Home > News Centre > BCAFN Daily News

BCAFN Daily News

01/26/2012

• A. First Nations Stories Dominating the News
• B. Other First Nation Stories of Interest
• C. Stories Dominating the News

 

---

 

A. First Nations Stories Dominating the News

1- The Indian Act must go

Ottawa Citizen Editorial, January 25 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apparent reluctance to bid good riddance to the Indian Act is perplexing. It is universally acknowledged to be a racist, paternalistic mess. It, and the federal bureaucracy it created to oversee every aspect of the lives of aboriginal Canadians, is one of the worst examples of big government a conservative could find. Political scientist Tom Flanagan, whom The Walrus magazine called “The Man Behind Stephen Harper,” even wrote a book titled Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights. But at this week’s summit with First Nations chiefs, Harper went out of his way to say that the Act isn’t going anywhere soon. “To be sure, our government has no grand scheme to repeal or to unilaterally re-write the Indian Act: After 136 years, that tree has deep roots … blowing up the stump would just leave a big hole.” He went on to explain that his approach would be, instead, to replace parts of the Act or make changes that don’t require new legislation. As Postmedia columnist Michael Den Tandt pointed out, this might have been Harper’s way of heading off charges that the Conservative government is out to bully aboriginals and take away their rights. After all, Flanagan’s ideas for how to get beyond the Indian Act have not generally been received with much warmth in aboriginal circles. This might have been Harper’s attempt at distancing himself from ideology, or perceived ideology, that might get in the way of productive negotiations — pragmatism over principle. If so, he misjudged his audience and his timing. The irony is that many of the chiefs at the summit — the very people who are often accused of wanting to maintain the broken political status quo — were there to express the opinion that the time has come to replace the Act. This could not have come as a surprise to Harper, as Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo has been quite clear in his calls to get rid of the Act. Harper’s comments about “no grand scheme” might have been meant as nothing more than a promise that the change, when it comes, won’t be unilateral, sudden or disrespectful. Flanagan has also emphasized the role First Nations must have in “emancipating” themselves from the Indian Act, that it can’t be a top-down exercise. But far from creating an atmosphere of co-operation and consensus, Harper’s comments left the impression that he and the chiefs are in disagreement about a fundamental question, that the chiefs want to move forward faster than he does. To Canadians listening to the summit, it sounded an awful lot like Harper was saying “no,” before the discussion even really began. For most pragmatic and principled reasons, Harper should have used the summit to laud the chiefs who want to move beyond the Indian Act, and tell the country that he’s ready to do the same. The problems that face many aboriginal communities are extreme. They cannot be solved without fundamentally altering the relationship between First Nations and the federal government. This is no time for political timidity.

2- First Nations in Canada: building a future together

Laurence Paul and Candice Paul, Chronicle Herald, Jan 25 - This week in Ottawa, hundreds of First Nations chiefs met with federal leaders. It was the first meeting of its kind since 2006 and is a huge opportunity for Canadians. The discussions that took place will shape aboriginal communities for years, and come at a critical time for our people. Atlantic Canada’s First Nations people are ready to make their full contribution to the economic future of our country. And we must do this by working together. We believe that the future of the entire Canadian economy is tied directly to the essential role of our First Nation people. We need to take steps to make our communities a strong base for a better future. We need to ensure that our communities have the same opportunities and benefits found in non-native communities. We need a level playing field. Aboriginal youth are the fastest growing population in Canada. As the private sector and governments of each province search for human resources, our communities must be ready to provide a highly skilled and educated supply of people to join the workforce in every sector. To ensure our youth can take their place as future workers, we need to work together to address fundamental challenges. Our youth need access to the right training and post-secondary education. They need support as they enter the workforce. And we need to address difficult challenges, like suicide and addiction, so that our children and youth have hope for the future. We have already made improvements in education. More First Nations youth are staying in school longer. They are doing better in class. They are going on to higher education. In Atlantic Canada, over 1,400 First Nations students are attending universities and community colleges. We need to continue this good work, and we can do that by working together. We need the partnership of all levels of government, employers, First Nations and all aboriginal employment and support agencies. We’ve seen how successful this approach can be. The Sydney tar ponds project provided innovative approaches to create real jobs and business opportunities for First Nations and the Unama’ki Economic Benefits Office — a collaborative effort of five First Nations in Cape Breton and now one community in the mainland of Nova Scotia. Over 24 months, this project has produced $71 million in contracts for aboriginal companies, trained 213 people, and led to 60 permanent jobs. To take our place in the economic future of our country and our region, First Nations people must move away from the learned mindset of dependence — to independence. We need to support our children and youth. We need to address claims and self-governance negotiations so we can move forward as a community. We need to ensure stable funding to address infrastructure and housing deficits that, at the present rate of funding, will take 500 years to improve. We must continue to develop our fisheries. We need to create programs that address the challenges of mental health and addictions. And we must move away from the current state of crisis towards real systematic change, in each community, that will ensure the survival of our people. Our focus must be to move entire communities out of poverty toward economic independence. We must wage a full-scale attack on poverty so that our people can stop being bystanders to economic developments and opportunities across the country. And it must happen soon. Not in 500 years, but in five years. The making of First Nations policy must be put back into the hands of the First Nations leadership. Together, we will build a future with benefits for all of our communities. And we will take our place in the economic future of this country.

Chief Lawrence Paul and Chief Candice Paul are co-chairs, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat.

3- The First Nations: a time for trust, and for action

The Gazette Editorial - January 26 - It must have occurred to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that it would be bad optics, both at home and abroad, for him to take off halfway through Tuesday's Crown-First Nations summit in Ottawa for the World Economic Forum in Davos. In light of the pitiful state of many aboriginal communities in Canada, highlighted by the widely publicized housing crisis in the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat, it would have been perceived as a shameful slight, not just by the 400 chiefs at the meeting, but also by informed participants at the Davos schmoozefest. The Ottawa meeting was billed as a historic gathering. Whether it is rated as such by posterity depends on what action is taken to follow up on the good intentions that were expressed. These include enhanced funding arrangements with performance incentives for First Nations governments, commitments for improved government-First Nations relations and co-operation on treaty implementation and aboriginal self-governance and a joint task force to promote the economic development of native communities. It might have seemed that the prime minister and Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, were talking at cross purposes when Atleo said the Indian Act must be abolished, while Harper said that would be too radical of a step. But both were right. The Indian Act is an abominable relic of the century before last, but its sudden disappearance would leave an untenable vacuum. Furthermore, there is no unanimity among First Nations leaders as to its abrupt termination. What Harper proposed - its incremental amendment and progressive dismantlement - is the most practical way to go. Distrust has long plagued relations between the government and aboriginals. This has to give way to a new spirit of co-operation if the good intentions of this week's meeting are to bear fruit. Both sides must commit themselves to transparency and accountability in their governance practices and management of public funds. The Harper government has shown an encouraging willingness to work toward improving the lot of the country's aboriginal population. There has been the formal apology for residential school abuses, endorsement of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, extension of the Canadian Human Rights Act to aboriginals on reserves and a slew of agreements under the First Nations Land Management Act on the eve of the gathering. For their part, First Nations will have to give serious consideration to things formerly considered anathema, such as private real estate property rights for people on reserves, full disclosure of band officials' salaries and other disbursements, and possible relocation of people from remote communities without a sustainable economic base. The needs and the essentials - if not the details - of some potential solutions are fairly clear. Education in aboriginal communities must be brought up to national standards with comparable per-capita funding. Economic development of aboriginal communities must be encouraged through both education and revenue allocation from natural-resource extraction on aboriginal lands, and pipelines and hydro lines that cross them. The imperatives to succeed in meeting the needs of Canada's aboriginal population are also clear. The overall present state of that population is something that shames this country in the eyes of the world, more than many of us may realize. But there is also the potential for an upsurge in aboriginal anger that could be damaging to all parties. The aboriginal population is young - on average in the mid-20s - and growing at a rate more than twice that of the non-aboriginal population. A young, angry and systematically underprivileged underclass is a recipe for, at best, something like an Arab Spring-style uprising, as one chief suggested this week. The upside alternative, as suggested by Atleo, is that if the human potential of the aboriginal population is fully developed and accommodated, Canada could, in the space of a generation, reap a bounty of $400 billion in economic growth and savings of $115 billion in government spending. The talk has been talked, and it was in large part good talk this week. It is time now to do the walking, in the right direction.

