Attawapiskat or bust: Why we won't move

Scott Gilmore of Maclean's has thought about it. Walrus Magazine editor-in-chief Jonathan Kay has considered it. Even former prime minister Jean Chrétien has suggested it.

Admit it: you've likely wondered why the Attawapiskatians (or the Attawapiskatites) don't just roll up their blankets, hop a bus and fry their bannock somewhere else upriver.

The northern Ontario community is all too familiar with its own unique brand of tragedy: flooding, a chronic housing shortage, government disregard, flagrant misspelling of its name and now a frighteningly high rate of suicides and suicide attempts among its young people.

Attawapiskat, Kashechewan Emergency Declared Due Flooding

A partial evacuation is now planned for the Kashechewan First Nation, as flood problems worsen for communities on the James Bay Coast in northern Ontario.

Both the Attawapiskat and Kashechewan First Nations have declared a state of emergency after sewer backups flooded basements.

The Canadian government reimbursed Attawapiskat First Nation for third-party manager costs

OTTAWA—The Conservative government reimbursed Attawapiskat First Nation for its controversial decision to appoint a third-party manager to take over the books during the winter housing crisis on the northern Ontario reserve.

The Star obtained documents revealing the federal Aboriginal Affairs department agreed to transfer $136,132 to the Cree community last year to cover the cost of the third-party manager the government appointed in December 2011.

Attawapiskat handed victory by Federal Court

The Federal Court said today in a judicial review that it was "unreasonable" for the federal government to appoint a third-party manager in Attawapiskat last fall as the Ontario community was dealing with a housing crisis.

Attawapiskat First Nation had applied to the court for a judicial review of the decision by Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan to have a third-party manager take control of the community's finances.

Attiwapiskat protesters blockade winter road to De Beers diamond mine

A small number of protesters have blockaded the winter road to De Beers’ Victor diamond mine outside the embattled Attawapiskat reserve in northern Ontario.

The mine, about 100 km outside the First Nations community, has been a source of division since it opened about five years ago, but employs several members of the band.

Despite an impact-benefit agreement signed after several years of negotiation, many in the First Nation still believe they are being cheated out of the diamond mine’s profits.

One protester said the blockade began Monday night.

It’s unknown what the blockaders are protesting or how long they intend to stay.

De Beers has not yet commented.

Original Article
Source: sunnewsnetwork.ca
Author: -

Attawapiskat audit cost taxpayers $411K

A third-party audit of the troubled Attawapiskat reserve cost the federal government more than $400,000, CBC News has learned.

According to documents obtained under Access to Information, the final bill for the audit came to $411,015.62. That includes about $35,000 for travel to the remote northern Ontario reserve.

The audit, obtained by CBC News last month, found significant documentation was lacking for the $104 million the federal government transferred to the Attawapiskat band between 2005 and 2011.

The genius of Spence

In media time, it’s been light years since Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence ended her 44-day fast last week. But beyond the dismissive attention span of Canada’s mainstream body politic, there are different ways to count time.

In the near term, Spence has been shockingly belittled and underestimated because she spoke to the country in a new language, and I don’t mean Cree, though that is also true.

Attawapiskat didn't Mismanage Funds, Harper -- You Did

The government was wrong in its response to the crisis in Attawapiskat and its ongoing attempt to divide Canadians with misleading information is shameful. Federal court ruled
this morning the that the Conservative government's response to the crisis in Attawapiskat was unreasonable and failed to look at any remedy other than the appointment of a Third Party Manager.

Rather that own up to their mistake the Conservative government says it is "disappointed" with the decision. What will it take for this government to take responsibility for its own incompetence?

Finger-pointing at Attawapiskat more than a little hypocritical

One need not agree with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's attempt to coerce others' behaviour by harming herself to be disgusted by the reactions she has received.

Her claim of a witch hunt has credibility when one examines the more venomous criticism. It ranges from contemptible comments about her weight to the nasty cud of racism in the form of regurgitated statistics carefully selected to distort perceptions.

Take, for example, the unsolicited email purporting to reveal endemic corruption on Indian reserves, in particular the administration of Attawapiskat under Chief Spence.

HarperCons play hunger games

There’s no better evidence of the sad Us vs. Them attitude poisoning what’s left of political dignity in Canada than the vitriol being spewed in conservative circles over Attawaspikat First Nation chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike.

