Questions about Canada's poor human rights record

Well,

It's not as simple as it seems. 

Norway has long held a policy of assimlitation for its various ethnic groups and currently ensures all immigrant applicants can speak Norwegian, so they are hardly a model for tolerance.

Austria's record on the treatment of the Roma is just as appaling.

The problem is this:

First Nations have asked for self-government. They want to control their own health care, they want to control their own justice system. It isn't working. Nunavut has the worst disparity betweeen rich and poor in Canada. 

So what is the current government supposed to do?

If we encourage a policy of assimilation as Trudeau suggested, we're trampling over their culture. 

If we make the transition to self-government, it becomes rife with corruption and inefficiency.

If we maintain some controls and safeguards, then the bands get upset with us.

As an aside, when I was chair of a local anti-poverty organization, we worked with inmates being relaseased. One of the programs that we worked with ensured that upon release someone was there to assist them, get them a place to stay, money to get by initiall, help them with their paperwork, and start them in the direction of finding work.

But, we were not allowed to assist First Nations, as that interfered with the Band - who controlled the budget to help First nations members being released. They did nothing for them. They were released to find no help, nowhere to live, no support - and more often that not ended up being reincarcerated.

It's nice to talk about self-government and freedoms, but it's tough to stand by on the side lines and see it fail time and time again. 

So, what exactly should be done? Please let me know.

I beg your pardon? That's a pretty generalized and offensive statement, even racist! How appallingly ignorant and disgusting.

And Canada is not "rife with corruption and inefficiency"? Oh please!

Canada and the provinces are in the pockets of the megacorps and many  municipalities are still run by friggen Tory family compacts that also run the local courts of 'justice', ffs!! That's how we stole Indigenous land and children and tried to destroy them, or didn't you know that?

You don't have a fucking clue keystone!

 Just out of curiosity, which white supremacist organization do you belong to? Northern Alliance? RaHoWa? CPC?

Further, KeyStone's statement says nothing with regard to Canada's shameful behaviour at the UN.

Absolutely true. The Declaration is consistent with international law, which means it isn't acceptable to Harper who has his own 'law'.

You may have experienced an instance of sink or swim for the newly released in one area, Keystone, and you overly ready to generalize from that to condemn   the practise of all bands!

You have the very narrow perspective of the redneck, mate.

You are far too kind, Geo V .!

The Fed's record on honouring treaty rights is dismal and to blame Aboriginal communities for failing to get their rights fully applied is wrong and racist.

Stargazer, seeing all that info together highlights Canada's shameful behaviour on the world stage. Harper's idiotic and insulting "apology" in 2007 in the face of such blatant inaction, and active denial, speaks volumes. 

And the First Nations women who have gone missing, crimes which have been ignored by the various police authorities, is further proof of how little Aboriginal people are valued in Canada.

This isn't only about Harper. Shame. 

Thanks Maysie.  Shame on us.  I'm not optomistic that the Canadian population will ever see the wrongs.  Without rabble, I'd have no clue. 

I am optomistic however that if the truth was presented, Canadians wouldn't be so anti-FN.

What saga said.

Maysie, a request for moderator guidance here ..... The whole Universal Periodic Review process by which all countries review the human rights record of each member is fascinating -- I've thought it a whitewash but the criticisms levelled at Canada (especially  fascinating line developed by Cuba) make me rethink it. However, since this is the aboriginal issues forum, should that broader discussion go somewhere else? Or would a thread elsewhere distract from this one? 

From the UN report on Canada, which has as yet no outcome and likely won't:

From Canada's pathetic presentation to the commitee:

In juxtaposing Bolivia's statement with the federal government's pathetic "response" to the U.N., you have pointed up the difference between a politicized aboriginal population and one divided - intentionally so - by conservative politicians who understand the Bolivian example very well.

When the people of the Bolivian Andes brought Juan Evo Morales to power in 2006, they were after better conditions for themselves in the face of centuries of repression - colonial and then class-based. They are now in a struggle to realize their hopes.

I think it is very good that a clearer picture of Canada is out there for the world to see.

Hey Ze,

First, since Stargazer started this thread with information from the Universal Periodic Review, I think that any discussion of Canada in this context is on-topic in this thread.

Second, seeing Bolivia's and Canada's response together was really fucking depressing and infuriating. The word "milquetoast" comes to mind. Canada's reads like a PFO letter. Ever get one of those? PFO=Please Fuck Off. Basically it's a letter you get when the person or organization is not going to do what you want (hire you, advocate for you, etc). Bullshit.

