Yesterday we were visiting some relatives in Brantford, Ontario. The conversation turned to native issues, as it often does these days.
Actually, this time the topic came up quite abruptly when it was discovered that one of the guests had had an SUV stolen that very day from a cinema parking lot. The general feeling was that it was likely now on a nearby reserve being dismantled for parts. Car thefts are a big industry for some native youth. The problem is that police rarely enter the reserves so it is quite a lucrative racket.
Just like illegal smokes, this is a very difficult area to prosecute since the current provincial government is disinclined to take a hard stand against crimes committed by natives.
The OPP is losing the respect of many citizens in Brantford and Caledonia. Police are not being seen to enforce the law, and this has left many non-natives angry and cynical.
The whole Six Nations situation in Southern Ontario is a boiling pot of resentment on both sides. One of the guests last night blamed the feds for not taking action. I reminded him that law enforcement is a provincial issue, but he said that tons of money is flowing from the Federal Government to help pay for the OPP reinforcements in Caledonia. These costs are escalated by virtue of the fact that many cops are having to be housed in local hotels because there simply aren’t enough officers living in the area. They also make huge overtime bonuses as well, according to what I was told.
I didn’t want to get into an argument with him, but I was thinking that having the federal government (and therefore all Canadian taxpayers) bankrole the policing costs in Caledonia hardly makes the feds responsible for the milquetoast attitude of the OPP. If that is the case, then we are all complicit in the application of two-tier justice in Southern Ontario.
This morning I came across this article from the Brantford Expositor – "We don’t have a solution to your problem ", says land claims negotiator.
There are a few very important items here that everyone needs to be made aware of:
The federal government is doing all it can to resolve Six Nations land claims, said Ron Doering, chief federal negotiator, during a speech to the Rotary Club of Brantford on Friday.
However, the federal government has no jurisdiction or responsibility when it comes to land development or law enforcement concerns , he said…
…For the federal government to intrude into the realm of land development issues would be illegal , Doering said, adding that the government has no part in law enforcement.
Doering, a lawyer with 35 years’ experience in law and public policy administration, told the gathering that he does not recall a "more complicated" set of negotiations than the current talks with Six Nations.
He said it annoys him to read media reports that take "cheap shots" at the government and ask why the feds have not stepped up to the plate.
"I’ve been at the plate," he said…
…a $125-million offer was presented in May 2007 to Six Nations to settle four outstanding claims. No reply was received.
Government negotiators then decided to focus on a single, smaller and more straightforward claim involving lands flooded by the building of the Welland Canal in the 1820s. That offer for $26 million has neither been accepted nor rejected, Doering said.
"If we can’t settle this, I’m getting discouraged about if we can settle any claims," he said, adding that other Six Nations claims, some involving stock- holdings of the Grand River Navigation Company and dating back to the mid- 1800s are "diabolically complicated."
Doering also explained how the monetary figures for land claims settlements are determined through complex calculations of the value of money and land over time.
If anything, the government’s $26-million offer erred "on the side of being fair and generous as final and full compensation" for the Welland Canal flooding of 1829, he said…
…Talks between the Six Nations’ and government representatives are temporarily on hold while Six Nations’ negotiators are "taking a break," he said.
"I’ve given up making predictions but I hope to be back at the table in the next couple of weeks."
So in reality, if anyone should be ‘stepping up to the plate’, it should be Julian Fantino, Dalton McGuinty and the dysfunctional Six Nations’ negotiating ‘team’, which is often at odds with itself.
And if Dalton tries to tell you otherwise, send him that Expositor link.
* * * *
Update: And you gotta love this from Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant :
"We are not where we should be," Bryant said. "It’s been 200 years. … The Harper government needs to stop hesitating and get on with a solution."
200 years and suddenly the Harper government is at fault for not coming up with a solution fast enough. It is enough to make you want to laugh – or weep in despair and frustration at the empty rhetoric and ridiculous finger pointing.
Related: Why are talks taking so long? Ron Doering offers his top 10 reasons.
Update: This post has been featured at Jack’s Newswatch – Daily Blogger.
Great post Joanne. dalton mcliar seems to be getting a pass for all of his blunders.
He barely spoke about Caledonia during the elction campaign and the people of Ontario voted him in anyways.
