| Oh CANADA ! |
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| These quotes and stats borrowed from the internet from this summer alone from various sources. And this is just the tip of the iceburg. |
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| “Canada ‘model for all that is good’” "Canadians wary of aboriginal 'entitlements'" "Natives hijacking Canada" “Wanna eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs? What about INAC and the Indian Act?” "can you imagine how inept health canada, natural resources canada, fisheries and oceans and INAC are, when you take a microscope to the communities!?" “This is unacceptable when Canada boasts a budget surplus of $9.1 Billion” "The most exploited people in the world" “Lawful obligations are not “special treatment”. If the government wrongfully appropriates your house, abducts your children or dumps toxic waste in your backyard, you will expect a right to redress.” “In the Top 100 Canadian communities, there was one First Nation community. In the bottom 100 communities, there were 92 First Nation communities.” "The most gripping example of the federal government's failure to address First Nations issues in an area of direct Federal responsibility is the situation of First Nations children. We face the prospect of losing yet another generation of children as they are taken away from families who are too poor to take care of them," said National Chief Fontaine. "At least one in four First Nations children currently live in poverty, and one in ten are under state care. This is a tragedy that is shocking and shameful for all Canadians." “When adjusted for inflation and population factors: Core funding contributions from the federal government to First Nations have decreased by 13% since 1999-2000; Funding for housing decreased by 27% between 1996-97 and 2001-2002; And funding for education decreased by 7% in that same time period.” “Poverty is race based” “Landlessness, ghettoisation, suppression and expulsion, preferably to take place in the course of peace-labeled handshakes.” "INAC (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) - the department’s primary role is to support First Nations and Inuit in developing healthy, sustainable communities and in achieving their economic and social aspirations." “Overall, the federal government has made unsatisfactory progress in implementing recommendations from previous reports on First Nations issues, according to the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser” “Economic, social and human indicators of well-being are drastically lower among Aboriginals than other Canadians.” "We’ve got over 10,000 Aboriginal people living in absolute poverty because Government ministers have failed . . . they cannot seek the funds required to make lives better for Aboriginal people in remote areas." "First Nations living conditions/quality of life is ranked 63rd, amongst Third World conditions - the root cause of poor health. Overcrowded housing, mold, and unsafe drinking water helps spread communicable diseases at a rate 10 to 12 times higher than the national average. Over 40 per cent of homes are considered as inadequate shelter." "The premature mortality rate for First Nations people in Manitoba is twice that of the rest of the population," said Dr. Dean Sandham, dean of the faculty of medicine at the university." “We are aware of the implication of Canadian companies in such countries as Sudan, Ghana, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and the Philippines in toxic dumping, destruction of protected areas, forcible displacement of indigenous people, threats and intimidation of local communities.” “As reported in the National Post April 1999, then Auditor General Denis Desautels warned that the Indian Affairs department risked compounding existing poverty and despair on native reserves by failing to account for how money is being spent. He also added, "the department is not taking adequate steps to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing, including complaints and disputes related to funding arrangements, are appropriately resolved." As far back as 1996 Desautels complained about "severe deficiencies in Ottawa’s system of monitoring funds spend on reserves for welfare, education, housing, and economic development." “Canada's treatment of many of its indigenous peoples is very shabby indeed and they will feel further discriminated against by their government's actions at the UN.” "First Nation males (15-24 years) die from suicide at a rate of 126/100,000. This is very high compared to the national rate for males of the same age, 24/100,000. First Nation females (15-24 yrs of age) also die from suicide at a higher rate than females of the same age in the national population, 35/100,000 compared with 5/100,000. New research has established a link between cultural factors, such as self-governance, land claims negotiation, local control over education and health services, and lower rates of youth suicide in Aboriginal populations." “The Government of Canada, quite appropriately, gives both political and financial support to Canadian companies establishing their operations abroad. Yet the Government has no mechanism for enforcing international human rights and environmental standards established by the United Nations – standards to which Canada is a signatory – beyond that of moral suasion. The voluntary self-regulation approach clearly does not work.” “Present day