Finally, one of the three pillars of Canada’s aboriginal peoples — the Métis — have won justice. They are owed a lot of money — perhaps ten billion or even more. And it’s because of one thing. Our constitution. There’s one thing about constitutions. The way they’re drafted can leave
Continue readingTag: Aboriginal Issues
Impolitical: An opposition motion worth supporting on missing and murdered Indigenous women
This motion is to be argued tomorrow in the House of Commons: Opposition Motion February 12, 2013 — Ms. Bennett (St. Paul’s) — That the House recognize that a disproportionate number of Indigenous women and girls have suffered violence, gone missing, or been murdered over the past three decades; that
Continue readingImpolitical: Winnipeg Liberal leadership debate tomorrow
There was a lot of hullabaloo on twitter last night about the format of the Liberal leadership debate happening tomorrow in Winnipeg. But substance matters too: MP MURRAY REBUKES LIBERAL PARTY DECISION TO DROP INDIGENOUS ISSUES FROM WINNIPEG DEBATE WINNIPEG – Joyce Murray, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra and
Continue readingImpolitical: Late night #IdleNoMore
Great moment at 1:45 mark where an eagle flying overhead an #Idlenomore rally in Vancouver is captured on film. Also, check out the 2:20 mark, but of course.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Theresa Spence Hunger Strike: Social Media Conversation on Day 19
It’s the end of Day 19 of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s indefinite hunger strike, taking place here in Ottawa. Spence started her peaceful protest on December 11, 2012. She’s demanding a meeting involving Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a representative of the Queen and First Nations leaders. She wants to discuss treaty agreements between
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Why does it take a hunger strike to gain media attention for Aboriginal issues in Canada?
Dana Wensley | Troy Media: The issue is one of of fairness As First Nation groups continue their protests against Bill C-45, what comes as a surprise to me is that it took so long to happen in Canada. In the lead up to Canada Day I noted that while other
Continue readingImpolitical: Navigable waters nightmare
Robin Rowland, a B.C. based journalist writes about an overlooked aspect of the omnibus Bill C-45, its drastic reduction of rivers, lakes and streams protected by the Navigable Waters Protection Act from 2.5 million to 159. This is one of the driving concerns underlying the Idle No More movement as
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Guest post: [Belated] Reflections on Canada Day
Once again I am pleased to offer my space for a guest post and once again by Jared Milne. This time Jared addresses the very real issue of Central and Eastern alienation now that “The West Wants In” has become reality. ***** This past Canada Day, I was reflecting on
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Harper: Right about Iran, but on the tar sands and "outsiders" …
This week, the Prime Minister expressed aloud concerns many of us Canadian of all stripes have had either openly or privately – that Iran is a ticking time bomb with its nuclear program which without a shadow of a doubt has only one aim, to create a nuclear bomb that
Continue readingFrom a First Nation contrarian: Breaking the spell, a call for unification NOW | rabble.ca
From a First Nation contrarian: Breaking the spell, a call for unification NOW | rabble.ca. Filed under: Aboriginal Issues, Media Fail., Progressives
Continue readingSpeaking of Journalistic Integrity
The CBC, specifically the author CBCNews (which makes me think this article was something written by a chief editor at CBC instead of an actual reported) had this to say about the speech that Attawapiskat Chief made at the biennial conference of the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa In
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Channeling the Mad Man of the Airwaves
No sooner did a “third party” manager come to take control of the financial affairs of Attawapiskat than he was told to get the hell out of Dodge. Chief Theresa Spence must have channeled Howard Beale when she said that her band of 2800 Cree were “not going to taking
Continue readingJimBobby Sez: ‘Twas just weeks before Christmas in Attawapiskat
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I got me a new video an’ poem all about Attawapiskat. Here it is: ‘Twas just weeks before Christmas, when all through the land,Attention was aimed at a First Nation band;Canadians heard as they’d oft heard before,Of hardship and squalour so hard to ignore;Of children
Continue readingJimBobby Sez: ‘Twas just weeks before Christmas in Attawapiskat
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I got me a new video an’ poem all about Attawapiskat. Here it is:’Twas just weeks before Christmas, when all through the land,Attention was aimed at a First Nation band;Canadians heard as they’d oft heard before,Of hards…
Continue readingJimBobby Sez: ‘Twas just weeks before Christmas in Attawapiskat
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I got me a new video an’ poem all about Attawapiskat. Here it is: ‘Twas just weeks before Christmas, when all through the land,Attention was aimed at a First Nation band;Canadians heard as they’d oft heard before,Of hardship and squalour so hard to ignore;Of children
Continue readingMike Holmes’s Holme-run
Mike Holmes said it best regarding the housing crisis in Attawapiskat. We need to stop building crap. It’s as simple as that Couple this with the allegation that the Government knew of the problems in Attawakpiskat for several years. Retired Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl recounted to Evan Solomon on
Continue readingImpolitical: The PM’s not so bold meeting announcement
From the PM’s site: “PM announces meeting with First Nations early in new year.” Looking like an executive in charge, scheduling a major meeting to respond to the unfolding crisis in Attawapiskat. Except the word Attawapiskat doesn’t appear in the PM’s press release. Strange. Why not? As noted by the
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The Attawapiskat Outrage
It is simply inexcusable that people should have to live in third world conditions in Canada. Yet that is how people in many First Nations (FN) communities across Canada do live. And it gotten so bad in Attawapiskat FN, Ontario — 694 km (432 miles) northeast of Thunder Bay, and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Quick weekend thoughts (2010-10-02)
Quick whip of two items so let’s go:Good on the Supreme Court of Canada for ruling the Insite clinic in Vancouver does not run afoul of drug control policies; more technically that it does but to deny it a “constitutional exemption” would be a far wors…
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: (Provincial) election week in Canada
It would be nice if we did it as the States do — schedule all federal, state and local elections and by-elections such that they all happen on the same day (except in the case of death). Would save a ton on multiple manual revisions of th…
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