You need to do your homework a bit. The OPP is allegedly not allowed to trespass on First Nations land to recover alleged stolen property. The OPP is the theft case is simply obeying the law…..which law? The law that the province and First Nations agreed to once upon a time.
Oh and Dalton is mastering buck passing very well. Trouble is that the opposition and Ontarians are letting him. So what else is new?
The OPP is allegedly not allowed to trespass on First Nations land to recover alleged stolen property.
I realize that. The native police have jurisdiction. I think the OPP need to go through some kind of warrant process or get permission to enter.
Hence, “police rarely enter the reserves so it is quite a lucrative racket.”
But thanks for clarifying that, Sol. I obviously didn’t explain that well enough.
Trouble is that the opposition and Ontarians are letting him. So what else is new?
I’m just waiting for Moebius to show up and say it’s all John Tory’s fault.
Frankly, I don’t think that people in Ontario are capable of discerning what is “right” from “wrong”. It’s reflected in their voting patterns, well at least in the ones that do vote. The situation isn’t much better anywhere else in this country. There is a lack of what is called the “right stuff” being taught in our society and most people have descended to the simple minded “what’s in it for me” syndrome. Well, for one thing what’s in it for you is basically telling your neighbors that I want something that I don’t have from “you”, the next door neighbor. Then “you” get to pay for it. It could be child care money from childless people, or education grants to “retrain” yourself because you failed to take any responsibility for yourself all your life and save your money to retrain yourself, because you just “didn’t see it coming” when the writing was on the wall at the local automotive plant, for years. It’s being played out in the McLean murder, where the MSM have taken to spinning the story to maybe blame the victim for not being responsible for his own defense by listening to his iPod, while “Vince” drags out his hidden “Rambo” knife and stabs poor victim to death. Oh, horrors and then we are treated to all the hand-wringing and blubbering of people wondering “what’s wrong with our society”? For that he is now only charged with the “alleged” murder two, after slicing off Mr. McLean’s head and displaying it like a trophy to people who only paid for bus fare to point B and not to a horror movie. To our authorities, Mr. McLean is now junk a hunk of headless, unidentifiable “meat”, faceless and de-humanized by bureaucracy. Meanwhile, we let in another hundred thousand nobodies, who can’t speak either of our two “official” languages, so that they can fill jobs that I used to do at age eleven, deliver newspapers. Our authorities are “not doing their jobs”, they are just collecting a paycheck from you, while the electoral system has been co-opted by the very ones who do benefit from the voting process to make it more difficult for the ones who pay for it all, the taxpayer, to render judgment on the fact that they and their employees, aren’t doing their jobs. Our authorities are showing their contempt for their employers, us. In my business, you get fired for that, no questions asked. This incident and the continuing saga of bureaucratic inactivity and ineptitude in the Caledonia affair are symptoms of a dysfunctional society. It needs fixing, before people explode into self-righteous angry action that circumvents our “authorities” ability to control events. And that is the operative word – “control”. My how our authorities love “control”, of our “news”, our speech, our incomes, our lives and the flow of money from us to pay for their salaries and pensions that are better than you will ever earn, so that they can perpetuate their inactivity and ineptitude. If the Caledonia natives want us to live up to allowing them their “self governing status”, then they need to cease their criminal activities against the very people who collectively pay for their upkeep. Unless, of course they are already self sustaining economically, which I doubt. There is no incentive for them to be self-sustaining, when taxpayers are forking out their hard earned dollars to keep these people in a style to which they seem to have no incentive to improve upon, unless it’s through criminal activity. If the “controllers” aren’t doing much to change things, I’d be asking them if they are receiving any incentive from the native’s criminal activities to prevent them from “doing their jobs”.
Wow! That’s quite the rant, JT. You’ve touched on a lot of issues.
This incident and the continuing saga of bureaucratic inactivity and ineptitude in the Caledonia affair are symptoms of a dysfunctional society. It needs fixing, before people explode into self-righteous angry action that circumvents our “authorities” ability to control events. And that is the operative word – “control”. My how our authorities love “control”, of our “news”, our speech, our incomes, our lives and the flow of money from us to pay for their salaries and pensions that are better than you will ever earn, so that they can perpetuate their inactivity and ineptitude.
