’s decision to put the bill “on hold.”

First Nations are generally very patient. Given the many horrific experiences of First Nations peoples at the hands of the federal government from scalping bounties, small pox blankets, forced sterilizations of indigenous women, torture, abuse and deaths of children in residential schools, and medical experimentation on First Nation peoples—it is a testament to our peaceful nature that we continue to sit at the table with Canada in hopes of improving the relationship.

But Harper has set Crown-First Nations relations back decades. We are now back where First Nation national political organizing started: the 1969 White Paper and the federal goal to assimilate Indians. The continued failure by Canada to address our just concerns has led to numerous clashes in the meeting rooms, in the courts, and on the ground and Atleo’s resignation hurt Harper in a big way. Without Atleo, Harper’s bill is indefensible. This is the reason for the rare step by Harper to put the bill on hold pending “clarification from AFN” on their position. 

The AFN executive met this past Monday and Tuesday and decided not to appoint an interim national chief, but instead appointed Quebec Regional Chief Ghislain Picard as spokesperson until the election is held. They offered no position on Bill C-33. Canada must wait for its answer. But time is exactly what is needed on all sides. Harper’s assimilation agenda has just experienced a head-on collision with indigenous resistance and our refusal to watch our children’s futures assimilate into oblivion. Harper and the AFN both need to seriously consider their next steps. 

Canada should withdraw this bill and address the current crisis in education by adjusting First Nation funding to adequate levels, with additional funds to rebuild capacity and training, and address run-down schools and infrastructure. Then it should begin the necessary step of meeting with First Nations to decide how to go forward on the larger governance and rights issues—which will be up to First Nations to decide for themselves. Most of all, Canada has some relationship building to do. It has to end the negative propaganda against First Nations, stop trying to impose federally-designed solutions, and get down to the hard work of addressing the injustices.

The AFN, for its part, has to take a long, hard look at itself from a critical lens if it has any hope of regaining credibility. Simply holding an election for a different national chief will not be enough—especially if any of the current AFN executive run in the election. With a couple of exceptions, the regional chiefs were part of the Atleo-Harper deal-making process throughout Atleo’s two terms. They could have stopped the Joint Action Plan, the Atleo-Harper meeting, the National Panel on Education, and even this legislation. These regional chiefs still have to be held accountable to the leaders and citizens in their own regions for their actions.

The coming weeks and months will determine in what direction the relationship between Canada and First Nations turns, but one thing is for certain: First Nations will never allow Canada to repeat the harms suffered by the residential school policy again. Our resistance to Bill C-33 is testament to that.

Dr. Pamela Palmater, who ran against Shawn Atleo for the AFN leadership in 2012, is a Mi’kmaw lawyer and activist and was one of the spokespeople for the Idle No More movement. She also holds the chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University.

Smyth: NDP still vulnerable on economy, a year after election debacle

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By Michael Smyth, The Province May 12, 2014

Smyth: NDP still vulnerable on economy, a year after election debacle

John Horgan, the new leader of B.C.’s NDP, must find a way to assure voters that his party will not damage the economy in its efforts to protect the environment from damage by megaprojects such as the Site C dam.

 

One year ago today, pundits and pollsters everywhere predicted the imminent demise of Premier Christy Clark and her Liberal government.

One year ago tomorrow, those same political prognosticators sat down to a super-sized meal of humble pie, as Clark pulled off the greatest comeback in B.C. history.

The election of May 14, 2013 — exactly one year ago Wednesday — confounded analysts mesmerized by the 20-point lead in pre-election polls enjoyed by Adrian Dix and the NDP.

How did the NDP blow such an advantage? One year after the shocker, a couple of answers emerge.

For one thing, despite what voters might tell pollsters before an election, most people don’t make up their minds on how to vote until the sustained heat and glare of a campaign.

It’s clear now that most of those voters didn’t think much of Dix once they took a good look at him. One image that sticks in my mind: the way Dix slouched against his lectern during the televised election debate. Not a good look for him.