4- First Nations leaders await government action

KRISTY KIRKUP, SUN NEWS, JAN 25 - OTTAWA - Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo is waiting to see if the federal government is about talk or action. Atleo said people living in First Nations' communities can't afford to wait any longer for help, but he hopes a meeting Tuesday between aboriginal leaders and government officials will lead to immediate change. "I believe it is important now for the government to act on our shared commitments and I look forward to an early demonstration of that commitment from the government of Canada," Atleo told reporters. The First Nations-federal government gathering was held in Ottawa, where dozens of chiefs, cabinet ministers and the prime minister agreed to work together on issues plaguing aboriginal communities, including education and economic development. A major sticking point with aboriginal leadership and the government continues to be the Indian Act - a 136-year-old statute that has given the government enormous powers over the lives of First Nations' people living on reserves. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday he doesn't plan to "blow up" the act, but the government will modernize it. "Our government has no grand scheme to repeal or unilaterally rewrite the Indian Act," Harper said. "After 136 years, that tree has deep roots. Blowing up the stump would leave a big hole." Queen's university political science Prof. Ned Franks says the Indian Act is in desperate need of an update, but a huge overhaul would be extremely complicated constitutionally. "An act is needed," Franks said. Franks said he expects the government to focus on updating property rights for First Nations down the road. The government said it is assessing how to enhance the value of assets along with First Nations. "We are working in partnership with First Nations to develop and implement legislative tools that will enable them to overcome barriers to economic development," Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan's spokeswoman Michelle Yao said.

5- Canada’s First Nations came away with little from the summit with Stephen Harper

The Star Editorial, Jan 26 - Barely eight weeks ago newspapers and TV newscasts were full of appalling images of Attawapiskat where native families were living in flimsy tents and overcrowded shacks without running water. The gap between those urgent needs and the bureaucratic, go slow response at Tuesday’s First Nations summit couldn’t be wider. Across this country there are native children who can’t go to school because their community doesn’t have one. Tap water, assuming their home even has running water, is too dangerous to drink. And they’ve never seen their parents go to work because there are no jobs where they live. With so many needs to address, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo were spoiled for choice on where to focus Tuesday’s meeting. So how can it be that Canada’s First Nations came away with little more than promises of yet more taskforces and working groups to look into long identified problems? The gathering was called “an important first step” in renewing the relationship between native leaders and the government. The Indian Act has been an unmitigated disaster since its inception 136 years ago and we’re still at first steps? Why haven’t the recent and high-profile housing crisis in Attawapiskat, the schooling crisis in Pikangikum and the water crisis in Kashechewan instilled a greater sense of urgency in Ottawa? No wonder so many native leaders left the summit shaking their heads in disappointment. Atleo may be willing to give Harper the benefit of the doubt that real change is on its way but other native leaders are not – and for good reason. When he first came to power Harper killed the $5 billion Kelowna Accord that was specifically designed to create native jobs and raise living standards. Years that could have been used to build decent homes and to properly educate children have been squandered. The architect of that accord, former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, was stunned that Harper was still talking about “building a relationship” with First Nations six years after coming to power. He’s right. How could Harper not be ready to offer a concrete, substantial change that would improve the lives of natives today? Education, for one, should be a no brainer. Without a decent education children will never be able to break free of poverty and despair. Yet the federal government pays thousands of dollars less per native child than do the provinces to educate children. “How difficult is it for a government to say ‘We’re going to end discrimination’?” asked Martin. “If you need to establish a relationship, go to a reserve and read to a six-year-old.” It’s not a bad idea. It might have given Harper a sense of urgency that was sadly absent from the summit.

6- Budget ‘good exercise’ for First Nations

STEPHANIE LEVITZ, The Canadian Press, Jan 26 - OTTAWA — If landmark talks this week between First Nations and the federal government were akin to an exchange of vows on a new relationship, the next federal budget might resemble a ring to seal the deal. The coming budget will be consistent with the priorities agreed to by aboriginal leaders and the federal government, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said Wednesday. They included a pledge to move forward with recommendations on education reform, a working group on federal funding for aboriginal reserves and a task force on economic development. Duncan said he feels he and the chief of the Assembly of First Nations are on the same page. "We do have our shared priorities, we have an important partnership," he said Wednesday. "We are obviously motivated by economic development and a jobs agenda and we think that is consistent with the national direction as well, so I would anticipate that the budget will be a very good exercise." National Chief Shawn Atleo said areas such as education need urgent attention and not just to benefit First Nations communities. He says the economic future of Canada depends on it and that’s something Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government believe as well. "My view is that we can be both practical in areas like education, build on what we know to be the challenge, get to the work together with the Crown, agree to how we’re going to implement those changes and then seek the resources to match the required changes," Atleo told reporters. "Those are natural next steps to be looking for. Our children, as I said yesterday, cannot wait." But some chiefs say it’s the children who have been left waiting after Tuesday’s daylong meetings between Harper, his cabinet and aboriginal leaders. "We have epidemic health and social issues, gross inequities in funding for our students and virtually no share in the billions in resources being stolen from our traditional territories," said Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Anishinabek Nation. "What we heard from Harper was a lame re-hashing of his government’s so-called accomplishments for our communities and citizens." The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, or NAN, on Wednesday issued a public cry for help for the Northern Ontario community Cat Lake First Nation, which it said is being ravaged by prescription drug abuse. NAN declared a state of emergency over the prescription drug epidemic in 2009. "We need action and commitment by the government now — not weeks, months or years from now — today!" said a release. Many hoped the Tuesday talks would have produced immediate announcements of programs that could improve living conditions on reserves. The sight of children and families living in shacks and tents on the Northern Ontario reserve of Attawapiskat catapulted the issue into the international spotlight late last year. The outcry prompted the federal government to finally set a date for talks with the First Nations leadership, a meeting first promised back in June 2011.