I think that is the most irksome issue here. Natives get a free pass when it comes to breaking the law, but the rest of us have to deal with bans and taxes and so forth. How much more can we take?
Anyway, your whole comment is really thought-provoking. With a little polish it could be made into an excellent essay. For example, try breaking up long comments into paragraphs. Much easier to read.
While going through this, I was reminded of David Warren’s piece that appeared on National Newswatch – The truths that we all know, at least in our hearts:
…To tell the truth, to capture the “ring of truth,” requires instead a form of hard-earned simplicity. Seeking the true means seeking the obvious.
I think you’ve done a very good job capturing the ‘ring of truth’ for us here today, JT.
And the truth is rarely politically-correct.
148 years and counting to settle a 1860 “problem”. That is before Canada became a Confederation. Shouldn’t there be a Statute of Limitations or something. At that rate, Canada will be a flooded useless piece of land, (according to the gore/suzuki idiots) before this latest fiasco is settled. How much has it cost taxpayers in the last 148 years. Enough is enough. Whenever one buys a house, land, business or whatever, one has to pay for improvements to said property. Canadians have paid millions for improvements on all lands involved in these claims.
So, lets make a very generous offer, then deduct said costs of improvements from it before any money is exchanged. I think the natives would owe us billions.
Be generous, and tell them that when the figure reaches zero, we will not go after you for what you owe us. In exchange we will own all the land and you will give us a bill of sale saying paid in full.
We then have to put the blame for problems on reserves where it belongs, on the native chiefs. Why haven’t they built schools, hospitals, water systems and stressed their people be educated and get off the dole. Why should we give them millions and then still be expected to pay for all the above. Instead of going after the govt for money and land, why not have all the Nations go after each other to get back the land they stole from each other over the years during the clashes they had with each other. ( I know, we are not to mention that natives were bad to each other years ago). Set July 1st, 2009 for all this to be done, and on that date natives become canadian citizens with all the rights and responsibilities of being a canadian.
We canadians also have to change, and quit jumping to conclusions re natives. My daughter-in-law phoned me at 1.00a.m. to tell me she was so happy when the race of the guy on the bus come out. Seems she had endured several taunts at work that it must have been a drunken indian. Now, she said, maybe all the Chinese people will get the blame. She is part Cree.
Yeah, well I was “ranting”, eh. So I will polish up some of my posts in future.
With regards to David Warren’s quote: We “….can’t handle the truth”, another great quote. We like to be lied to, told little stories to get us to do something that we really don’t want to do, like the hard stuff. We want an “Easy-Button” TM that will magically wish away all the bad stuff. Dream on. real people get engaged with life and meet it head on.
Caledonia has festered for quite some time. I’m not all up on the issues, but living around Montreal in the 60′s and 70′s we were constantly viewing news clips of the “double standard” which is Canaduh being practised by our native bretheren. Waving their weapons and displaying all the anthropological grunting and beating of drums of the “warrior society” members as they perpetuated their criminal gang society that they wish to impose on themselves and now on their non-native neighbors.
Human and contraband trafficing, drug trafficing, weapons trafficing and the inevitable results of death of those of their own society who oppose this route to riches, are the results of a complacency being developed in even our own society of getting something for virtually no effort at all. “Everybody does it”. We even allow the construction of casinos on reserves so that they can launder the proceeds of crime, as well.
The “Dalton Gang” is in the same business of extracting money from people for virtually no work performed and if you take the issue into your own hands, they throw you in jail. If several dozen Brantford residents started to congregate and wave whatever weapons they have around, grunted and beat their drums for the society they want, they’d be put away for life. The law enforcement people would not be constrained by whatever details on borders of “your” property, to “get their man”, so to speak.
Justice is blind for a reason and justice must be seen to be done, or society will break down. If you can’t vote the bums out and the situation continues, you might consider refusing to pay taxes. That (money) usually gets government “controller’s” attention, at least before the locals drag out old Brown Bess to establish the natural order of things, one of which is law and order and a “civil society”.
Great post Joanne…
Thanks, Dr. Roy. Coming from such a prolific National Post letter-writer such as yourself, your kind words are much appreciated.
