The chief of northern Ontario's Attawapiskat reserve is holed up inside a teepee on a small island in Ottawa near Parliament Hill, subsisting on lemon water and fish broth since Dec. 11 as part of a stunt to force Prime Minister Stephen Harper or Gov. Gen. David Johnston to meet with her over her concerns with the Conservative government's relationship with First Nations and the omnibus Bill C-45. To his considerable credit, Johnston very quickly made it clear it is a political matter, and as the Queen's representative, he wouldn't be talking with Spence.
It's fair to say that many other Canadians have concerns about First Nations and the Tories' unwieldy Bill C-45, but only Spence - and a few others who are now fasting in her support - is taking such extreme measures and trying to link her state of health to the prime minister's actions.
"Her condition continues to weaken every hour and the time has come for increased efforts to gain the support of Canadians and governments in forging this new relationship," said a statement released by Spence's supporters on Friday, adding she's "willing to die" for her people.
Apart from Spence's inexcusable blackmailing of the prime minister, it's evident she's unreasonable. Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has expressed a willingness to meet with Spence, but he's been rebuffed. Surely, a personal meeting with the senior member of cabinet tasked with managing the Crown's relationship with First Nations would have been a good place for Spence to start. Spence could have added detail to her demands and concerns. Such a conversation with Duncan could have perhaps been a precursor to a meeting with Harper himself, or perhaps set the groundwork for a summit focused on improving living conditions and modernizing First Nations' relationship with other Canadians.
But what must be made clear is that the prime minister of Canada can't be compelled to respond to the threats of protesters, whether they number in the single digits or the thousands.
There's a natural tendency to lump Spence's antics in with the Idle No More movement, which has been characterized by everything from peaceful drum sessions to the compromising of rail service. Idle No More's founders have wisely taken delicate steps to distance themselves from people like Spence, saying the movement is more about grassroots awareness than traditional top-down leadership represented by band chiefs.
"From Day 1, we wanted this to be something that was led by everyday people, a horizontal movement," said Tanya Kappo, one of Idle No More's earliest organizers. "If this was ever going to really take off, it had to come from the ground up, not the other way around."
It's time for Spence to fold up her tent and stop behaving so badly.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Editorial
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