“It [Idle No More] will sustain itself until the Harper government decides to meet with the chiefs with the Governor General and leadership across the country. This last meeting was not what the chiefs had asked for,” said Derek Nepinak, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
“It’s a continuing process that this Harper government has been following and that is to dictate prescribed and predetermined agendas, prescribed and predetermined speaking notes, and we’re sick and tired of that. We’re not going to participate in that kind of degradation and that kind of humiliation anymore,” Mr. Nepinak said. “Some chiefs will go through there and sit with the Prime Minister and see about getting whatever they can in the short term, but the people who stood outside and watched have a long term vision. That means the emancipation of our people from Indian Act policy management and that’s what’s going to change the game here in Canada.”
The Idle No More movement began in Saskatoon, Sask., when four women—Sylvia McAdam, Nina Wilson, Sheelah Mclean, and Jessica Gordon—used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to speak out about how the federal government’s omnibus budget bill, C-45, changed the Navigable Waters Protection Act and severely reduced the number of protected waterways in the country. They later held five rallies and called for a national day of action on Dec. 10.
As part of this day of action, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence announced she would begin a hunger strike, drinking only fish broth, vitamins and tea, until Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) and Governor General David Johnston agreed to meet with her to discuss treaty issues, such as the duty to consult First Nations before making legislative changes that would affect them, and sharing natural resources.
The Assembly of First Nations then secured a meeting with Mr. Harper on Jan. 11 in the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa and a ceremonial one later with Mr. Johnston, and outlined a set of “asks” that would lead to the “transformative change” First Nations were look for.
These included: a commitment to implementing treaties; resolving land claims; sharing revenue from resource development; increasing the funding to First Nations by lifting the two per cent cap on federal transfers; consulting First Nations on legislation that affect them as outlined under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution; moving towards repealing the Indian Act in a comprehensive and meaningful way rather than by tinkering; committing to a inquiry on violence against indigenous women and girls; and creating better access to education.
For Mr. Nepinak, the movement remains about the environment, and how it affects, not only aboriginal peoples, but all Canadians.
“I think Idle No More is more than an aboriginal-based movement. It’s calling on all Canadians who recognize the great disasters that can flow from industrial manipulation of our waterways. It’s within that context that we continue to call on all Canadians to stand with the Idle No More movement. It’s not just about our children and our communities anymore, it’s about every Canadian and their children and their grandchildren,” he told The Hill Times. “It’s a rallying call. Aside from the politics, and the small factions that break off that promote violence, Idle No More is about peaceful demonstration and an opportunity for everyone to become educated. We stand by that as chiefs.”
Ryerson University professor Pamela Palmater, a Mi’kmaq lawyer from Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick and who ran unsuccessfully for the AFN leadership last summer, said, however, that Idle No More is about much more than the environmental changes under Bill C-45.
Prof. Palmater noted that the key issue is resource sharing which should be honoured under treaties signed between Canada and First Nations governments which would result in increased economic, health and education indicators.
“While indigenous lands and resources are used to subsidize the wealth and prosperity of Canada as a state and the high-quality programs and services enjoyed by Canadians, First Nations have been subjected to purposeful, chronic underfunding of all their basic human services like water, sanitation, housing, and education. This has led to the many First Nations being subjected to multiple, overlapping crises like the housing crisis in Attawapiskat, the water crisis in Kashechewan and the suicide crisis in Pikangikum,” Prof. Palmater wrote in The Ottawa Citizen recently.
“It originally started as a way to oppose Bill C-45, the omnibus legislation impacting water rights and land rights under the Indian Act; it grew to include all the legislation and the corresponding funding cuts to First Nations political organizations meant to silence our advocacy voice,” Prof. Palmater wrote.
In this 41st Parliament, there are nine bills on the Order Paper in the House of Commons and the Senate that affect First Nations.
Gina Cosentino, a former senior adviser to former AFN national chief Phil Fontaine, told The Hill Times last week that the movement is not new, however, and should have been expected.
“I have noticed discontent for many, many, many years and I knew this was going to happen. For anybody who’s an observer on indigenous and First Nations politics in Canada, none of this is new. None of it,” she said. “I think this is something of an awakening coming from a long set of grievances. … I don’t think this issue has just come up now, I just think the voice has become more coordinated especially through social media.”
Ms. Cosentino agreed that the Conservative government has not consulted First Nations and continues to “shove stuff down the throats of First Nations … [which] shows a gross disrespect for First Nations leadership and their government.” First Nations were never standing by being idle to begin with, Ms. Cosentino said. “It’s really about now mounting a strong voice against a government they now feel just doesn’t get it,” she said.
In a statement following the Jan. 11 meeting between First Nations chiefs and the Canadian government, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, B.C.) said that the Conservatives remain committed to working with aboriginal peoples.
“Working together remains the best way to achieve our shared objective of healthier, more prosperous and self-sufficient First Nation communities. Our government remains committed to working with those aboriginal leaders who want to work with the government of Canada to create jobs and growth in their communities,” he said.
Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Ont.) told The Hill Times last week, however, that it’s time for the government to put words into action if it is serious about working with First Nations.
“We have to have all Canadians understand how we go forward in a fair way and certainly that’s what Chief Theresa Spence’s original ask was, to honour the treaties and to talk about how we would share natural resources together. It now comes to the Prime Minister to show progress on this to say that he’s taking it seriously, personally,” she said.
“All Canadians want to see progress on this. All Canadians I think don’t think it’s too much to ask in terms of the AFN asks around having a school on every reserve. I think to have safe drinking water, to not have to live in third world conditions in terms of housing. I mean this is an historic time in Canada where it is a tipping point. It’s where things have boiled over,” Ms. Bennett said.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: BEA VONGDOUANGCHANH
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