We canadians also have to change, and quit jumping to conclusions re natives. My daughter-in-law phoned me at 1.00a.m. to tell me she was so happy when the race of the guy on the bus come out
Good point, Mary T. Very interesting about your daughter-in-law being part Cree. So you must see these types of issues in a more objective light than most of us.
Justice is blind for a reason and justice must be seen to be done, or society will break down.
I absolutely agree, JT. When public confidence in our policing and legal system breaks down, then our civilzation starts to crumble and decay. We lose hope, and that isn’t good for anyone.
Hi Joanne …reading this post and some of the comment’s causes me pause …Its interesting to see the lack of understanding that exist with educated people …I guess education is no substitute for knowledge ..Without going into too muck detail a person should read the Royal Proclamation of 1763 …and not just read but try and understand that this document was sent from England to the colonist on how they should proceed and honour the people {natives }whom are the other Nation it is expressly made for ….
I live in N.B and am really surprised at the fact that there was never one acre of land signed over to this Govt …I wonder what sort of a agreement they .{ the natives} could have agreed to that would produce that fact ??? I guess we could go to the treaties and look at them … But maybe the Govt doesn’t want to …maybe the treaties were not fully honoured ..Unless a person is to think that there was this Great piece of land that just fell out of the sky and landed into the Federal Govt.’s lap .
I remember buying a piece of land that was a original land grant given to some military person years ago …I payed a good price for it but I wonder how much the Govt payed for it in the beginning …you don’t suppose it was a bottle of rum and a contaminated blanket ..Yea get upset and even get mad but please direct your concerns to the ones that are supposed to act out of the direction of the Royal Proclamation and subsequent treaties they signed in good faith ..
I guess when it takes so many years to even acknowledge the atrocities that were perpetrated against the natives in the beginning one has to wonder if the general public is capable of understanding other issues such as land claims …It cant be all that simple or it would have been dealt with properly to begin with …thanks and have a good day .
When Canada was formed in 1867, didn’t our first debt occur in the purchase of the Hudson Bay Tract – to “fill in the space” that the original provinces bounded to the east and west? I think we paid $5 million for it.
Prior to that, the fist nations (at least in the center and west)were essentially in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Co with the fur trade and they could come and go where and when they wished. Subsequently, when the Bay lands were pruchased the fur trade essentially collapsed and these indigenous people were for the most part out of a job.
Wasn’t it then that the “reserve system” was set up so that the government of the day could look after these unemployed natives? Did the Proclamation of 1793 apply to Hudson’s Bay land at the time, since it was land (arguably) owned by the Bay by the charter drawn up by King James in the 1600′s, to form “The Company”?
And if we are to discuss “atrocities”, which ones are considered as such, bearing in mind the times we are dealing with – we hanged thieves at the time and there were debtor’s prisons in England, you could be press-ganged for service in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy and flogged around the Fleet if you breached Naval Regulations, or hanged at the yardarm for mutiny. Times and society were a lot rougher then, than they are today and even slavery was still practiced by “civilized” nations. I think that even native North Americans practised a form of “people trade”, too, if the didn’t eat part of them after being captured in battle.
jt …prior to the Proclamation in 1763 was a writ for the new colonist to this land on how they were to conduct themselves within the new country …Hudson Bay Co. was set up to trade with the Natives ..Prior to that the natives were living here for Melina .. Part of the problems that were conducted against the natives were implemented threw the Indian act ..
The Indian Act is a very draconian piece of crap ,and all would be better off without it ..To get a good grip on what’s what within aboriginal peoples of Canada , the Royal commission’s Report on Aboriginal Affairs is a real good document ..Too bad that after the Govt. paying out million’s for the study they wouldn’t have acted on the recommendations the commission suggested ,but then again I don’t see this Colonial Imperialist Govt. doing anything that would make a lot of sense …
The report is a very good document though and it puts in good order the history if North America { Turtle Island } and The Aboriginal Peoples contact with other countries ..Did you know that Russia attacked the Haida on the west coast with a fleet and were defeated ? Although there has been many wars and battles here there was never a war fought for Turtle Island ..
Hi Terry,
Yea get upset and even get mad but please direct your concerns to the ones that are supposed to act out of the direction of the Royal Proclamation and subsequent treaties they signed in good faith ..
And that would be who?
the federal Govt.