United States is a product of genocide, victory in wars fought over property belonging to neither of the combatants, revolution, defense, and a failing attempt at maintaining freedom based on a populace restrained by the mandates of Christianity and governed by officials bound by a Constitution.” "Canada acts as judge and jury, deciding what is and is not a valid claim, what is on the table for negotiations and then negotiating the claim against itself." “Canada's treatment of many of its indigenous peoples is very shabby indeed and they will feel further discriminated against by their government's actions at the UN.” "In 2003 alone, INAC received almost 300 allegations of corruption, nepotism or mismanagement by band councils" “One of the factors contributing to the high infection rate among Aboriginal people in Canada is that, until recently, very little in the way of government funding for AIDS organizations was making its way to the Aboriginal community.” "The report, which is based on census data, found that 58 per cent of on-reserve aboriginal people between the ages of 20 and 24 had not graduated from high school. Among all people across Canada, the comparable 2001 rate was 16 per cent. In Saskatchewan and Alberta, the on-reserve rate for people 20-24 with less than high school was 61 per cent. In Manitoba, it was 71 per cent." "Yes, there's been a Liberal government for 13 years. But there was a Conservative government for about a decade before that. These problems within our communities -- social, economic, poverty, education, issues around lands and rights -- they've existed since contact. There have been political parties of all stripes that share in that shameful history." "The "Indian Act" is Illegal" "Indian & Northern Affairs Canada is largely responsible." "The U.N. Human Rights Council, brushing aside opposition from Canada and Russia, on Thursday backed a declaration that would strengthen claims by native peoples to control over lands where they live." "Canada and Russia were the only two of 30 countries on the UN council to vote against the declaration, which says aboriginal people should be free from discrimination and should get a greater say in decisions that affect them." "Only Canada, which led the opposition and was known to be also reflecting the views of non-Council members Australia, the United States and New Zealand, and Russia voted against." - "All member states who have usurped indigenous lands" "Canada argued that several of the articles would violate the national constitution or even prevent the country's armed forces from taking measures necessary for its defense." “The document declares that indigenous peoples cannot be forcibly removed from their land and territories, maintain the right to practice traditional religions, medical practices and has the right to establish their own education system to protect their language, customs and traditions.” "WHEREAS Canada has ascribed to the internationally recognized standards for respecting political rights of the People as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, United Nations Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other international legal instruments; " "Canada must abide by the international law principle that there can be no development on Indigenous land without consulting and getting the consent of the Title Holders." "Canada officially endorsed the principle of human equality in Section 15 of the Constitution Act, 1982. This means the law and the way people relate to each other has to change. Canada and its provinces have to sit down and talk to us as equals." “Canada's binding obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination have been described by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as a duty to "recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, develop, control and use their communal lands and territories ... and, where they have been deprived of their lands ... without their free and informed consent, to take steps to return those lands and territories." "The claim of government paternalism is used by the First Nation leadership at all phases of negotiations with outside governments," he said. "At the same time, chiefs and councils have picked up on the paternalistic practices and those paternalistic practices are the major contributors to holding our people back from self-government." "There has never been a declared war between whites and aboriginal peoples in Canada whereby the victor could legally assume sovereign rights and ownership over aboriginal lands and peoples.” "From documented evidence Native people have never ceded, sold, surrendered or wholeheartedly given up the land, outright, to any foreign agent, state, nation or individual since the European arrival in 1492. Neither has the land been legally or legitimately conquered, signed away, lost or conceded through a nation-to-nation war or conflict." "Aboriginal Title is based on Natural and Inherent Rights that universally entitles original land users and First Inhabitants the primacy of a land and territory. The land was underhandedly stolen from various native groups across the country, piece by piece, through contrived fraud, force, manipulation, deceit, exploitation and pre-arranged or ‘doctored’ treaties. By the very fact that natives were incapable of reading, writing, speaking or understanding foreign languages, (not to mention interpreting legal jargon,) at the time of the arranged