7- Martin blasts outcome of summit

Heather Scoffield, CP, Jan 26 - OTTAWA -- Paul Martin does nothing to mask his frustration. The former prime minister and architect of the scuttled Kelowna Accord tried to find something to salvage in the historic talks between First Nations chiefs and Stephen Harper. Instead, what he saw was the federal government wasting more time and sending the chiefs home empty-handed. "The government has nothing concrete to say," Martin said. "They wasted six years." The joint statement between Harper and the chiefs released Tuesday committed to a task force on economic development and a working group on government financing of First Nations. It also committed to reviewing a report on education, as well as processes to improve governance. But all that work has already been done many times over, Martin said. "All of this preliminary work that they're now talking about doing has been done. It's there. It's on the record." Martin and aboriginal leaders negotiated a pact in 2005 that would have pumped $5 billion over five years into native health care, education, housing and clean water. The Kelowna Accord was shelved by Stephen Harper soon after his Conservative government defeated the Martin-led Liberals six years ago this week. With no clear time lines or goals included for the processes they've set up, Martin said his successor is proving the Conservative government "has no sense of urgency." At the very least, the government should have committed to ending discrimination in education funding for First Nations children, he added. "How difficult is it for a government to say 'we're going to end discrimination?' " Martin asked. The Prime Minister's Office declined to offer any reaction to Martin's remarks. But Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said in a separate interview Wednesday the next federal budget will be consistent with the priorities agreed to by aboriginal leaders and the federal government at Tuesday's summit. They include a pledge to move forward with recommendations on education reform, a working group on federal funding for aboriginal reserves and a task force on economic development. First Nations have long complained money spent on education per student is several thousand dollars less for on-reserve children than for children just a kilometre away off-reserve. In court, the federal government has argued it's not fair to compare provincial funding of off-reserve schools to federal funding of on-reserve schools. Equal funding would likely cost the government billions. But money is no excuse for discrimination, Martin said. "Are they going to eliminate the deficit on the backs of six-year-olds who can't read?" he said. "There is no doubt that you're not going to get economic development unless you have an education." Martin remains involved in First Nations affairs, heading up a foundation that invests in aboriginal education and entrepreneurship. He is flabbergasted by the emphasis Harper is putting on "building a relationship" with First Nations, saying the Conservatives have had six years to do that and "it's unbelievable" that they seem to be starting from the beginning only now. Harper has made a point of doing things differently than Martin. Upon taking office six years ago, the Conservatives let the Kelowna Accord sink unfunded, and dismissed it as flimsy -- despite 18 months of negotiations with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and the provinces.

Homes making people sick

ALMOST half the homes on First Nations reserves in Canada are mouldy and the high levels of toxins are making people sick, University of Victoria researchers say. The problem amounts to a national crisis, but little has been done to address underlying problems for two decades, their study concludes. Conditions on many reserves are deplorable and dangerous, said medical anthropologist Peter Stephenson, who led the study. "For small children, it's disgraceful. We haven't seen any action on this for 15 to 20 years and it's long overdue."
A different kind of partnership is needed between First Nations and the federal government, said Stephenson. "Failed commitments from the federal government to improve reserve housing and socio-economic conditions have resulted in a legacy of widespread substandard housing and severe housing shortages that yield overcrowding, which, in turn, aggravates mould growth," concludes the paper, published in the U.S.-based Journal of Environmental Health. The researchers found reserve homes are often constructed from inappropriate and substandard materials that are highly susceptible to mould.

Obesity prevention needed

OBESITY prevention programs, especially for children, are urgently needed in Canada's First Nations communities, according to a new report. "The health status of aboriginal peoples is profoundly different from that of the general Canadian population," it says, pointing to high rates of obesity and the diseases it can cause. Hypertension and heart disease among aboriginals is described as a "full-blown cardiovascular crisis." And Type 2 diabetes is "epidemic." The disease is three to five times more common among aboriginals than in the general population and tends to have more severe side-effects. "This ominous chronic-disease profile among (aboriginals) highlights an urgent need for effective, culturally appropriate obesity-prevention strategies," says the report, co-authored by Noreen Willows at the University of Alberta, Dr. Anthony Hanley at the University of Toronto and Treena Delormier at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. They say obesity-prevention efforts should focus predominantly on children given the importance of reducing risk factors early in life.

8- A way forward for aboriginals

Special to the National Post • Jan. 26 - Attendees at Tuesday's Crown-First Nations summit in Ottawa described the problems faced by Canada's aboriginals in distressing details: widespread poverty, substance abuse, chronic ill health, family dysfunction, unemployment, inadequate education, crime and violence, poor local government, bureaucratic red tape and a lack of economic opportunities. Understandably, there is a desire to deal with these problems all at once. But waiting for a comprehensive solution - even if one could be said to exist - is an unrealistic approach. Stephen Harper's government is correct to embrace a strategy that focuses on regional and band-specific initiatives put forward by natives themselves. For far too long, successive federal governments and leaders of such aboriginal groups as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) have tried putting their eggs in a one-solution basket. The Kelowna accord in 2005, for instance, with its promise to increase funding for First Nations from $8-billion to nearer $10-billion a year, was sold as a be-all, end-all solution to on-and off-reserve problems. Before that, there was the federal commission on residential schools that promised to repair aboriginal and non-aboriginal relations by having Ottawa pay reparations to the former students of church-and government-run schools. And before that, there was the Tories' Mulroney-era royal commission on aboriginal problems. Its sweeping recommendations were lauded by elites - and then shelved. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, like AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo, have a different approach. At Tuesday's conference, the two leaders both signalled their intent to make the improvement of First Nations education their main focus, while working incrementally on a host of other problems that plague aboriginal Canadians. There is no doubt the many difficulties First Nations people struggle with are interconnected. For instance, aboriginal students have a high-school completion rate only about half that of nonaboriginal students (48% versus 87%) - which in turn consigns them to a lifetime of unemployment or at best underemployment -which in turn makes them more vulnerable to family break-up and substance abuse. Moreover, the low aboriginal graduation rate is not caused simply by decrepit schools and a shortage of teachers, but also by a fractured social culture on many reserves that discourages even the most promising students from showing up for class. Ottawa can agree to build the 60 new on-reserve schools the AFN claims are needed across the country. But for students from broken or distressed homes, fine new facilities will not ensure they get out of bed, eat a decent breakfast or make it to the school bus on time. And yet, complex as the aboriginal-education file may be, it is the correct point of entry for policy reform - because it focuses on the next generation of aboriginals. It is well and good to deliver apologies and restitution to aged survivors of resident schools. But those are not the people who will transform aboriginal societies in coming years. At Tuesday's meeting, there was disagreement between Messrs. Harper and Atleo over the need to do away with the Indian Act. Mr. Atleo, for his part, said the 136-year-old legislation was "built on the disgraceful premise of our [First Nations] inferiority [and] aimed at assimilation and the destruction of our cultures." The problem is that many of the provisions woven into the Indian Act, especially the concept of communal land ownership, have (unfortunately) become bedrock aspects of native political culture. If Stephen Harper's government were to overturn the communal-land-ownership scheme in favour of the same buy-and-sell property-ownership regime that applies to the rest of us, native chiefs would be the first to protest. Mr. Harper says his government has "no grand scheme to repeal or unilaterally rewrite the Indian Act." Rather it would modernize the most atrocious sections of the act, and move incrementally to improve the issues remaining between Ottawa and the country's 633 aboriginal bands, such as land claims, resource sharing, health care, housing and economic development. That is as it should be: Local experimentation - including, we hope, the gradual transfer of land to private ownership - is a better way forward than one-size-fits-all national solutions. Progress will not come quickly. Old mistrusts on both sides will hinder progress. Several native leaders at Tuesday's summit, for instance, indirectly threatened violence if solutions were not found quickly, while others seemed intent on fighting old legal and constitutional battles before moving forward. Ottawa and our First Nations now have to correct mistakes that were 100 years in the making. It will take decades, at least, to find workable solutions, But Tuesday's summit seems a good starting point.

