By Klaus Rohrich
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Like in a 1950s western movie, Canadians are holding their collective breath in anticipation of native protests scheduled to be held nationwide on June 29th. Canada's so-called "First Nations" are planning the day of protest to draw attention to unresolved land claims, poverty on native reservations and a plethora of other issues native leaders and their advocates are claiming to be in a crisis mode.
Will there be violence and confrontation or will there be peaceful civil protests calling attention to the concerns of natives? The answer is "yes" and "no", depending on who is answering. Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is hedging his bets when he told Canadian Press, "We don't want to cause a major disruption in the lives of Canadians, but at the same time, we also want to make sure they understand that this is a crisis."
Others aren't quite so equivocal. Terrance Nelson, Chief of the Roseau River reserve near Winnipeg has vowed to block rail lines and disrupt the movement of goods and people across Canada. Nelson believes that the only way to get action is to force multinational corporations to force the Government of Canada to resolve the natives' issues and the only way to achieve this goal is through the disruption of business.
Nelson doesn't seem to agree with his fellow chief, when he says, "I know Phil Fontaine wants this educational kind of stuff happening.... Industry must be forcing the government to the table." He believes if natives can pull off a significant warning on June 29 it will come as a wake up call to Canada.
That could well be the case. But, there is another possibility, one that maybe Canada's first aggrieved hadn't thought of. The whole thing might backfire, as many Canadians, particularly those who are struggling to make ends meet, just might say, "enough is enough". If you're the average Canadian family paying 45% of your entire income in taxes to keep this rickshaw we call Canada running, the last thing you want to hear is how poorly people who are not obligated to pay any taxes are being treated.
Not wishing to minimize the plight of aboriginals who languish in poverty on distant reservations, it is important to point out that Canadian taxpayers are coughing up somewhere in the neighbourhood of $8,000 for every aboriginal man, woman and child living in Canada today. In addition those with native status are entitled to a wealth of other benefits that include free college/university education, free prescription coverage, economic opportunities in the form of Indian-owned casino gaming venues, etc., etc. Clearly, something is amiss, but I can't believe that that something has to do with Canadians not doing enough for aboriginal people.
One novel thought for the solution of some of the problems facing aboriginals today might be to hold aboriginal leaders accountable for what they do with the largesse doled out by the Government of Canada. But, there isn't an aboriginal leader alive today that supports this idea, as it would then deprive them of the personal powers they so seem to cherish.
Another novel thought is to hold natives to the same standard to which the rest of Canada's citizens are being held and force natives to obey the laws. Confrontations like those that occurred in Oka, Quebec in 1990 and the one that's been ongoing in Caledonia, Ontario are destructive in the extreme and erode the legitimacy of law. Moreover they are indicative of the fact that Canada has two or more sets of laws; one that applies to the population at large and one that applies to the "sacred aggrieved".
A trite (but true) saying is, "give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach that man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime." So long as the Government of Canada treats native Canadians like children, their plight will remain unchanged. It's time that Canada re-examine its attitudes towards native people and made them full citizens with all the rights as well as responsibilities. Anything less and they will continue to be second-class citizens.
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