From the StarPhoenix.com

Aboriginal chief: Minister's comments 'ill-informed'

 BY MARK KENNEDY, OTTAWA CITIZEN FEBRUARY 26, 2015

Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde: 'You've got to be careful about blaming the victims again and blaming the communities.'

Photograph by: Justin Tang, The Canadian Press , Ottawa Citizen

The country's top First Nations chief says federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt was "ill-informed" when he spoke about how indigenous men have a lack of respect for women on reserves.

"You've got to be careful about blaming the victims again and blaming the communities," Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations said Wednesday. "It's all about colonization and we're still reeling from the intergenerational effects of the residential schools."

Bellegarde was reacting to controversial comments Valcourt made in December.

At the time, Valcourt rejected calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and also said "part of the problem" was that when "guys grow up believing that women have no rights (on reserves), that's how they are treated."

Valcourt urged First Nations chiefs to "take ownership of this issue" and address it themselves, with federal help, in their own communities.

Bellegarde, who was elected AFN chief in December, says he intends to raise Valcourt's comments when they meet.

That might occur as early as this Friday, when a national roundtable is held in Ottawa to examine the politically hot issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Among those attending are representatives from every province and territory (including some premiers), spokespeople from some indigenous groups (including Bellegarde), and two ministers from the federal cabinet (Valcourt and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch.)

Bellegarde said Valcourt's comments show that he lacks a proper understanding of what led to the problems in First Nations communities.

"I think they were illinformed. We've got to do a better job of educating not only the ministers in government, but the general public, about the impacts of this situation - about missing and murdered women and girls and the violence in our communities."

Bellegarde stressed that it's important to understand how the residential school system left First Nations scarred.

Over many decades, 150,000 aboriginal children were sent by the federal government to church-run schools, where many faced physical and sexual abuse.

"When you come out of that residential school system, you've lost your identity of self. You've lost your pride in who you are, you've lost your identity and your role - both as male and females."

"You don't know how to love or care for a family when you come out of that system."

Bellegarde said the country has to come to grips with how the residential schools created a "cultural genocide."

"We have, because of that imposed system, lost our way. And even (regarding) the roles of our men. We want them to be warriors. We want them to be productive family members.

"We want them to make sure that they know their role. And the expectation is that they will be good fathers and good uncles. That's what we want to see. But there is that whole training and wellness that has to happen in the communities."

At this Friday's roundtable, participants will discuss issues such as violence prevention, community safety, policing measures and the judicial system.

In the House of Commons Wednesday, Leitch said the government will not appoint an inquiry. Rather, she said the government has already pressed forward with initiatives such as a victim's bill of rights and enacting matrimonial rights on reserves. Last year, an RCMP report found 1,181 cases of murdered or missing indigenous women in Canada since 1980.

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From theOttawaCitizen.com

Wynne says federal funds for violence against aboriginal women a 'drop in the bucket'

MARK KENNEDY, OTTAWA CITIZEN - February 25, 2015

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is urging the federal government to put more money on the table to combat the problem of missing and murdered aboriginal women, saying the funds set aside so far are just a "drop in the bucket."

Wynne made the comments in an interview with the Citizen Wednesday, as she prepared for a national roundtable on the issue to be held in Ottawa Friday.

Wynne, who was a former aboriginal affairs minister before becoming premier, spoke passionately about the need for federal and provincial governments to work with First Nation leaders.

Friday's roundtable will draw representatives from every province and territory (including some premiers), spokespeople from some indigenous groups and two ministers from the federal cabinet - Aboriginal Affairs Minister Valcourt and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch.

The premiers have seen their calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women repeatedly rejected by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so the next best thing - for now - is the one-day roundtable.

Wynne said she hopes the meeting produces a "pan-Canadian" education campaign to inform the public about the problem.

She indicated she is not impressed with the federal response to the premiers' calls for an inquiry.

"I think it's really disappointing. To me it's a denial of the facts.

"On the whole relationship between the government and the aboriginal people in this country, I think we have a history of falling way short of acceptable."

She said the specific problem of missing and murdered women is related to the social conditions that aboriginal people live in.

"It's housing, it's water, it's education."

Wynne said she's concerned that the two federal ministers will come to Friday's meeting merely speaking about how their government has allocated $25 million over five years to combat violence against aboriginal women and girls.

"Twenty five million dollars in terms of the issues we are confronting in our relationship with First Nations and aboriginal people is a drop in the bucket. We need to understand that we are talking about housing infrastructure on reserves. We're talking about schools that are falling down and need to be upgraded. We're talking about water systems that are broken down."

Wynne said she has told the prime minister that Ontario is willing to increase its own funds in programs for First Nations.

"We can do better if we work together. There is no doubt in my mind."

Earlier Wednesday, the country's top First Nations chief said Valcourt was "ill-informed" when he spoke about how indigenous men have a lack of respect for women on reserves.

"You've got to be careful about blaming the victims again and blaming the communities," Assembly of First Nations (AFN) national chief Perry Bellegarde said.

"It's all about colonization and we're still reeling from the intergenerational effects of the residential schools."

Bellegarde was reacting to controversial comments made in December by Valcourt in an interview with the Citizen.

At the time, Valcourt rejected calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and also said that "part of the problem" was that when "guys grow up believing that women have no rights (on reserves), that's how they are treated."

Bellegarde said Valcourt's comments show that he lacks a proper understanding of what led to the problems in First Nations communities.

"I think they were ill-informed. We've got to do a better job of educating not only the ministers in government, but the general public, about the impacts of this situation - about missing and murdered women and girls and the violence in our communities."

Last year, an RCMP report found 1,181 cases of murdered or missing indigenous women in Canada since 1980.