But perhaps the greatest lesson of last year’s election-night surprise was the proof it provided for an old political axiom: It’s the economy, stupid.

From the beginning of the campaign, Clark hammered home an optimistic message of private-sector investment, thousands of new jobs and unparalleled prosperity for B.C.

Will even a fraction of her grandiose promises — such as a trillion-dollar natural-gas gold rush and enough riches to wipe out the province’s $60-billion debt — come true?

It’s still too early to say, but enough voters dared to believe Clark’s utopian vision to give the Liberals another majority-government mandate.

A year later, it’s easy to see how the Liberals plan a repeat performance in the next election: by painting themselves as the party of prosperity, and the NDP as the party that will say No to jobs and investment.

Clark will continue to promote her liquefied-natural-gas miracle. And now the government appears poised to back another megaproject: the $8-billion Site C dam on the Peace River.

On Monday, new NDP leader John Horgan attacked Site C in the legislature, insisting B.C. doesn’t need the new power it would generate.

While Horgan demands that the project be turned over to the B.C. Utilities Commission for more study, it appears Clark’s Liberals will push ahead with it anyway.

And that’s just the way Clark likes it: The Liberals saying “Yes” and the NDP saying “No” all over again.

Here is Horgan’s new challenge: If he chooses to fight controversial megaprojects such as the Site C dam, the Prosperity mine, and the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines, he must find a way to simultaneously reassure voters that the NDP will not damage the economy.

Horgan must also learn another lesson from Clark’s victory of a year ago: Attack ads work, and the New Democrats can’t go easy on her.

Horgan has vowed to “highlight the shortcomings of the Liberals,” saying the NDP’s failure to do that was a “singular failing” of the 2013 election campaign.

A year later, Horgan has only begun to fight. Clark will be ready for him.

The Conservative economic record: 665,000 missing jobs

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May 9, 2014 by PressProgress

Employers eliminated 30,900 full-time jobs last month and 25,600 Canadians left the labour force altogether, Statistics Canada job numbers released Friday show.

With an increase of just 2,000 part-time jobs for a net loss of 28,900 jobs, Erin Weir, an economist with United Steelworkers, puts the bad news in context.

“This large decline in employment coincided with an increase of 41,000 in Canada’s working-age population. The employment rate, the proportion of working-age Canadians who are employed or self-employed, fell to 61.5% – its lowest level since March 2010,” Weir said in a statement.

In other words, if the employment rate was back at its pre-recession peak (63.8%), Canada would have 665,000 more jobs today. “Damage of recession has not been repaired,” tweeted Jim Stanford, an economist with Unifor. 

Instead, Canada’s employment rate of 61.5% is now only 0.2 points above July 2009, the trough of the recession. “Employment rate has been steadily eroding since late 2012. Cda’s recovery has no engine, no momentum – thanks, austerity,” added Stanford.

Meanwhile, Douglas Porter, chief economist with the Bank of Montreal, told the Canadian Press that “there’s no question this was a bit of a disappointment. It continues a trend we’ve seen over the last six months of down then up, and up then down. So we’re seeing a see-saw action in Canadian employment.”

Here’s what that looks like, courtesy of Unifor:

Job number - May 2014

UN tells feds to consult before approving B.C. coast pipelines

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Report by James Anaya, the UN’s special rapporteur, says there’s a ‘crisis’ in Canada

By Peter O’Neil, Vancouver Sun May 12, 2014

UN tells feds to consult before approving B.C. coast pipelines

A report by James Anaya, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples (pictured), said there is a “crisis” in Canada and that the level of mistrust has perhaps worsened in the past decade.     Photograph by: Sean Kilpatrick , The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Harper government must ensure there is “free, prior and informed consent” from First Nations before giving the go-ahead to major resource projects – including two proposed pipeline megaprojects to the B.C. coast, the United Nations said Monday.

A report by James Anaya, the UN’s outgoing Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said there is a “crisis” in Canada and that the level of mistrust has perhaps worsened since the last visit by a UN representative just over a decade ago.

