Media.Knet.Ca

From the Canadian Jewish News ...

An apology that’s long overdue

The following official court notice appeared in local newspapers recently: “The Indian residential schools settlement has been approved. The healing continues.”

The court order states that $1.9 billion be given to native people who suffered in residential schools. Up to $275,000 per person will go to individuals based on the amount of sexual, physical and psychological abuse they suffered; $125 million has been set aside for “healing”; $60 million is earmarked for “research” and preserving the experiences of the survivors; and $20 million will go to national and community commemorative projects.

If you’ve never read about Canada’s residential schools, Google “native residential schools Canada” and learn that children were pulled from the arms of their parents as part of religious missionary work and taken to one of 72 residential schools across Canada. The last schools closed in 1996.

In these unsanitary schools, children were punished for speaking their language and forced to sleep next to youngsters dying of tuberculosis (of whom thousands were buried in unmarked graves).

The $1.9 billion that has been earmarked to pay for this genocide – the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide says the forcible transfer of children from one group to another is an act of genocide if done “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” – is long overdue and far too little.

If it’s possible to quantify the value of a child, whether that child died in St. Philip Residential School or Duck Lake boarding school (where it is said that more than one half of the children sent there died before their 18th birthdays), $1.9 billion does not cover one single native son or daughter who died at the hands of nuns, priests, government officials and those sworn to protect us, the RCMP.

Over the next year, survivors of the residential schools or their family members will make claims for the suffering they endured. Those who present appropriate evidence will one day receive a cheque in the mail. They will open the envelope, remove the cheque and likely stare at it for a long time – the same way, I imagine, Jewish Holocaust survivors do when they hold a German government cheque in their hand.

The amount of the cheque or the simple fact they were granted financial compensation, will not, however, be sufficient to give them closure.

To achieve that will require thorough and ongoing education for people like you and me that reveals the anguish our native people have gone through. Our schools need to bare the Canadian soul by teaching the real history of Canada, including the nasty policies of corporations that committed unspeakable crimes against native Canadians.

To find closure, a government cheque will not suffice. The prime minister of Canada must involve our entire country in a truth and reconciliation process so, we, the children and grandchildren of those who perpetrated this national crime, are encouraged to beg forgiveness from native survivors, and from those who died and will never have a voice.

He must speak to the entire nation, on prime time television, and say: “We can never properly repay those who lost their lives in Canadian residential schools. We will never be able to return children to their mother’s arms who died in those horrific places. The Canadian people will forever live with this aspect of our history. However, today we beg you for forgiveness.”

How is it possible that in our country, one with “glowing hearts,” the most vulnerable among us – our children – were treated by the Anglican, Catholic and United churches like the enemy? How do we come to grips with the fact our government for decades ignored report after report that death tolls in some of these schools had reached 69 per cent?

To our children, our Aboriginal children, we say: “We are deeply sorry.”

Press Release ...

Conservatives are Sending Mixed Signals on Bulk Water Sales - An Interview with Mark Holland

OTTAWA, ON, May 8 - In an interview on water.ca, Liberal MP (Ajax-Pickering) Mark Holland said that the export of bulk water in any fashion, including diversions and removals, is not acceptable. Canada is very fortunate to have great amounts of water, but they should not be taken for granted, especially in the context of climate change and the uncertain effects it will have on our environment. Bulk water exports are dangerous to our environment and natural ecology.

Of great concern to Mr. Holland and to his party, are the recent meetings held under the North American Prosperity Partnership where bulk water sales were being discussed. According to Mr. Holland, in delegating government bureaucrats to this meeting, the Conservatives are sending a mixed signal which threatens our very sovereignty over Canadian water resources. The fact that these meetings were held behind closed doors, did not include other parties and were not made public is also very disturbing.

It would be wise and prudent, according to Mr. Holland, to have a National Water Policy not only to reiterate our opposition to bulk water sales, but also in terms of our domestic consumption and the impact of global warming on our water resources.

Other topics discussed during the interview include the need to give Canadian cities the powers and resources they need to manage issues such as infrastructure renewal; and the absolute importance of dealing with the horrible water problems in native communities.

For a more detailed account of this interview, you are invited to log onto water.ca where all interviews are posted in their entirety.

Water.ca is an online information service dedicated to the preservation of Canada's water. The site also features an interactive map pinpointing all water advisories across the country, and a Red Button Service to alert communities faced with a water crisis.

For further information: Matt Armstrong, (613) 225-5353, armstrong.water@gmail.com

From Timmins Daily Press ...

Mattagami First Nation, Liberty Mines sign MOU
Michael Peeling, The Timmins Daily Press - May 04, 2007

A First Nation and a junior mining company signed the beginnings of a partnership Friday.

Mattagami First Nation Chief Walter Naveau and councillors met with Edmonton-based Liberty Mines Inc. president Gary Nash at the community hall to sign a memorandum of understanding.

