The big news is that Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence will be ending her hunger action today, after it was reported that her own band council was issuing her an ultimatum to either end her hunger action or face removal as chief. But that wasn’t quite enough for Spence, who issued a thirteen-point resolution that needed to be met, and after speaking with Opposition leaders, got them to sign off on it – though I’m not exactly sure why. And so, there to be an “honouring ceremony” to end the hunger action held later today, plus a couple of press conferences – so I guess we’ll have to see what gets said. Meanwhile, the Manitoba chiefs have decided that they’ll stick with the AFN for now, but raise questions about the Assembly’s mandate – especially with regards to treaty negotiations. Jonathan Kay writes about how the AFN can no longer be all things to all First Nations in Canada.
Tag Archives: Mali
Roundup: Money out the door
As part of their warm-up before the House returns next week, the Conservatives have been blanketing the country with ministerial good news announcements/re-announcements, and getting the local MPs in on it (which is actually a clear violation of their roles – backbench MPs are not supposed to hand out the cash, they’re supposed to hold the government to account when they hand it out). Yesterday’s score was about $205 million.
Aboriginal Affairs minister John Duncan issues a reminder that it’s inappropriate for the GG to attend future meetings on First Nations issues. Meanwhile, reports are that the Manitoba chiefs – who have been among the most vocal and radicalised in terms of the untenable demands with regards to the unilateral demands around the GG’s participation – are considering breaking with the AFN. Here’s a look at how urban Aboriginal issues are being marginalised as the current Idle No More debate continues.
Roundup: No end in sight to protests
While Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence continues to insist that the GG and PM meet with all of the chiefs, here is a reminder of the role that the GG played at the last Crown-First Nations gathering – basically the introductory speech, and then left. In other words, not at the table for the working portion, nor should he ever be. Meanwhile, the PMO says that they’ll be following up with National Chief Shawn Atleo on a follow-up meeting in the coming weeks, and have no intention of calling another big meeting with the GG. Apparently this means that the protests will continue. And the fact that NDP MP Charlie Angus is buying into Spence’s constitutional relativism and encouraging the GG’s participation in order to “draw down the rhetoric” is not only disheartening, it’s constitutionally irresponsible. I guess the “democratic” in New Democratic Party means that Responsible Government can be tossed away on a whim, and that we are subject to the whims of an activist monarch. Because that’s what he’s encouraging.
Roundup: Partisan posts and blaming the bureaucrats
That line between political and public service got blurred again for a short while on the CIDA website, as op-ed responses from the M-4 Unit – err, Julian Fantino – were posted on the department site. And these were very partisan posts. Within a couple of hours of the cry of alarm being raised, they were taken down, and Fantino’s office blamed the department for putting up the wrong information after they had been told to populate the site. Um, okay. Sure. We’ll totally buy that, even though the government has steadily been trying to politicise the civil service. Thomas Mulcair blasted the incident as breaking all of the guidelines set out by Treasury Board. Kady O’Malley Storify’d the whole afternoon’s craziness here. Meanwhile, National Post columnist Michael Den Tandt doesn’t think Fantino is capable of any cabinet position. Poor M-4 Unit! *sad trombone*
Roundup: Launching a new Action Plan™
Stephen Harper launched a new Action Plan™ in Montreal yesterday – the Venture Capital Action Plan™, to create Jobs & Growth™ as part of our Fragile Economic Recovery™. Economist Stephen Gordon wonders how this jives with Harper’s reluctance for government control in any industry, or how it benefits anyone other than consultants and lobbyists.
AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo has been ordered by his doctor to take time off because of exhaustion, which given the events of the past couple of weeks is no real surprise. Meanwhile, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence still refuses to end her liquid diet.
Here is a look at some of the projected costs of implementing the new safe drinking water legislation for First Nations reserves, and whether or not the government will fully fund it. Thomas Mulcair has taken to criticizing Harper’s approach to natural resource development, which he says is behind the Aboriginal unrest, and that Harper needs to sit down with the provincial premiers, as they are the key to resource revenue sharing with the First Nations.
Roundup: The omnishambles of a meeting that may not be
Here is the recap of yesterday’s omnishambles that was the drama over whether or not the First Nations meeting with the Prime Minister was going to happen or not. We’re still not sure. (It was so long that it became its own separate blog post). Here is a primer on some of the issues at play with the meeting, assuming it happens, and some of the broader First Nations discussions going on right now. This was the plan for the meeting – assuming it still goes ahead. The CBC looks at the issue with a group of diverse First Nations voices. Michael Den Tandt looks at Harper’s challenge in the meetings and the Aboriginal issue in the broader context.
Meanwhile, here’s a look at the blank slate that is what we know about Chief Theresa Spence’s history, which suits both her supporters and critics. We have learned that her partner and band co-manager has a history of bankruptcy, and yet he’s the one managing Attawapiskat’s books. Also, he claims to have been training for his CGA designation, and yet there is no record of that.
Roundup: Redefining status
The Federal Court has ruled that non-status Aboriginals and Métis should be classified as “Indians” under the constitution, and that the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility towards them. This opens up a major can of worms in terms of the way that policy and duty to consult will have to happen going forward, as well as resources for those individuals based on what the government is obligated to provide, and this will be complicated more because the ruling does nothing to settle how the government will need to exercise this jurisdiction. This will doubtlessly be headed for the Supreme Court, so it may be some years before it is fully settled.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s boyfriend invites a forensic audit of the band’s finances to prove that there wasn’t any misspending – even though it’s been his job to provide the documentation that’s missing. He also defends his relationship and insists that he reports to the band council as a whole and that Spence doesn’t vote on conflicts of interests. Meanwhile, when Global News sent a crew up to Attawapiskat, they were kicked off the reserve and threatened with arrest – under Spence’s orders – while Spence’s camp on Victoria Island has also banned the media under the rubric that they are “printing lies.”
Roundup: A damning audit
Things on the Attawapiskat file got even more interesting yesterday with leaks of the independent audit of the band’s finances – the full report going online later in the day on the Aboriginal Affairs website. The gist – there was almost no due diligence with spending on the reserve, little to no documentation, and no way to tell if any of the money has been spent effectively. And remember that Spence’s partner is the band’s co-manager, whose job it is to handle the money. Spence has also known the audit’s results since August 28th, and has refused to comment to the audit firm about it. While it was due to be released no later than the middle of next week, the PM’s spokesperson denied that it had been withheld deliberately. And Spence? Shut out the media from her Victoria Island campsite while her spokesperson said that the audit was wrong and wondered about the timing of the release. Paul Wells notes that of all the leaders, past prime ministers and would-be leaders who’ve visited Spence, Thomas Mulcair was conspicuously absent, which may have turned out to be a prudent thing. Jonathan Kay parses the lessons inherent in that year-old CBC report on Attawapiskat, and applies them to the current situation. John Ivison looks at the audit, and the context of Theresa Spence’s ever-changing goal posts, while Andrew Coyne looks at the tensions in the Aboriginal community between those looking to modernise with incremental advancements the way the current government is proceeding with, and those who consider those advancements “genocide.”