9- Two acts, no treaties for B.C.'s first nations

Gary Mason, Globe and Mail, Jan. 26 - from British Columbia, the view of the Crown/first nations gathering is decidedly different. Recent history suggests that talk in Ottawa this week about the need to escape the shackles of the Indian Act is mostly just that. Attempts by the B.C. and federal governments to conclude treaty negotiations with the province’s first nations have been a dismal failure. In 20 years, only three first nations groups have signed agreements paving their way to independence. There are some other deals in the pipeline, we’re told, but otherwise, the talks have been a bust. The head of the B.C. Treaty Commission, Sophie Pierre, made headlines last fall when she said the process should be shut down unless more progress is made soon. This, of course, runs counter to what we heard out of the Crown/first nations discussions, where many native leaders lamented the continued tyranny of the Indian Act. There are many reasons why B.C.’s aboriginal groups have been reluctant to cut the apron strings with Ottawa. Some don’t like the terms of the deals they’re being offered. Some are not yet ready to set sail on their own. Some feel that recent moves by the federal government have profoundly changed the self-government game. In fact, two pieces of federal legislation passed in the last six years have altered the aboriginal landscape in Canada more than anyone knows. The First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act (2005) and the First Nations Certainty of Land Title Act (2010) have helped unlock enormous economic potential for aboriginal groups – especially those in urban areas. Together, the legislation allows native groups to develop their land in ways previously not possible. Among other things, the bills give real-estate projects on reserves the same legal protections as those off reserve. The Certainty of Land act allows bands to transfer property rights to non-aboriginals – which makes developments on their reserves more attractive to investors. In other words, the bills free first nations groups from some of the most stifling provisions of the Indian Act and gives them control over their future in a way they didn’t have before. But the legislation has also had an unintended consequence: There is less incentive now for aboriginal groups to sign treaties. While there is much about the Indian Act that native groups abhor, it does assure them of two things that they don’t mind at all: tax-free status and a pipeline of money from Ottawa. After a native group signs a treaty, those benefits get phased out. The whole point of native self-government, after all, is to give aboriginal communities the clout and ability to stand on their own, free of an act that native leaders have described as oppressive and paternalistic. But many bands have come to depend on their tax-free status and regular federal funding. With recent legislation opening up fresh economic opportunities, many first nations groups can now earn heaps of money and keep their federal benefits too. This is certainly not a knock against aboriginal leaders who are thinking along these lines. They have politics and elections and the will of the majority to consider. Many of their members don’t want to lose the sure thing they have now. And if they can have their cake and eat it too, why wouldn’t they? Of course, not all of Canada’s Indian bands will be able to take advantage of the legislation passed by Ottawa – especially those in remote areas. And so long as such groups remain under the Indian Act, they lack property rights. So current arrangements are far from perfect. To that extent, aboriginal politics in Canada remain as complex as ever. And the pathway to a brighter future is equally elusive.

10- Aboriginal crises are symptoms of a deep-rooted problem

Satsan, The Star, Jan 26 - The government of Canada and First Nations leadership have met and agreed on some immediate steps for action. It is admirable that removing the barriers that hinder First Nations governance and unlocking the economic potential of First Nations are on the list. Like summits before this meeting, phasing out the Indian Act is not on the list. Again, it is left to First Nations citizens to remove this most important obstacle to effective, prosperous governance. Canadians recently discovered the crushing poverty in Attawapiskat. This is not the first time Attawapiskat has struggled; and Attawapiskat is not alone. Every three years or so, these problems are discovered and agonized over. There is often a quick fix — new homes, an emergency relocation, a temporary water supply. And two or three years later, another set of headlines starts the cycle again. Why is that? Why are First Nations and the government locked in a seemingly unbreakable dance of failure and recrimination? It is because we are reacting to crises. But these crises are symptoms of a deep-rooted, systemic problem. Shingling a roof may stop the rain for a season — but it won't help if the foundation is rotten. Canada has attempted to seize management control of Attawapiskat and call in third party managers, sending a message that aboriginal people cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs. Their quick fix solution is “accountability.” The problem is one of accountability. The question is — whose? Former auditor general Sheila Fraser repeatedly pointed out the widening gap between living conditions on reserves and in the rest of Canada. Much of this is due to critical structural, legislative and funding barriers that do not provide First Nations with the legislative authority to change things. Federal policy rests on a foundation that is deeply flawed — the Indian Act. Passed in 1876, nine years after Confederation, the Indian Act is a legal fossil that still defines the link between our nations. It has created a relationship that is punitive, restrictive and regulatory. It created a system of councils and reserves accountable, not to their communities or the people who choose them, but to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development — councils with neither the authority nor the resources to act as effective “governments.” And of course, it leaves no space for new ideas or innovations in governance. Politicians frequently claim that the Indian Act is “failing.” In fact, it's a resounding success. It's doing exactly what it was designed to do. It was not introduced to promote aboriginal self-determination, or support the growth of healthy, prosperous communities; it was created to take our people off the land and away from the economy. The consequences of the Indian Act — the assault on our language and culture, our children and families, our freedom and our rights, has been chronicled, and even apologized for. But the act remains in place. How can our nations find a new way to coexist, an approach based on mutual recognition, respect and commitment to reconciliation? The first step requires recognition that First Nations are, in fact, nations, diverse in their needs and culture, each with its own history and relationship with the Crown. Canada must affirm historic responsibilities and obligations, first defined in our treaties and reiterated in Supreme Court decisions such as Delgamuukw, Haida and Mikisew — legal landmarks that affirm our aboriginal and treaty rights and title. Simple recognition of our nationhood and of our mutual obligations will begin to transform the relationship between First Nations and Canada. But the onus does not lie on government alone. The greater challenge lies with First Nation citizens. Our political existence has for the last century been defined for us in the Indian Act; we must now organize and develop our own vision or remain trapped in this upside-down world where we call ourselves “nations” but depend on and answer to the Crown. Many of our people fear the consequences of abandoning this familiar prison to embrace the uncertainty of a future in which we control our own destinies. But to restore our link with the land, govern ourselves and participate in the broader national and global economy, we must extricate ourselves from the stagnant security of the Indian Act and set a new course ourselves. No one else can pull us free. Once we make a decision to move beyond the Indian Act, we can start the real work of rebuilding our nations and establishing responsible and accountable governments. Our legislative authority must reflect our own traditions and laws, for we were certainly self-governing peoples before the arrival of colonizers in our homelands. I firmly believe that the issues of infrastructure, employment, housing, health and education — the problems that erupt into headlines — can only be met once the fundamental issues of governance have been addressed. Only then will our leadership be truly accountable to our people. Our future as nations together does not lie in another century of litigation and confrontation, but in establishing a spirit of partnership that looks to the future. And that is what this is all about. We want this generation to tell different stories than the ones we have been telling for the past seven generations. Stories of pride and resilience, stories in our languages about our cultures and ways of life, stories of self-government and prosperity. We will create a new memory in the minds of our children, a memory without the Indian Act.