The memo signifies both parties' commitment to developing a long-term agreement to keep the Redstone nickel mine in production and start the McWatters mine on Mattagami lands, ensuring the lives of the mines for years to come.

"We just had some recent drill results (at Redstone) about half an hour ago, which proves that the mine is going to have an extended life," Nash said. "That's excellent for what we're doing here today to develop our company and Mattagami First Nation and our growing relationship as partners."

Mattagami's resource liaison Chris McKay says Liberty has done a good job recognizing that the nickel deposits to be mined are located on the First Nation's traditional lands.

Naveau believes Liberty's project in the area has already benefited his community.

"It's created a good working relationship," Naveau said. "And it's helping us as a First Nations community to achieve our dreams and goals in terms of education for our young people."

Naveau emphasized council's appreciation of Nash coming to Mattagami to share Liberty's discoveries in the land.

Other companies mined 276,700 tons of nickel from Redstone, located 24 kilometres southeast of Timmins, from 1989 to 1996.

From Owen Sounds News ...

Tory slams McGuinty for inaction on Caledonia
By Jim Algie - May 04, 2007

Ontario Opposition Leader John Tory slammed Premier Dalton McGuinty for inaction on Six Nations land claims at Caledonia and promised a more active approach if his Progressive Conservative party wins the October election.

“Simply standing by and allowing land occupations and railway blockades that defy court injunctions just cannot be an option,” Tory told delegates to the annual convention of the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards, Friday, in Owen Sound. “The premier of Ontario must be prepared to vigorously pursue new tools and new measures to ensure all parties comply with the rule of law,” he said.

It was part of what Tory described to police board delegates as his party’s “rule of law platform.” It includes more justices of the peace, tighter bail and sentencing measures, social programs to address poverty and solutions to justified Aboriginal land claims and legal complaints.

Tory also spoke of a more “businesslike” process for setting police budgets in Ontario. Current police spending often represents a “political bidding process in which parties bid against each other to see who can promise more police officers,” he said in an interview later.

“No one is below the law. No one is above the law.
No one is beyond the law,” Tory told his audience of about 300 police board members. “The common theme here is simple, there must be one and only law for all.”

In his prepared remarks, Tory criticized Premier McGuinty for inaction during the Caledonia standoff. He described the continuing conflict as “a miscarriage of justice” which has “torn apart an entire community” and “placed police officers in a completely untenable situation.”

At the conference opening day, Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino lashed out at critics of police management of the Caledonia protest which has emphasized public safety over law enforcement. Aggressive police intervention under the former Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris was an issue during a recent public inquiry into the shooting death of a First Nations protester by OPP during the Ipperwash protests of 1995.

Tory said his “one law” concept doesn’t involve more aggressive police tactics. In prepared remarks, he spoke of the need for “new tools and new measures to ensure that all parties comply with the rule of law.”

“Political direction to the police is unacceptable,” Tory said. He endorsed the use of “non-confrontational methods” in the absence of violence.

Interviewed later, the opposition leader spoke of potential remedies in civil court for controlling disruptive protests and labour disputes. A lawyer by training and a former chief executive officer of Rogers Inc., Tory said substantial fines against organizations responsible for breaches of the law would help limit illegal protests.

“A lot of the organizations that end up behind these actions are organizations that have assets and money . . . We say we’re going to fine and substantially fine those involved organizations that, in effect, are not obeying the law.”

“I think there can be a lot of consequences that are non-confrontational that don’t even involve the police. They involve the courts and they’re saying to people there is going to be a price to be paid for not following the law.”

It was a campaign-style speech delivered during breakfast for a convention whose delegates were to hear at lunch from current Ontario Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter. It came six months ahead of a new, legislated election call at four year intervals.

Although Premier McGuinty’s government recently announced a Sept. 10 kickoff to the formal campaign period, campaigning has clearly begun. Tory introduced delegates to a premier’s office employee who has begun auditing all of the opposition leader’s public appearances.

Tory introduced David Penfold by name and asked him to stand. He then advised delegates to bring their complaints about provincial police policy to Penfold for quick referral to the premier’s office.

Part of the Conservative public safety policy involves new protection for “the disenfranchised, the poor, the vulnerable portions of our population,” Tory said. That includes renewed housing stock, better support for single parents and new after-school programs for youth.

Tory acknowledged long-standing grievances among Ontario First Nations.

The provincial government must “be a better friend to the Aboriginal people in this province.”

However, he also said “there needs to be a better way to manage dissent.”

“What I think we can’t do is what Mr. McGuinty has done which is nothing,”

Tory said in an interview. “He has just allowed an occupation to go on for more than 400 days and I think that we can’t allow the principle to become entrenched in our system that people can do whatever they want when they have a grievance or a complaint.”