treaties, all documents should by right, have been declared or rendered illegal, null and void, fraudulent and non-representative." “In the legal world a contract has to have at least two competent sides to negotiate and execute a valid, legal document. A question arises in the propriety, procedure and legitimacy when the Native/White treaties were formalized. Can these questionably prepared documents thrust on illiterate native participants be considered valid contracts, and are they beyond question?" “no further investigation arose from the woman's untimely death and Skundal said her sister was " written off as a drunken, prostitute, drug-addicted Indian."” "First Nations are the true and real founding Nations of this country, and we still possess our own governments and legal rights which are enshrined and protected by international law, our Treaties and the Constitution of Canada, whether they will admit it or not." “However, there is also a pressing need for a conceptual shift within government, police and the courts.” “Ipperwash proves we need a new approach to land rights” "the government of Canada at this point spends $9 million a year on Aboriginal programs and services, which, however you calculate it, is in the range of $15,000 for each person who lives on reserves." ''It's a damn shame that we have to come to this courthouse time after time to prove our right, to prove our title, to prove our history, and to earn the respect of the government,'' “Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world, overcame them, by conquest, settlement or other means, reduced them to a non-dominant or colonial condition; who today live more in conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and traditions than with the institutions of the country of which they now form part, under a state structure which incorporates mainly national, social and cultural characteristics of other segments of the population which are predominant”. "People become rigid with greed, envy, gossip, and overall negativity." “landlessness, ghettoisation, suppression and expulsion, preferably to take place in the course of peace-labelled handshakes.” "It goes on to cite a Supreme Court of Canada ruling which places a duty on the Crown "to meaningfully consult and accommodate First Nations where development and planning decisions may affect its claims (and) rights and impact its interests." “Land and resource rights have been legally established in many cases. But frequently the existence of such rights is ignored or contested by governments across the country. That does not in itself mean that the right is not legitimate. It does mean that the right has not been officially recognized in a manner that is readily protected by the justice system. Meanwhile, efforts by indigenous peoples to assert those rights, perhaps by occupying lands in protest or hunting in contravention of licensing regulations, are readily characterized as criminal acts. That is what happened to Dudley George and others involved in the Ipperwash protest.” "If this request was honored, it would mean that Canada, by her membership to United Nations, would need to respect, honor and uphold legal obligations invoked by the Crown to and for native people, guaranteeing fair treatment, and assuring legal responsibilities be succinctly adhered to, while managing or expediting any contract or formal interaction with First Nations." "As a result of these ‘questionably legal’ treaty documents written by alien or foreign agents and/or agencies of the Government, native people were automatically unprepared or completely out-maneuvered by the language used, and also victimized in every detail by the unscrupulous acts, deeds and highly technical language of the ‘contracts’ that were pre- arranged by select ‘agents’ of the Crown or society. In the takeover process, native people were reduced, neutralized and physically set apart from the rest of the Canadian society to live in poverty, isolation and depravation forever, in affect destroying our future and solidarity. One day these glaring misdeeds must be reckoned with ultimately." "It is a fact that the land mass of Canada covers 10 million square miles from coast to coast which, at one time, was inhabited entirely by native people." “Over 500 Aboriginal women missing” "So here we are, listed as one of the target populations in the HIV/AIDS strategy, but yet we're facing closure of some of our member groups. So obviously we're getting mixed messages from the government on whether we're a priority or not." "At stake in these disputes are essential human rights, protected in the Canadian Constitution and international law." "Statistics Canada reports that Aboriginal people make up two to three percent of society but 17 percent of federal prisoners." "Aboriginal governments are no exception. For First Nations communities to become more self-sufficient, First Nations governments must be more accountable to their constituents." "there already is accountability on reserves." "Depends on what the word "Corrupt" means. Corrupt can mean broken beyond repair or just plain useless." "The Auditor General's report also states that: "funds for First Nations have increased in recent years (1.6% from 1999- 2004), but not at a rate equal to population growth" (11.2 % over the same period)." "Aboriginal veterans get the shaft" "Compensation packages from atrocities against humanity move at a snails pace until most victims are