Satsan (Herb George) is the president of the National Centre for First Nations Governance, a non-profit organization that supports First Nations as they develop effective, independent governance.

11- Strengthening the chain between First Nations and non-aboriginal Canadians

National Post, Jan 25 - On Tuesday, Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo presented Governor General David Johnston a silver wampum belt symbolizing the relationship between the British people and the First Nations. He stopped short of saying what we all know to be true, that the chain is almost rusted out. One of the central reasons for this breakdown is that non-aboriginal Canadians see all money and resources given to First Nations people as charity, while people in Atleo’s world see it as rent. If you’re handing out charity, you get to set conditions like submission to unelected managers. But people paying rent don’t get to interfere in their landlords’ business. When British officials took over the land and destroyed the hunt in northern Ontario, they promised to immediately rebuild aboriginal communities’ infrastructure and then to support that infrastructure forever. In the same way that a lease remains in effect as long as a person rents a house, the treaties remain in effect as long as non-First Nations people live in Canada. Consistently fulfilling the terms of the treaties is the minimum ethical requirement of living on the land of Canada. Attawapiskat is covered by Treaty 9. Like all the treaties, the written promises that colonial officials made in exchange for the land were very small. Historians correctly point out that the real treaties were the agreements that colonial representatives and First Nations leaders made orally. Indeed, the written documents cut out many of the oral promises and all of the shared “spirit and intent” of the oral agreements. So when we in 2012 talk about fulfilling the written treaty documents, we are talking about a limited, achievable goal. The more difficult part will be recovering and living up to the spirit and intent of the treaties. So what did Canadians offer in return for the right to live on First Nations land and to sell the trees, minerals, fish and furs they found there? In Treaty 9, we promised to provide teacher salaries, school buildings and educational equipment. The children of Attawapiskat have been without a safe school building since 1979 when their school was contaminated by a diesel spill that made them ill. In 2000 the community moved the children into temporary buildings. In 2008 the Canadian government refused the request of a delegation of children from Attawapiskat asking for a new school. The worst effect of that decision was to deprive 400 children of a proper school and to lay on them all the social and economic exclusions that arise from not having education. Another more insidious effect was to poison the relationship between the ancestors of the treaty signatories. By failing to provide the promised school, our government made it impossible for Canadians in the Treaty 9 area to live up to their moral obligations. It may be that Stephen Harper wishes to begin a radical new era of just relations with First Nations people, but when he stands up in Parliament and expresses frustration at Attawapiskat’s finances, he hurts his cause by engaging in an old tradition of political theatre. He is encouraging Canadians to continue believing that we are the generous benefactors of the First Nations people, but that is not true. They have been our benefactors since the days of the fur trade and we have become one of the wealthiest societies in human history. The bad news is that we have been left holding the bag and the profits from a 200-year-old land heist. The good news is that there is a clear path forward. To strengthen the chain between the First Nations and non-aboriginal Canadians, we must turn our gaze from the shortcomings of First Nations people onto our own. We must restore our side of the treaty relationship, which means learning the written and oral promises made over our bit of Canada and requiring our representatives to put fulfilling them at the top of their priority list. We must do this because we said we would and we are honest. The Canadian people are not thieves and profiteers and we will make good on the deals from which we have received one blessing after another. My generation will pay the rent in Attawapiskat.

Catherine Murton Stoehr is an instructor in the department of history at Nipissing University.

12- AFN chief hopes Harper talks will produce budget commitments

Canadian Press, Jan 25 - The head of the Assembly of First Nations says he wants to see the results of historic talks with the federal government reflected in the next budget. National Chief Shawn Atleo says areas such as education need urgent attention, and not just in order to benefit first-nations communities. He says the economic future of Canada depends on it and that’s something Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government believe as well. First nations and the Conservative government emerged from talks on Tuesday with a commitment to renew their relationship by addressing a number of long-standing concerns. They agreed to set up working groups to look at the financial relationship between Ottawa and native communities as well as economic development. They also committed to following up on an already-launched working group examining education. “My view is that we can be both practical in areas like education, build on what we know to be the challenge, get to the work together with the Crown, agree to how we’re going to implement those changes and then seek the resources to match the required changes,” Mr. Atleo told reporters. “Those are natural next steps to be looking for. Our children, as I said yesterday, cannot wait.” Mr. Atleo acknowledged that there have been years of studies and task forces on the issues facing First Nations communities. But he said this time is different. He said the point of Tuesday’s talks was to get both sides working together. “This is about moving away from government unilaterally deciding what they feel is right for First Nations,” he said. “That’s not a partnership.” Chiefs responded positively to the renewed relationship in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s meetings, but the morning after brought renewed concerns. “We have epidemic health and social issues, gross inequities in funding for our students, and virtually no share in the billions in resources being stolen from our traditional territories,” said Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Anishinabek Nation. “What we heard from Harper was a lame re-hashing of his government’s so-called accomplishments for our communities and citizens.” Mr. Atleo said it is time for an end to the old notion that first nations are merely considered “stakeholders” in discussions around natural resource development. But he stopped short of saying that first nations ought to have a veto over those projects, including the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline project. Enbridge wants to build a 1,170-kilometre twin pipeline that would carry oilsands bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat in northwest B.C., where huge tanker ships would transport it to Asia. The Alberta and federal governments have said the pipeline is crucial to building new markets for the country’s resources, especially in Asia. But many aboriginal groups who live along the pipeline’s proposed route are concerned about potential adverse environmental impacts. Mr. Atleo said first nations need to be full partners in designing how Canada builds its economies. “True partners would design a way forward together and would form a shared vision of how resource development would occur in this country,” he said.

