And what does that matter more than other qualities when it comes to electing politicians?
Society has become obsessed with identity. I’m old enough to remember when there was only one channel on the television and just two sexes. Humans came packaged as either male or female and vive la différence! Now I’m told that there are many, many genders: agender, genderqueer, neutrois, pangender, transgender, androgyne, bigender, transmaculine and two-spirit,…
The diversity and complexity of Canadian federal politics echoes through the 2019 general election results
So I voted Liberal. What did that accomplish? The 33.1 per cent of the 66 per cent of Canadian voters who managed to vote in the 2019 federal election gave the Liberals 157 seats, or 46.4 per cent of the 338 seats in the House of Commons. Clearly first past-the-post system has its advantages. The…
Three people with Red Pheasant Cree Nation No. 108 backgrounds. Three stories. One inescapable conclusion
Red Pheasant Cree Nation No. 108 is located in Saskatchewan near North Battleford. The band is named after Red Pheasant, brother of Chief Wuttunee (Porcupine). Wuttunee was chief, in 1876, when Red Pheasant was a signatory to Treaty No. 6. Wuttunee did not wish to sign the treaty, so he delegated the task to his…
We need to get to the roots of problems with Indigenous communities and stop casting blame where it doesn't belong
Maclean’s magazine once declared Winnipeg as “Canada’s most racist city.” Now it’s Thunder Bay’s turn. Thunder Bay is in turmoil after a report slammed its overstretched police force (if not the entire city) for alleged “systemic racism” towards its Indigenous population. Meanwhile, Thompson, Man., deals with Indigenous men filling its courts to overflow while Saskatoon…
For many, having a chance for a successful life means leaving their homes and moving elsewhere – for better education and more job prospects
In communities across Canada – and elsewhere in the world – young people are determined to escape, even if it means committing suicide. It’s a crisis that can be avoided. This summer, CBC Radio reported “yet another spate of suicides” in Attawapiskat, in northern Ontario. The First Nation was briefly famous in 2012 when then-chief…
The Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla need to put the Ridley Terminal money to work on things that will lead to future returns for their people
If there are any special Canadian values, fairness is surely one of them. We want and expect our laws and courts to be fair. Our economy, too, should give everyone an opportunity to do well. The resulting income streams should not excessively reward the rich nor should our taxes penalize the poor. The United States,…
Wilson-Raybould instructed Justice Department lawyers not to aggressively fight claims brought by Indigenous groups against the federal government
Since former Justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould’s dramatic testimony before a committee of the House of Commons, followed by the testimony of Gerald Butts and Michael Wernick, much attention has been paid to SNC-Lavalin and the questionable behaviour of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Mostly missed were the last words of Privy Council clerk…
Decision encourages an infinite, ever-changing, race-based relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
In December 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its Restoule decision, which renders Canada and Ontario equally liable to pay the 21 Robinson Treaties bands their “fair” share of all Crown revenue received from sales, leases and licenses, less expenses, derived from treaties-surrendered lands retroactive to 1850. The land covers basically the entire…
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be treated as nothing more than an aspirational document
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to become law in Canada. This is a very bad idea for many reasons. Enacting a law that would make all legislation subject to UNDRIP could render Canada virtually ungovernable. Justice Minister Jody…
The department holds inordinate power over First Nations people, yet the citizens have no say in how it operates
It isn’t easy to grasp just how vast and complex Canada’s federal Indigenous affairs portfolio has become over the past 50 years. Now divided into Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations, it’s unlike any other federal government department. The portfolio is more accurately described as a federally-run province. This makes sense because, according to the department,…
Society has become obsessed with identity. I’m old enough to remember when there was only one channel on the television and just two sexes. Humans came packaged as either male or female and vive la différence! Now I’m told that there are many, many genders: agender, genderqueer, neutrois, pangender, transgender, androgyne, bigender, transmaculine and two-spirit,…