deceased." "The proportion of Canada’s total AIDS cases contracted by Aboriginal people climbed from 1.0 per cent in 1990 to 6.2 per cent in 2001, this represents six times the national average. There are concerns AIDS may reach epidemic proportions among First Nations." "Aboriginal children are five times more likely to die in a burning home than non-aboriginal kids, and almost one-third of all victims on reserves are children under 14." "Kelowna Accord Is Not The Answer" "Until housing shortages are gone, until there is an economy that can support the growing number of young people reaching working age, until the education system can produce more high school graduates, and until a wide-range of post-secondary opportunities are available. . . the situation is unlikely to change." "Non-natives and their governments must respect the law, too, and all of it." The "Indian Act" is racist, undemocratic, and paternalistic. "the Indian Act is the ultimate law that governs native reserves. Regrettably, the Indian Act is mute on the subject of human rights." "abolish “indian act” with reparations, compensation, or acknowledgement of treaty obligations" "For health gains to be achieved, Aboriginal communities need the resources and capacity to be able to move beyond responding to crises and begin to address the determinants of health." "The study also found that blacks in Ontario are 4.5 times more likely to be involved in an SIU investigation than white people, while aboriginal people were 5.3 times more likely." "section of the 1927 Indian Act that forbade First Nations people from forming political organizations to represent their interests." "The finger of God points out a mighty Empire to our sons; the Savages of the wilderness were never expelled to make room in this, the best part of the continent, for idolators and slaves." "For every 100,000 black people there were 23 SIU investigations compared to five for every 100,000 white people," University of Toronto professor Wortley told CBC News." “The study found the following obesity and overweight rates within aboriginal communities: · 52 per cent of aboriginal children. · 42 per cent of adolescents. · 67 per cent of adults. · 71 per cent of elders over age 55.” "Ten years ago Ottawa stopped investing in a program that built low-income rental homes for urban aboriginals. Since then, waiting lists for the existing properties have grown and so have the number of native people living in motels, shelters and on the streets." "Aboriginal women account for almost one-third of our bulging female prison population." "While statistics are lacking on how many aboriginal Canadians have HIV, experts agree the numbers are spiking." "the odds are against aboriginal kids because many don't receive adequate fire prevention training." "What bothers me is the fact that when Native communities run a deficit they are put under some sort of remedial management plan. That does not happen to the non native communities. Even the provinces run a deficit. BCs is currently 33 billion." "Until housing shortages are gone, until there is an economy that can support the growing number of young people reaching working age, until the education system can produce more high school graduates, and until a wide-range of post-secondary opportunities are available. . . the situation is unlikely to change. "We are the original democrats on Turtle Island." "All the branding against "Indians" in the mainstream media by government is meant to make us all look like terrorists, smugglers, criminals, thieves and good for nothings." "I am therefore justly dismayed by this current outpouring of racism against them, when they carry out the simple reclamation of land that is rightfully theirs." "The goals of the late-19th and early-20th-century Canadian state's Indian policies are no secret and are described by Gibbins and Ponting (1986: 24-30) as "protection, "assimilation," "Christianization," "self-sufficiency" and "enfranchisement." "The racist inferiorization of Indian people and their way of life was an ideological prelude to the creation of structures and practices that were aimed at recasting Indian subjectivity and identity. The state, acting through the agents of the Department, attempted to create in Indian people certain kinds of citizens who would be able to accommodate themselves to yeoman agriculture, industrial capitalism, particular patterns of gender identities and relations, and certain forms of both self- and political governance" "When a government pits one group of people against another for political advantage, those politics will have consequences." “In the Top 100 Canadian communities, there was one First Nation community. In the bottom 100 communities, there were 92 First Nation communities.” “This is unacceptable when Canada boasts a budget surplus of $9.1 Billion” “Lawful obligations are not “special treatment”. If the government wrongfully appropriates your house, abducts your children or dumps toxic waste in your backyard, you will expect a right to redress.” “When adjusted for inflation and population factors: Core funding contributions from the federal government to First Nations have decreased by 13% since 1999-2000; Funding for housing decreased by 27% between 1996-97 and 2001-2002; And funding for education decreased by 7% in that same time period.” “The average income of Aboriginal lone-parent families is especially low.” "What is the average salary for INAC employees and the