13- Harper and the First Nations Speak Different Languages

Chelsea Vowel, Huffington Post, Jan 25 - Well folks, there was a lot of "speaking two different languages" going on in Ottawa yesterday. For me, the highlights of the Crown-First Nation Gathering held in Ottawa came from the mouths of two women, Dr. Pam Palmater and Chief Jody Wilson Raybould. Dr. Palmater provided commentary during the opening and closing of the Gathering on APTN while Chief Raybould addressed the Gathering itself. I'll admit that I didn't exactly have high hopes about this summit, for reasons that Dr. Palmater laid out far more explicitly and thoroughly than I have room for here. Harper's opening speech confirmed that the Canadian government has no intention to abolish or even change the Indian Act (it's a tree, after all, with deep roots) and National Chief Shawn Atleo's speech (scroll down for the full text in that link), though at odds with Harper's in certain areas, didn't exactly knock my socks off. Granted, these were clearly all prepared speeches being essentially "read into the record" by politicians who have be very careful about how they phrase things. Lots of references to "a new day" and such. People will analyze their words to death over the next months and even years, so expecting ground-shaking statements might be naïve. But when Chief Raybould finished with her opening pleasantries and then tackled some tough subjects, my ears stopped dozing. Her speech prompted the first rounds of spontaneous applause heard after over two hours of speeches. She said a lot of important things, and I urge you to listen to her words (at 2:24:30). After giving a series of concrete examples of the obstacles to self-governance and economic development, and offering clear instructions on how to overcome those obstacles, she accepted Harper's Indian Act-as-tree metaphor and stated: "We need core governance reform. When we do, the Indian Act tree will topple over. No gaping hole Mr. Prime Minister, but strong and self-determining First Nations." In the privacy of my living room, I was able to jump up and pump my fist like crazy without the least bit of embarrassment. Maybe you had to be there. During and after the Gathering, Dr. Palmater (along with Doug Cuthand) provided razor-sharp analysis of some of the issues raised which made me think it's no wonder CSIS apparently has a file on her. I particularly liked Ovide Mecredi recounting what a respected Elder told him to do about the Indian Act, advising Mecredi to "act Indian, not Indian Act." Again, this might not make sense to everyone reading this, and I think that is because just as was highlighted at the CFNG: We are often speaking two different languages. Doug Cuthand pointed out that for most First Nations people, it's "family first, community second, individual third," and noted that Harper had focused strongly on the individual first. This is not the only instance of how we aren't speaking the same language. Chief Raybould and Ovide Mecredi both gave plenty of other examples related to governance and the treaties. What strikes me as the most obvious difference in language and meaning, however, is highlighted by the traditional acknowledgement of the territory one is on. In this case, the CFNG was hosted on Algonquin territory. When Prime Minister Harper or Minister Duncan or the Governor General acknowledge they are on Algonquin territory, they don't mean it. They really don't. Why? Because it would require acknowledging the sovereignty of the Algonquin people over those lands, which is something Canada steadfastly refuses to do. To these people, the words are just platitudes. Something you say when you're dealing with Indians. Empty phrases. It is not an empty phrase for us. It is an important affirmation of another nation's territory, a recognition of the reciprocal obligations between hosts and guests, and it is also a constant modern-day assertion of indigenous sovereignty. So when I read the CFNG outcome statement, I can't help but feel that sure, it really would be a good step if we could manage to speak the same language. So how about it, Canada? Time for some national language lessons?

B. Other First Nation Stories of Interest

1- First Nation Students are Successful in Post Secondary

Roxane Manitowabi, Sudbury Star, Jan 25 - I have attended many graduation ceremonies over the years in First Nations communities and at several Post Secondary Institutions. There is nothing more breathtaking or moving than to witness a procession of First Nation Post Secondary Graduates enter a room with the grandfather drum sounding an honour song and seeing family and community members there to offer support and extend their congratulations for the students on their accomplishments. More often than not, those graduates have had to overcome very difficult challenges in their lives and succeeded against all odds. On December 17, 2011 the Wikwemikong Post Secondary Counselling Unit, Wikwemikong Board of Education and the community came out to honour 75 Post secondary graduates from the class of 2011. The 75 graduates, including my son, had all received either diplomas, degrees or masters in a wide variety of professions from various community colleges, universities, and First Nations post-secondary institutions, both in Canada and abroad. As a parent I cannot begin to describe the sense of pride and accomplishment that I felt at that very moment. To see your child along with so many other First Nation students being honoured for their success and to have so many community members come out to share in this celebration and stand beside them was absolutely amazing. The supports provided by the community through the Post Secondary Student Support program, the education counsellors and the education program staff were critical to the success of all of these students and they all need to be commended for the GREAT work that they do for each of our students. If we want to look for success stories in First Nations education, we need not look any farther than First Nation Education Post Secondary Program. There are now thousands of post secondary graduates that have gone through the program and become successful professionals, making important contributions to society. Many have had to overcome great challenges, dealing with the impacts of colonization, systemic racism, poverty, social issues, residential school, loss of cultural identity and language. If we factor in all of these challenges along with the fact that post secondary funding has been capped at 2% since 1996 and that First Nations schools receive 0% funding for libraries, technology, sports and recreation, vocational training, curriculum development, teacher training and benefits, and aboriginal language revitalization and protection, First Nations should get an A+ for their exceptional role in maintaining and managing such a successful program. It is evident by the success of the students in this one community that the Post Secondary Student Support Program is effective, and that role that people play at the community level is critical. So hats off to all our First Nation Education Directors, Education Counsellors, Administrators and to the community for believing in the students who access and graduate through the program.

2- Education is key for natives

James Wilson, Winnipeg Free Press, Jan 26 - When I invited readers to ask bold questions, I braced for a barrage and got it. Dozens of candid, pull-no-punches questions later, the importance of this kind of frank dialogue became apparent. You asked legitimate questions across the spectrum of aboriginal issues and I can say that while some were rooted in ignorance, not one was racist. Though I responded privately to every email, there was one deserving of a public response. "I am very concerned about all the aboriginal communities. They are the fastest-growing segment of Canadian society and have the lowest rates of education and employment and also have high rates of illness and social problems." The writer is correct. Aboriginal education is in a state of crisis in Canada, and Manitoba happens to be the epicentre. Without doubt, it is the social predicament of our age and our collective response to it will define both our social and economic future. Aboriginal students in Canada are doing poorly. How poorly? The data we have are very incomplete, but, we do know a few things. For instance, we know graduation rates on reserves are as low as 28 per cent in Manitoba, compared to the provincial average of 82.7 per cent. What we don't know are the graduation rates of aboriginal students off-reserve and attending mainstream Manitoba schools. But these data must be gathered given that 26 per cent of Manitoba students are aboriginal, with the number expected to climb much higher in the next 20 years when approximately 20 per cent of Manitoba's entire population will be aboriginal. We also know on-reserve schools get significantly less funding than public schools -- to the tune of $2,000 to $3,000 per student. This translates into less teacher pay; higher student-to-teacher ratios; inability to keep up with curricular advances; infrastructure problems, etc. Compounding the funding issue is a lack of laws governing education on-reserve. The provincial system is governed by a document more than 150 pages long outlining minimum teaching days, teacher certification, board governance etc., to allow parents and the broader community to hold the Manitoba government accountable. The Indian Act governing on-reserve education is just three pages long, is largely irrelevant and fails to offer even the basics in terms of minimum teaching days or standards. Coming to the heart of the writer's concerns and her most pointed questions, she continues: "As a volunteer in inner-city schools, students shared many concerns about parents, addictions, lack of food and pressures from gangs. Then there are the ways students are bullied and accused of 'selling out to the white man' for wanting to attend university. Is this attitude prevalent?" It is true aboriginal students are sometimes teased for "acting white" if they succeed academically. Residential schools, used as a weapon to assimilate aboriginal people, and the one-sided imposition of the Indian Act, are largely to blame for this attitude. It wasn't always this way, however. In fact, if we look back to the original treaties, not only was education highly valued, it was seen as a critical factor in creating opportunities and stronger futures for generations to come. When the chiefs signed the treaties, they negotiated hard for schools in exchange for access to the land and its resources. Like all parents, they wanted a better future for their children and believed education was the key. So highly did they value access to education that this "right" is a common element in all 11 numbered treaties signed between 1871 and 1921. "Her Majesty agrees to maintain schools for instruction in such reserves... whenever the Indians of the reserves shall desire it." I am often asked what documents signed more than 140 years ago have to do with today. When it comes to education, the answer is -- everything. In these original treaties, signed in partnership so long ago, lies our birthright of education, challenging us to strive for the levels of excellence our ancestors envisioned for us. In my view, we will never escape poverty and the anti-intellectual hole into which we have dug ourselves until aboriginal parents and students see education as something that reflects their lives and builds on their culture. Reconnecting with these sacred documents and the vision our ancestors had for us may be just the cultural and traditional touchstone we all need to push forward.In the final words of our emailer, "I truly hope that great leaders will come forth (who) will have fresh ideas for progress that will benefit all members of our society." Now is the time to meet this crisis head-on and Manitoba should be the place where this begins. We have solutions being placed on the table now, in the form of the Senate report Reforming First Nations Education: From Crisis to Hope, and an upcoming report from the National Panel on First Nations Elementary and Secondary Education. While reform is absolutely necessary, what is needed more than anything is a change in mind-set to ensure not only is education valued but it is ours -- as aboriginal parents, grandparents and students. We are the great leaders we need. It is we.