I'm really glad this is out there for the world to see, but I have no expectation that Canada will receive any international response from this reality, such as trade sanctions or something like that. Something, anything to get us in line with countries that have a more human and humane approach to actively righting past (and present) wrongs and injustices. Not going to happen.

In other words, the status quo will continue. Whichever party is in the government at the federal level will either wring their hands and do nothing or give empty apologies and do nothing. People will continue to die and live in sub-standard conditions and be marginalized.

Here is a poem by Chrystos, because it fits.

http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Village/8654/chrystos.html  

http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/chrystos.html [15]

I just wanted some clarification on what you mean by a politicized aboriginal population. I am not quite sure exactly what you mean by that.

Thanks.

Stargazer, Do you have a link to this article or at least a link to information about the group that put this article out? I am having trouble finding them.

Refuge:

"I just wanted some clarification on what you mean by a politicized aboriginal population. I am not quite sure exactly what you mean by that."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The people who elected Morales are, like him, descendants of the people who inhabited Bolivia when the Spanish invaded. They have discovered the power of the ballot (been politicized), and because they outnumber the people of the valleys (who tend to be descendants of the Spanish) they got their president. He is now trying to undo several centuries of injustice toward them.

--------------------------------

 The aboriginal people of Bolivia, newly politicized and now able to speak out of their experience through their government, can describe the situation of the FN people of Canada to the world community.

Maysie's reaction represents the political consciousness of perhaps a majority. And I guess the demographics of Bolivia favour the election of a turned-on president by a turned-on aboriginal population.

But it is worth noting the situations of the two peoples in prominent juxtaposition.

Refuge, this is from the facebook group, called Thunder Bay native Rights Group. You can look for them on facebook.

In case it's of any help, the AFN/QL press release is in French at http://www.apnql-afnql.com/fr/actualites/pdf/comm-2009-02-05.pdf. The original press release comes from the chiefs of Quebec and Labrador, the regional affiliate of the Assembly of First Nations. More info about the AFN/QL through www.apnql-afnql.com. Because they're Quebec-based, most of the info will be in French, of course. There will be much more on the AFN's web site. 

http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=090203 

 You can watch the Canadian rep speak, in theory, at http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=090203 although I'm getting error messages when I try to view it. 

One more bit from the report:

 Sadly this UN committee has no power to do or recommend anything. That's because China (also under review this month) managed to gut the Human Rights Council of any actual power. So all we'll get from tis process is a Canadian government response by June, and these questions. Although as the press release pointed out, the questions themselves carry power.

 Canada's opposition to the indigenous rights declaration is, I think, especially appalling since this is the culmination of a 30-year process going back to the 1970s when the Haudenosaunee presented their "Basic Call to Consciousness" to the UN working group in Geneva. Which was itself a repeat of the 1920s "Redman's Appeal for Justice" when first nations (in the person of Haudenosaunee chief Levi general, who was Deskaheh at the time) made their first appeal to a world body for help against Canadian government oppression. That conflict still goes on in Ontario; meanwhile the Canadian government responds today almost exactly as they did at the League of Nations in 1922. Canada has learned nothing.

Thanks Stargazer, I found them! And thanks Ze, I was wondering where the actual press release came from as the facebook group does not make it clear.

I hope that the public shaming will have some kind of effect.

Martin, I do not know very much about Bolivia but it does sound like it is working well there.

I do, however question how well that would transfer to up here, though.

When I say that I am thinking specifically of the groups like the Haudenoshaunee. There is a huge political movement afoot there however, from the people I have talked with, they say it is based on the Two Row. This is an agreement made by the Haudenoshaunee with the Europeans which essentially states that the Europeans would look after their own affairs and the Haudenoshaunee would look after their own affairs. This agreement seems to have been based on as much cultural outlook as political. Wouldn't Canada be great if it had stuck to it's side of the agreement?

Now, a couple of centuries later the Haudenoshaunee are trying to rebuild their culture after Canada tried to take away their culture, their language, their self identity and their self respect. They come back to Canada and say alright, you guys really messed up but you know what we don't want to play that game. Our original agreement was Two Row so you need to let us start handling our own affairs again. And thus the battle ensues.

From what I see from a political stadpoint it does make complete sense to have a FN PM to stragten everything out. But for the Haudenoshaunee, specifically, and other communities who think the same way, they don't seem to want to control all of Canada and from a cultural political standpoint it may do them more harm than good because it takes them further from their own cultlure.