Dear Stephen Harper,
Please stop playing political games and allowing ideology to interfere with responsible decision-making. While you've been busy casting aspersions against individual First Nations leaders, selling off our country, enabling the continued degradation of the environment, and ignoring the basic principles of democracy, First Nations people in Canada have been waiting for you to demonstrate even a shred of integrity and leadership by taking real steps to meet our country's commitments to them.
Have you even read the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples? This report set out over 400 recommendations towards achieving the goal of implementing changes over a period of 20 years, to give concrete substance to the recognition of Aboriginal peoples as self-governing nations with a unique place in Canada.
Let me do the math for you. That means that by 2016, First Nations people in this country should, at the very least, be living in communities that are self-governed, where treaty rights are respected, and where the people have access to clean drinking water, decent housing and education.
Since you become Prime Minister in 2006, what steps have you taken to implement the recommendations of the RCAP?
You began by simply ignoring the 2005 Kelowna Accord, endorsed by all premiers, which made a commitment to establish a 5-year plan to support improvements to native education, economic development, housing, health and water.
You have cut existing programs and replaced them with nothing.
You have turned a blind eye to statistics that highlight alarmingly high rates of child poverty, youth suicide, substandard housing and incarceration among First Nations people.
And when concerns are raised and questions are asked about your failure to meet our commitments, you respond by suggesting that those sneaky Indians are mismanaging taxpayer money.
Let's talk about mismanagement of taxpayer money. In fact, let me just list a few examples, off the top of my head, of proven mismanagement:
On top of that, we've been subjected to not one, but TWO omnibus budget bills which effectively shield the government from being held accountable for decisions that will have long-term implications for the future of our country.
From what I can see, you've only taken two steps towards implementation of any of the RCAP recommendations:
1. Recommendation: Commitment to a new relationship.
Your response: Issue a formal apology to former students of Indian residential schools. Given the lack of any further action since then, it's apparent that this was an empty, hollow gesture.
2. Recommendation: Replace the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development with two departments - one to implement the new relationship, and one to provide services for non-self-governing communities.
Your response: Change the name of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Whoopee.
I am ashamed of our country's long history of injustice to First Nations people. We have failed to do what's right for hundreds of thousands of people.
Even more, I am ashamed that my Prime Minister is knowingly and wilfully refusing to do what is necessary to correct the injustices. You're not demonstrating leadership. Your response to the legitimate and urgent concerns of First Nations people is pathetic, patronizing, divisive and dishonest.
Shame on you.
Original Article
Source: facebook.com
Author: Michaela Murphy
Please stop playing political games and allowing ideology to interfere with responsible decision-making. While you've been busy casting aspersions against individual First Nations leaders, selling off our country, enabling the continued degradation of the environment, and ignoring the basic principles of democracy, First Nations people in Canada have been waiting for you to demonstrate even a shred of integrity and leadership by taking real steps to meet our country's commitments to them.
Have you even read the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples? This report set out over 400 recommendations towards achieving the goal of implementing changes over a period of 20 years, to give concrete substance to the recognition of Aboriginal peoples as self-governing nations with a unique place in Canada.
Let me do the math for you. That means that by 2016, First Nations people in this country should, at the very least, be living in communities that are self-governed, where treaty rights are respected, and where the people have access to clean drinking water, decent housing and education.
Since you become Prime Minister in 2006, what steps have you taken to implement the recommendations of the RCAP?
You began by simply ignoring the 2005 Kelowna Accord, endorsed by all premiers, which made a commitment to establish a 5-year plan to support improvements to native education, economic development, housing, health and water.
You have cut existing programs and replaced them with nothing.
You have turned a blind eye to statistics that highlight alarmingly high rates of child poverty, youth suicide, substandard housing and incarceration among First Nations people.
And when concerns are raised and questions are asked about your failure to meet our commitments, you respond by suggesting that those sneaky Indians are mismanaging taxpayer money.
Let's talk about mismanagement of taxpayer money. In fact, let me just list a few examples, off the top of my head, of proven mismanagement:
- Peter MacKay's F35s;
- Bev Oda's orange juice;
- Tony Clement's gazebo.
- And how about the $60 BILLION in corporate tax cuts that your government has implemented since 2006?
On top of that, we've been subjected to not one, but TWO omnibus budget bills which effectively shield the government from being held accountable for decisions that will have long-term implications for the future of our country.
From what I can see, you've only taken two steps towards implementation of any of the RCAP recommendations:
1. Recommendation: Commitment to a new relationship.
Your response: Issue a formal apology to former students of Indian residential schools. Given the lack of any further action since then, it's apparent that this was an empty, hollow gesture.
2. Recommendation: Replace the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development with two departments - one to implement the new relationship, and one to provide services for non-self-governing communities.
Your response: Change the name of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Whoopee.
I am ashamed of our country's long history of injustice to First Nations people. We have failed to do what's right for hundreds of thousands of people.
Even more, I am ashamed that my Prime Minister is knowingly and wilfully refusing to do what is necessary to correct the injustices. You're not demonstrating leadership. Your response to the legitimate and urgent concerns of First Nations people is pathetic, patronizing, divisive and dishonest.
Shame on you.
Original Article
Source: facebook.com
Author: Michaela Murphy
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