James Wilson is commissioner of the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, a neutral body mandated to encourage discussion, facilitate public understanding and enhance mutual respect between all peoples in Manitoba.

3- Students prepare for Feb. 1 rally

Jonathan Hamelin, Leader-Post, January 26 - Students at the University of Regina and First Nations University of Canada took part in a teach-in at the U of R on Wednesday, learning more about the postsecondary issues that will be focused on at a Feb. 1 rally at FNUniv. As part of that day's National Day of Action, Regina students will be taking part in one of numerous rallies across Canada to get the attention of the federal government regarding postsecondary accessibility. Regina's national goal for the rally is supporting aboriginal education by eliminating the two-per-cent cap on the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP). Its provincial goal is dropping tuition fees. Speakers on Wednesday included University of Regina Students' Union (URSU) vice-president of external relations Paige Kezima, Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) prairie organizer Alanna Makinson, FNUniv Student's Association president Cadmus Delorme and Ken Montgomery of the Saskatchewan Justice Institute. "You can't ask people to act on something if they don't know what various things mean," URSU president Kent Peterson said. Delorme spoke passionately about the need to get rid of the two-per-cent cap on the PSSSP. The federal government provides funding for aboriginal students to attend post-secondary institutions through the PSSSP. Since 1996, the amount of money given out nationally has increased by two per cent each year. With tuition rising 11 per cent over the past three years in Saskatchewan, for example, the cap has been detrimental. The CFS estimated over 10,000 aboriginal students last year were denied funding through the PSSSP. The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations estimates 1,000 of these students were from Saskatchewan. "When my forefathers touched the pen to Treaty 4 in 1874, they wanted us to be like the children of the settlers," Delorme said following the teach-in. "The children of the settlers today are giving up post-secondary education." Delorme has witnessed the problem first-hand. This past fall, 100 students from Delorme's home of Cowessess First Nation applied to the PSSSP. Only 75 received funding. Delorme himself relies on funding from the program. "As a student, it's hard for me to concentrate on school if I don't know if I'm actually going to be going to school in the fall again," Delorme said. "I'm from a family that does not have enough money to send me to school and I don't have enough credit to apply for student loans "I'm just one of a thousand students that are in these same shoes. This PSSSP gives us the tool to succeed." As for the other local issue at the Day of Action, Peterson plans to advocate a tuition freeze. "We had, until quite recently, a tuition fee freeze in Saskatchewan ... and there's a study that was released last November that said that fee freeze actually made tuition and post-secondary more accessible in the province," Peterson said. "We know it works, we know it has worked in Saskatchewan, and so it really doesn't make much sense to keep raising the prices of tuition fees." On Feb. 1, the Day of Action rally in Regina is scheduled to run from noon to 2 p.m. It will start outside and then move inside with number of guest speakers scattered throughout the day.

For more information on the Day of Action, visit www.educationisaright.ca

4- First Nation chief strives to be accountable

CBC News, Jan 26 - Glen Pratt, chief of the Gordon First Nation northeast of Regina, says reserve leaders need better supports in order to improve accountability of band governments. Pratt believes many First Nations leaders face complex challenges trying to meet the needs of their communities, needs that non-reserve politicians don't often encounter. Pratt doesn't just oversee band programs and preside at council meetings. Pratt says his people often come directly to him seeking help for things like funerals and home repairs. Pratt says he learned, from his grandparents, that part of his job as leader is to provide help. "What they taught me was never to stop using my heart when I'm a leader and to always try to have a heart," Pratt told CBC News. "My job is to be hope," he added. Pratt believes some bands fall into financial problems because there is simply not enough money to meet all the needs of the community. "I believe a lot of bands are in deficit, not because of misuse of funds, but because of a lack of funds in trying to help people with matters of the heart," Pratt said. Pratt also said that many bands struggle because the local leadership is trying to rebuild a community without the support and services available in the average Canadian community. Colin Craig, from the lobby group the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told CBC News that many First Nations residents are pressing for improved transparency as they seek accountability from leaders on how money is spent. "What we've tried to do is help them push for accountability and transparency so that everyone on reserve, as well as taxpayers, know how public funds are being spent," Craig said. One of the federation's most recent campaigns has involved publicizing details of salaries and other remuneration of band chiefs. Pratt said he takes his job seriously and believes in accountability to his community. He is not alone in that.

Legislation introduced

In early 2011 Whitecap Dakota First Nation chief Darcy Bear threw his support behind federal MP Kelly Block who was promoting a private member's bill on First Nations financial reporting. In November, the re-elected government of Stephen Harper introduced legislation, following up on Block's initial effort, aimed at improved transparency in First Nations' government.

5- Feds list First Nations, green groups as oilsands 'adversaries'

Mike De Souza, Postmedia News, January 26 - OTTAWA — Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has labelled aboriginal groups and environmentalists as "adversaries," while describing the National Energy Board, an independent federal regulator of industry, as an "ally" in its public relations strategy to polish the image of Alberta's oilsands, a newly released internal document has revealed. The document outlines key goals for the government's diplomats in promoting the industry, which is considered to be the fastest-growing source of global-warming-causing emissions in the country, and in lobbying against foreign climate change policies. "While Europe is not an important market for oil sands-derived products, Europe legislation/regulation, such as the EU Fuel Quality Directive, has the potential to impact the industry globally," said the document, sent in an April 11 email by a Canadian diplomat in Europe. The document was released to Climate Action Network Canada through access-to-information legislation. The list of allies also includes energy companies, industry associations, and Canadian government departments, such as Natural Resources Canada, the Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Department, Environment Canada and the Privy Council Office. It includes the "media" as one of its local adversaries, along with competing industry groups, the aboriginals and environmentalists. The National Energy Board, which was listed as an ally in the document, is supposed to be an independent regulator that evaluates and monitors industry activity. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government made changes in recent years, giving it more control over some major environmental assessments than the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. "Canadians should be concerned when a supposedly arms-length agency that is supposed to regulate the oil industry, including conducting hearings on Enbridge's proposed new tar sands pipeline across British Columbia, is listed as an 'ally' in a political strategy to lower environmental standards in other nations," said Keith Stewart, co-ordinator of Greenpeace Canada's climate and energy campaign, in a statement.