Anaya put the two oil sands pipeline megaprojects – Enbridge’s to Kitimat and Kinder Morgan Canada’s to Burnaby – at the top of a long list of economic initiatives that have drawn bitter complaints from aboriginal leaders Anaya met during a fact-finding mission last year.

Anaya, an American indigenous rights scholar and nominee for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, said the government doesn’t have a coherent plan to meet its Supreme Court of Canada-mandated obligations to consult and accommodate First Nations before major projects proceed.

“There appears to be a lack of a consistent framework or policy for the implementation of this duty to consult, which is contributing to an atmosphere of contentiousness and mistrust that is conducive neither to beneficial economic development nor social peace,” Anaya wrote.

One of his recommendations calls on the federal government to set a clear policy on consultation and accommodation.

“In accordance with the Canadian constitution and relevant international human rights standards, as a general rule resource extraction should not occur on lands subject to aboriginal claims without adequate consultations with, and the free, prior and informed consent of, the indigenous peoples concerned,” stated Anaya in his report that was released in Geneva Monday.

In a Vancouver Sun interview Monday Anaya said “free, prior and informed consent,” a term used in the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, doesn’t mean there should be an Aboriginal veto on resource projects.

But he said said the commitment in the declaration, which Canada endorsed 2010, does require governments to engage in genuine consultation to ensure Aboriginal rights are protected, and to consider killing projects when accommodation can’t be reached.

The report also lists the Site C hydroelectric dam project on the Peace River, gas drilling and pipeline construction in northeastern B.C. on Treaty 8 nations’ traditional territory, and the attempts by Taseko Mines and Fortune Minerals to build mines on unceded traditional First Nations territory in B.C.

The report criticized the federal environmental review panels, saying the panelists are perceived by First Nations as having “little understanding of aboriginal rights jurisprudence or concepts.”

Anaya had a number of other tough criticisms:

– He called on the Harper to reverse his position and call for a “comprehensive, nation-wide inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal woman and girls, organized in consultation with indigenous peoples.”

– He sharply criticized the federal government over its handing of land claims across Canada and especially in B.C., where many First Nations are deeply in debt and utterly frustrated over federal negotiating tactics.

But Anaya also found some positive developments, including the agreement late last year to establish a B.C. First Nations Health Authority. He called that a potential model for other jurisdictions.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt cited in a statement Monday the report’s complimentary references to Canada’s track record in protecting Aboriginal peoples’ rights.

“The report published by the Special Rapporteur today acknowledges that, while many challenges remain, many positive steps have been taken by the Government of Canada to improve the overall well-being and prosperity of Aboriginal people in Canada.

He also said resource projects should be seen in a positive light.

B.C. Liberals refuse to look at alternatives to putting Hydro customers on $800 million hook

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May 12, 2014

VICTORIA – Today, the B.C. Liberal government shut the door on independent expert review of the Site C project proposal, leaving B.C. Hydro customers on the hook for a loss of $800 million should the project go forward on the government’s timeline.

According to the panel’s report “B.C. Hydro projects losing $800 million in the first 4 years of operation,” under the government’s project timelines.

“Families are already facing a 28 per cent rate hike because of the B.C. Liberals’ complete mismanagement of B.C. Hydro,” said B.C. New Democrat leader John Horgan. “Now families will be on the hook for an $800 million loss because the B.C. Liberals are steamrolling ahead before the demand is there.”

The Joint Review Panel for the Site C project released its report last Thursday, recommending that the B.C. Liberal government “refer the load forecast and demand side management plan details to the B.C. Utilities Commission,” and have the BCUC review the proposed project’s costs.

Today in Question Period, B.C. Liberal Minister of Energy & Mines, Bill Bennett refused to refer the project to the BCUC to independently investigate alternatives that would limit ratepayers’ liabilities.

“Right now, we have Liberals telling Liberals what Liberals want to hear,” said Horgan. “That’s a reckless and irresponsible approach to such a massive project. We need an independent expert review to protect the ratepaying public.”