But if you read the information in the link, the Federal Government has made several offers to Six Nations, and is still waiting for a response.
[...] Blue Like You | Don’t let Dalton pass the buck [...]
Hi jo .. I read this post. http://kumtux.blogspot.com/2007/07/negotiating-terms-of-surrender.html
I am not sure what they are offering to 6 nations but it could be a bit misleading to someone outside of the loop … apparently the BC govt settled one claim out there where the gave another nations area to the Band they settled with …According to some, at the present rate of claims being settled with first nations it will be 2050 or later, by that time according to the Indian act there wont be any natives left . They use a very confusing formula for determining who is a Indian ..For Instance both of my grand parents were Native but chose not to be put on the Reserves and in doing so became non Native ..
This article should provide you wit a sort of understanding as to the problems the Indian Act actually poses
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/08/01/bc-land-claim.html
The Beothuk of Newfoundland are actually extinct but the new definition the Act gives tells a different story
Thanks for the info, Terry. It is a confusing, involved issue for sure. Each land claim has it’s own history and concerns.
Do you feel that this government is any different from previous ones in the way it is attempting to handle land claims?
To be truthful Jo , it seems the longer they take the better for them .I was at a party where there was a mp and the conversation came up about the Burnt Church incident .as most every one at the party was familiar with what was being said in the news , and it didn’t look good for the Natives , The conversation came to land . The only other person that knew that the Natives still owned the land was the mp and the conversation ended .
I think that if it wasn’t possible for the Govt. to stall on this issue most Canadians would just freak .
The only land claim I heard of in NB was a piece of land the Redbank Nation bought from the Govt.I found that to be very unusual that the Natives should have to buy land that was never legally in their possession .I say legal but it depends on what laws a person is talking about ..
If you take the war ,s that Canada is involved in right now . Many believe they are illegal wars . but I guess it depends on what laws you use .There must be a big difference between International law and common law .I do know that its only been in recent history that The Natives are making any inroads into the courts .Its almost sick as to the time spent in courts over Native issues .My cousin just finished a 5 year nightmare over a deer skin he was curing to make a drum with ….I guess the only ones that are winning are the lawyers ..
I really believe that its education and common sense that will finally bring about a just day.
“…but I guess it depends on what laws you use…”
That’s a very good point, Terry.
The problem is that we tend to view conflicts from our own particular world view, and any incidental moral infractions are excused by the overall goal (i.e. the end justifies the means).
Exactly Joanne .It explains why on the world level how there were only 3 colonial nations that went against the vote for Indigenous rights. Canada being one of them .I just finished reading the history of St.Mary’s first nation. http://www.stmarysfirstnation.ca/pages.asp?pid=1
I think if you were to study the history’s of the different groups within Canada you would find the same spirit imposed on them ..and maybe that the problem ,its not the law but the spirit in which it is taken or given .
Hi Jo…I don’t know if you have read this or not but there is truth in this article http://www.newtfn.com/thetruth.html
and I found this article as well that I was surprised when I read it http://victoriastar.canadaeast.com/rss/article/335648
I guess its taken a long while to bring about some of these claims and I am sure the Govt is not overly anxious to get a quick settlement to the thousands of other claims before the courts but if they are I am sure with a just spirit and system a lot of issues will be finalized …I think every person on Turtle Island wants it ..
…but if they are I am sure with a just spirit and system a lot of issues will be finalized…
Terry, do you have more hope for a quick and fair settlement with this Conservative government than the record of previous Liberal Governments, or do you see them as all the same?
Thanks for those links, BTW.
Jo I am cynical when it comes to the political system as it stands ..I believe there are good caring and informed politicians on all sides …Somehow though I don’t believe they are the ones making the decisions that effect us as a society .I guess if it wasn’t for some secret meetings with powerful and influential people involved I wouldn’t feel this way but to be honest weather Paul Martins or Mulroney’s old gang running the show I see no difference
As far as a fair and quick settlement goes the court of law will eventually make those decisions .You know it was only as recent as 1983 that a Treaty was found that has opened up the whole can of worms in the east here .sometimes the courts are long and then usually the Govt. appeals and appeals until they finally have to resolve. This is unfortunate as it takes much time and resources that could go towards education health care job creation and just a better quality of life for all Canadians .