6- First Nations seek to mine royalty revenue

John Ivison, National Post • Jan. 26 - Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence didn't imagine she'd ever address the venerable Economic Club of Canada or face a bank of television cameras in the nation's capital. "When I declared an emergency last September, it wasn't my intention to cause embarrassment to Canada and I didn't plan this type of exposure. I just wanted to help my community," she told a lunchtime crowd. Whatever her intent, she succeeded in getting millions of dollars of aid shipped into her northern Ontario reserve, in the form of 22 new modular homes, a retrofit of the community's healing lodge and emergency supplies like water purification systems and health equipment. But while everyone can agree Attawapiskat was a humanitarian crisis, there are divergent views on how it came about. Judging by her remarks, Chief Spence is in no doubt - it was all Ottawa's fault. In a classic case of blame-shift, she said the housing crisis was the result of government funding cuts and broken promises. "Under the federal government, we are still subject to assimilation and racial discrimination," she said. No mention was made of the band council's role - that the band located and oversaw construction of the mouldy houses. Nor was any blame ascribed to a system where residents do not own, and thus have no incentive to maintain, their homes. It was hard to tell the precise source of her outrage, such was the blunderbuss nature of the attack. But one thing was clear: No blame can be attached to her or her band council - and they are intent on fighting Ottawa's imposition of thirdparty management that has left an accountancy firm in charge of day-to-day affairs in Attawapiskat. Amid the all the fingerpointing, there was one cogent point - and it was the same central concern expressed by many of the chiefs who attended the Crown-First Nations Gathering in Ottawa Tuesday, namely the acknowledgement by the federal government of native treaty rights. The issue here is not merely academic - chiefs want Ottawa to recognize treaty rights so that they can force the government's hand on resource revenue sharing. "Great riches are being taken from our land for the benefit of others, including the governments of Canada and Ontario. They receive huge royalty payments and we receive so little," said Chief Spence. "Herein lies the real problem affecting First Nations - the ability to develop communities with no financial basis." She was referring to the $1billion Victor diamond mine operated by De Beers and located 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat. The company has signed an impact benefit agreement under which they will pay the band an estimated $30-million over the 12-year life of the mine. In addition, De Beers has funnelled $325-million in contracts through band operated companies since 2006 (from which the company has made just $100,000 in profit - an inexplicable pittance but also another story entirely). Still, with revenues of between $200-to $300-million a year, the band clearly believes it would be much better off if it enjoyed a slice of Victor's sales. This could be what makes or breaks the budding partnership between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and National Chief Shawn Atleo. Is the federal government prepared to divert some of the royalties it receives from resource development back into First Nations? John Duncan, the Aboriginal Affairs Minister, was loath to go there Tuesday, preferring to focus on education and skills training - issues he said are designed to make First Nations job-ready. By contrast, Shawn Atleo could talk of little else. "First Nations have real rights. Those rights must be recognized when it comes to any development in this country," Chief Atleo said Wednesday, when asked about the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. "True partners would design a way forward together and would form a shared vision of how resources development occur in this country." A new task force looking at native economic development will examine resource revenue sharing as part of its mandate. If Mr. Harper wants to keep Mr. Atleo around - the National Chief faces a contested leadership election this summer - he may want to give up some ground. Revenue sharing would still mean bands are dependent on government for money. But, if coupled with education reforms, it could provide the capital base on which to build more self-sufficient communities. One person who has spent 40 years around James and Hudson Bays, initially as a fur trader, told me: "The Cree were formidable traders. I have seen many cases where businesses were turned over to individuals who had great success." Our best hope must be to encourage the spirit of selfreliance that sustained native communities before they had a federal government to blame - a spirit that has been smothered by a welfare system gone mad.

7- Coroner's office to probe cluster of fire deaths on Island reserves

Judith Lavoie, timescolonist.com, January 25 - The coroner's office will investigate the recent cluster of fire deaths on Vancouver Island First Nations reserves to see if there are common denominators. "We are keenly aware this is the third incident, with four deaths, in a little over a month," said regional coroner Matt Brown after two young boys died in a house fire Wednesday morning. "We are taking it very seriously and we want to see if there are common factors." It is not yet known what caused Wednesday's fire on the Snaw'Naw'As First Nations reserve near Lantzville. Some neighbours speculated that, as power was out in the area, candles might be to blame. Once the cause has been established, the fire will be reviewed by the coroner's office and compared to the New Year's Day fire on Cowichan Tribes land that took the life of 19-year-old Joanne Crystal Joe and to a fire in a trailer on the Tsartlip First Nation reserve Dec. 29, which killed 44-year-old Wilfred Joseph Henry Jr. In another, non-fatal incident shortly before Christmas, 28-year-old Arnold George was seriously injured after being thrown from a trailer after an explosion on the Songhees First Nation reserve. "We have three homes and four deaths on reserves on Vancouver Island, so we want to find out the underlying factors here," Brown said. Between Jan. 25, 2010, and this week, 11 people on Vancouver Island have died in fires in homes, camper vans or trailers where they were living. Most were not on reserves. In 2010, a man in his 30s died in a Campbell River bungalow fire and a 61-year-old man died on Gabriola Island when his camper van caught fire. In 2011, a man died in Nanaimo during a fire in a bedroom attached to a workshop; another death was the result of an apartment fire in Comox; a man died in a house fire in Port Alberni; a woman was killed in a mobile home fire in Port Hardy, and a trailer fire in Campbell River claimed a life. The worst fire on a Vancouver Island reserve in recent years was in January 2009, when five people died after fire ravaged a home on the Stz'uminus [Chemainus] First Nation. Four women and a seven-year old girl — three generations of one family — were trapped in a house that burst into flames. The coroner's report into the deaths found that flammable liquid from a gas lantern left on a wood stove heated to the point that it produced enough vapour to create an explosive atmosphere in the basement. "Flammable liquids stored around and near the wood stove provided additional fuel to allow the fire to progress rapidly through the house," said the report by then regional coroner Rose Stanton.

8- First Nations struggle to house, keep teachers

CBC News, Jan 26 - The housing crisis on northern reserves is spilling over into education, as some First Nations in the northwest are struggling to provide suitable homes to keep teachers who come from outside the community. For example, in Mishkeegogamang First Nation, a pipe burst in the teachers housing complex on Jan. 6. There is no budget to repair the flooded apartments. For now, the First Nation is paying for the teachers to stay at a bed and breakfast, 30 kilometres away in Pickle Lake. Chief Connie Gray-McKay said she'll have to find the money to fix the teachers' homes or risk seeing "good teachers" leave for other jobs. “That means that my plans to renovate something else are going to have to wait while we fix this problem because we need our kids to get an education,” Gray-Mckay said. It's estimated it will cost $300,000 to fix the damage to the teachers units. That's half of the First Nation's annual housing budget. Gray-McKay said the community had asked Aboriginal Affairs last year for $50,000 to fix the boiler problem that led to the burst pipe. Providing adequate accommodations for teachers is only a fraction of the enormous housing problem facing Mishkeegogamang First Nation — right now it needs more than 300 houses to meet the needs of its roughly 1,000 residents. Many homes there don't have running water or electricity. People use outhouses and slop pails. In North Spirit Lake, chief Rita Thompson said the First Nation sacrificed five years of housing money for residents, to build teachers homes. Thompson said it's a difficult choice leaving community members in unsafe houses so the school can keep its teachers. “It's just like gambling all the time and you're gambling with your peoples' lives,” she said. In North Spirit Lake, it's estimated that 100 new houses are needed to accommodate the 450 people who live there. Chief Thompson said four families are crowded into one four-bedroom house. Meanwhile, Pikangikum First Nation hopes to have alternate accommodations in place for its teachers next week. Classes were cancelled at the beginning of January, after most teachers left when mould was discovered in their homes.

C. Stories Dominating the News

-