We have respected national newspaper columnists (or at least Christie Blatchford) calling Spence’s hunger strike and demands for a meeting with the Prime Minister, an act of terrorism. All the drumming and smudging to coincide with that effort, and that the Idle No More movement that smells like a refried Occupy, are mere theatrics to opinion shape-shifters in the conservative press.

Canadian chief is no Gandhi, but hard truths are being revealed

When Mahatma Gandhi engaged in protest fasts against the British occupiers of India, he considered it a spiritual practice of satyagraha, which translates as "truth force."

Public fasts, like the month-old one engaged in by Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, aim to prick consciences. As acts of self-sacrifice, they try to goad people in power, such as Stephen Harper, into taking action on uncomfortable truths.

Theresa Spence: Money Spent Mostly Ends Up Outside Attawapiskat

OTTAWA - A sprawling crowd of native protesters swirled outside the Prime Minister's Office in the shadow of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill on Friday as a controversial meeting between First Nations leaders and Stephen Harper got underway.

A crowd of about 3,000 people, according to police estimates, first gathered outside the sandstone building known as Langevin Block, chanting, drumming and waving makeshift banners.

The real story behind Attawapiskat’s problems

Making sense of Attawapiskat is not easy. The James Bay native community is synonymous with poverty. But it sits next to a diamond mine.

Its chief, Theresa Spence, has become famous across Canada because of the hunger strike she is waging on an island in the Ottawa River.

She insists she’ll only consume liquids until Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with her (which he has agreed to do).

Attawapiskat audit is no excuse for denying native grievances

For Chief Theresa Spence and the crisis-ridden Attawapiskat First Nation, a sharply critical audit of their handling of federal funds could not have surfaced at a worse time. Spence’s hunger strike has called attention to the challenges faced by native communities across the country as the Idle No More protest movement gathers force.

She even succeeded in shaming Prime Minister Stephen Harper into agreeing to meet native leaders on Friday, to discuss grievances that range from the outdated Indian Act to disregard for treaty rights to wretched living conditions and poor education. Yet the audit by Deloitte, requested by Ottawa to ensure that the $104 million it gave to Attawapiskat from 2005 to 2011 was spent as it should have been, has been unable to confirm that the money was properly handled.

Attawapiskat: You Want to Be Shown the Money? Here it Is.

Reading the news coverage on Attawapiskat doesn't feel very healthy sometimes. There are so many racist rants and outright ignorant responses that it can bog you down. Where do you even begin, when the people making these comments do not seem to understand even the bare minimum about the subject?

Well, you can try to answer questions with facts. Here are some of those facts, if you're interested.

Attawapiskat audit says federal funds spent without records

A newly released audit of the federal funding spent by the Attawapiskat First Nation has found significant documentation lacking for the $104 million transferred to the band between 2005 and 2011.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence responded Monday in a news release, which dismissed the timing of the leaked audit as a distraction from the “true issues” and claimed it was designed to discredit her.

Federal government audit ‘severely critical’ of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence

OTTAWA—The federal government is concerned a damning independent audit of how federal funds are spent in Attawapiskat will inflame tensions in advance of Friday’s meeting between the prime minister and First Nations leaders, says a source who has seen the report.

The government, however, says it is not deliberately withholding the document and it will be released soon through “normal channels.”

Attawapiskat chief is wrong to blackmail PM

The threat of suicide is always ill advised or rooted in selfishness. In the regrettable case of Theresa Spence, it appears to be a case of both.

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.

Attawapiskat: Why don't they just leave?

ATTAWAPISKAT, ONT.—If she had a magic wand, Rosie Koostachin would change many things in her community. There would be better housing, health care and education. There would be more jobs and there would be no drug and alcohol abuse. Oh, and the reserve would be better run.

But there is no magic wand. Neither is one on its way.

Koostachin, the wise 42-year-old mother of four and grandmother of one, knows that.

Attawapiskat: No end in sight to problems of inadequate housing, unemployment, drug addiction

ATTAWAPISKAT, ONT. — Many years ago, Helen Kataquapit lived in a house. A real house that was warm, had a bedroom, a kitchen with a stove and a washroom with running water.

That memory is fast fading.

The 52-year-old grandmother — who lives in a room not much larger than a walk-in closet in two trailers shared by dozens of others in one forlorn corner of Attawapiskat — knows she may never live in a house again.