It's a Lose-Lose
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan is sick and tired of the controversy surrounding Attawapiskat. Who can blame him? In fact, his illness has led him to be weary and possibly incapable of handling the portfolio he holds, much longer. He has managed to do a creditable job to date, but the fact is his heart condition may leave him little option but to stand back from his ministerial duties.
Frustration and constant stress is not what the doctor ordered for heart patients. Try as he may he will not, in any event, be able to fully satisfy the demands of isolated First Nation communities who insist that they must live in out-of-the-way geographic areas that once sustained their forbears, but cannot sustain them, other than by artificial means.
For they no longer live as their ancestors did, nor do they wish to revert to living in that manner. They have become accustomed to living with the comforts of a civil, urban society. To have a choice of foodstuff they did not themselves hunt or grow, to have clean drinking water, and flush toilets, television sets and access to alcohol, fast food and recreational drugs.
Where once First Nation peoples struggled with the resources available to them to cope with the seasons, the availability of food derived from hunting and fishing and crops, they now rely entirely on the federal government to ensure they have potable drinking water, sufficient food, housing, medical treatment and educational opportunities for the young.
Instead of being gainfully employed, the majority of those who live on northern reserves look for ways to relieve the endless boredom of their lives. Alcoholism and drug addiction is rampant, and aboriginal babies are born with withdrawal symptoms from both, their full potential never to be realized, while native children are neglected by disinterested parents and themselves fall victim to addictions.
Funding is invariably bumped up whenever a crisis occurs due to natural catastrophes and/or the state of decay of properties never properly maintained because no one on the reserves can bother, and complete disinterest and lack of responsibility reflect the ethos of those who are never challenged to be responsible for themselves.
Corruption among the chiefs and council members is rampant; elected to do their best for the small numbers in any reserve they represent, they tend to neglect their duties and pay attention to whatever they can do to elevate and advance their own fortunes. This is done through voting themselves generous tax-free salaries not commensurate with the duties they carry out.
Yet when the federal government loses patience, particularly when it is held responsible for matters that the band councils and chiefs themselves should be accountable for, First Nation authorities scream bloody murder. It becomes a situation where the federal government, the dispenser of the wherewithal to support this unrealistic way of life, is 'interfering'.
"Your Prime Minister accused our First Nation of mismanaging funds and made remarks in the House that are untrue and have caused irreparable damage", was the message Minister John Duncan received from Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.
He is not her Prime Minister, for the First Nations people of Canada consider themselves to be a nation unto themselves, priding themselves on their traditional values and honouring their past. The Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council, which manages the Attawapiskat First Nation was somewhat more diplomatic.
"I cannot say that he lied", he responded when he was asked by a CBC radio host whether he agreed with Chief Spence's accusation. It was revealed by the Prime Minister that Attawapiskat had received $90-million for its two thousand inhabitants over the past five years. And government wants an audit to account for the allocation of those funds.
The band council can not supply detailed accounting. It has no approved budget, simply allocating funds on a spontaneous, haphazard basis. The federal government has appointed a third-party manager to audit and oversee the community's finances. Which has enraged Chief Spence who insists an outsider being appointed by the federal government constitutes a breach of trust and an insult to the integrity of the band.
The third-party manager has been denied entry to Attawapiskat. Chief Spence believes her 'life partner' should continue managing the band's financial affairs as he has done in the past. She has filed an application in Federal Court for an injunction to remove the federal government-appointed manager, to enable her council to regain control of the band's finances.
Frustration and constant stress is not what the doctor ordered for heart patients. Try as he may he will not, in any event, be able to fully satisfy the demands of isolated First Nation communities who insist that they must live in out-of-the-way geographic areas that once sustained their forbears, but cannot sustain them, other than by artificial means.
For they no longer live as their ancestors did, nor do they wish to revert to living in that manner. They have become accustomed to living with the comforts of a civil, urban society. To have a choice of foodstuff they did not themselves hunt or grow, to have clean drinking water, and flush toilets, television sets and access to alcohol, fast food and recreational drugs.
Where once First Nation peoples struggled with the resources available to them to cope with the seasons, the availability of food derived from hunting and fishing and crops, they now rely entirely on the federal government to ensure they have potable drinking water, sufficient food, housing, medical treatment and educational opportunities for the young.
Instead of being gainfully employed, the majority of those who live on northern reserves look for ways to relieve the endless boredom of their lives. Alcoholism and drug addiction is rampant, and aboriginal babies are born with withdrawal symptoms from both, their full potential never to be realized, while native children are neglected by disinterested parents and themselves fall victim to addictions.
Funding is invariably bumped up whenever a crisis occurs due to natural catastrophes and/or the state of decay of properties never properly maintained because no one on the reserves can bother, and complete disinterest and lack of responsibility reflect the ethos of those who are never challenged to be responsible for themselves.
Corruption among the chiefs and council members is rampant; elected to do their best for the small numbers in any reserve they represent, they tend to neglect their duties and pay attention to whatever they can do to elevate and advance their own fortunes. This is done through voting themselves generous tax-free salaries not commensurate with the duties they carry out.
Yet when the federal government loses patience, particularly when it is held responsible for matters that the band councils and chiefs themselves should be accountable for, First Nation authorities scream bloody murder. It becomes a situation where the federal government, the dispenser of the wherewithal to support this unrealistic way of life, is 'interfering'.
"Your Prime Minister accused our First Nation of mismanaging funds and made remarks in the House that are untrue and have caused irreparable damage", was the message Minister John Duncan received from Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.
He is not her Prime Minister, for the First Nations people of Canada consider themselves to be a nation unto themselves, priding themselves on their traditional values and honouring their past. The Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council, which manages the Attawapiskat First Nation was somewhat more diplomatic.
"I cannot say that he lied", he responded when he was asked by a CBC radio host whether he agreed with Chief Spence's accusation. It was revealed by the Prime Minister that Attawapiskat had received $90-million for its two thousand inhabitants over the past five years. And government wants an audit to account for the allocation of those funds.
The band council can not supply detailed accounting. It has no approved budget, simply allocating funds on a spontaneous, haphazard basis. The federal government has appointed a third-party manager to audit and oversee the community's finances. Which has enraged Chief Spence who insists an outsider being appointed by the federal government constitutes a breach of trust and an insult to the integrity of the band.
The third-party manager has been denied entry to Attawapiskat. Chief Spence believes her 'life partner' should continue managing the band's financial affairs as he has done in the past. She has filed an application in Federal Court for an injunction to remove the federal government-appointed manager, to enable her council to regain control of the band's finances.
Labels: Aboriginal populations, Economy, Government of Canada
posted by Pieface | 5:52 PM
1 Comments:
I'm so sorry you are so ill informed about our first nations people. I could not even read past your 3rd paragraph. It sickened me to think that there are actually people as daft as you spreading garbage like this and calling it "intellect". WOW!
Here's a thought, read about the history of our first nations - the treaties, the Indian Act and residential schools. It will require you to open some books. Then, visit a reserve. Meet people - find out about their lives and their family histories, their dreams and goals..OR
Please do me a favour, don't write about things you have NO idea about. I don't think Sarah Palin ever said anything as dimwitted and hurtful as you have said here. Shameful. Really shameful!
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