average salary for Aboriginal people?" "It's worst when the snow melts in spring, dissolving toxins into the streams where newly hatched fish are growing. Acid rain and acid snow are posing a major threat to the fish habitat in Nova Scotia, having already killed one quarter of the province's freshwater fish population. According to a scientist in this CBC Television report, another quarter of the population could be wiped out within twenty years, unless something is done." "Canada's history when it comes to treatment of aboriginal peoples is disgusting. We should all be ashamed." “I worked a lot of years for FN PTOs and one of the things I pushed was to ensure the salaries of the employees working in the organizations were in line with DIA employees. I looked at DIA salary scales and benchmarks. One of the things government loves to do is to use the excuse that we do not pay taxes so our salaries shoud be lower than persons who paid taxes. I questioned why it should be so, when our sovereign tax immunity was a right not a privilege and to give the other employees a higher salary (because they paid taxes) was giving these employees a privilege not given to the status employees. “ “In all of those cases, just as in most Native cases, it is up to the people involved to say, "Enough is Enough", and vote the bastards out. And change their bylaws, etc. to make open government, stop nepotism, enforce fiscal accountability and above all, stop making the presidency/chief's office the best paying job around!” “Set up by the Conservatives following the 1990 Oka conflict, the commission reported to a Liberal government in 1996. But the Liberals largely ignored its recommendations, including the suggestion that land claims be settled by a tribunal composed of both aboriginal and non-aboriginal members, rather than by the courts.” “Although the federal government is supposedly responsible for the aboriginals' overall welfare, the provinces have jurisdiction over land and resources.” “Mr Prentice has declined to intervene in Caledonia, refused to support a UN declaration on indigenous rights and reneged on the last government's pledge of an extra $5 billion for social schemes. As with so many federal issues in Canada, any real change in policy is unlikely until there is a majority government with the strength and will to ram it through.“ 'With those numbers, I'm ashamed to be Canadian. Our health is the same as people in Third World countries.'-Dr. Stanley Vollant, aboriginal surgeon and former president of the Quebec Medical Association "You can expect in 10-15 years, an epidemic in diabetes. The rates will increase two, three, four times," he warned. “Economic and social conditions on both reserves and in urban settings exacerbate the problems, said Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador. The combination of underemployment and poor access to healthy foods makes it hard for people to make the right choices.” It's time all three levels of government — band councils, the province and Ottawa — act fast and act together to stem the tide, said Picard. "Maybe the investment we have so far from the governments hasn't been properly placed," he said Tuesday. The study was carried out by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Committee in 2002. Aboriginal people living on 23 reserves and in Montreal, Quebec City and Val d'Or took part in the investigation. The study excluded northern Quebec Crees, the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and the Inuit. “The study found levels of overweight and obesity of 52 per cent among aboriginal children, 42 per cent for adolescents, 67 per cent for adults and 71 per cent for elders, defined as those over 55. Already, one-third of elders have diabetes. "The survey demonstrates that there is a strong relationship between the health of people and the economic and social conditions in which they live." “Among children, the study found that young aboriginals spend as many as 15 hours a week watching television, with two- thirds of boys playing video games 10 hours a week or more, while half the girls surveyed play video games four hours a week. Parents reported that 47 per cent of children had health problems, notably difficulty breathing, visual or hearing problems and allergies.“ “The 19 per cent unemployment rate among natives is nearly three times the national average” “average INAC salary is based on Level 5 Year 5 of the current grid, which in 2002 was identified as $46,179.” A recent study by the Chiefs of Ontario found that teachers in First Nations schools were underpaid compared to their provincial counterparts by $10, 791.89 or 25% “According to the figures identified in the comparison, a small provincial school is eligible to receive approximately 60% more funding than a small First Nations school. “ “INAC's mandate in First Nations education arises from the Indian Act, however the legislative role is open to wide interpretation.” “A major barrier to homeownership was the ability of many to obtain credit, due to the fact they had a poor credit history.“ “In 1995, the average employment income of the Aboriginal population was $17,382” “Some more numbers: 29 million Canadians against one million “Aboriginal” people. “ Sign this Petition Supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples http://www.amnesty.ca/ip_un_petition/UN_indigenous_rights.php |
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| You call yourselves leaders? |