AANDC asks for consultation on First Nations Education Reform

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has put an online survey on their website in an effort to fulfill their promise to consult with people on improving First Nations Education.

The survey is open to everyone First Nations and other Canadians alike and takes about ten minutes to complete.

AANDC has included an option for people to submit their own ideas by mail or e-mail.

This consultation process is to be held between December 2012 and April 2013.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan resigns his position Heritage Minister James Moore to be the Temporary Aboriginal Affairs Minister

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan resigns from his position in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet giving a prior conflict of interest as his reason.

In a statement posted on his official website, Minister John Duncan said he wrote a character reference on behalf of one of his constituents to the Canada Revenue Agency in June 11, 2011.  Citing this as inappropriate, due to his position in government.  Duncan tendered his resignation from cabinet on February 15, 2013.

His resignation comes after months of protests from Aboriginal groups across Canada. Challenges to Omnibus bills C-38 and C-45, Bill C-27 First Nations Financial Transparency Act and First Nations Education Reform are some of the issues his department faced in recent months.  He also initiated an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the inclusion of Metis and Non-status Indians as Indians under the Indian Act.

Heritage Minister James Moore was appointed as temporary Aboriginal Affairs Minister until P.M. Stephen Harper finds a permanent replacement.

Society of Law Students Hosts Arthur Manuel and Harsha Walia at Access To Justice, Still? Conference.

“There has to be a re-carving of Indigenous Rights in Canada.” Arthur Manuel.

Arthur Manuel at SLSTRU Conference

“It's only through Idle No More, only through political action at the community level that you can get him to doggone move.” said Arthur Manuel, referring to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s reluctance to meet with First Nations.  “It is only through political action only through on the ground creating economic uncertainty that you can really create that kind of change.  I am really inspired by idle no more.”

Arthur Manuel is a former Chief of the Neskonith Indian Band, Chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council and a lead proponent of Aboriginal and Treaty rights in Canada.  He and Harsha Walia a UBC Law graduate and activist sat on the closing panel of Thompson Rivers University's, Society of Law Students first conference on Friday February 8, 2013.  This final panel was attended by about 25 people. The two day event was held at the Brown House of Learning and explored different concepts of justice.

Manuel spoke about Indigenous economics.  How Federal and Provincial governments are developing the Nation’s resources without Indigenous involvement.  How organized First Nations groups which accept funding from the government have reached the extent of their usefulness.  That these organizations have become an Industry to manage Native poverty.  Only through grassroots and community political action can First Nations move forward.

Harsha Walia, SLSTRU Conference

Harsha Walia address the forum and talked about her experience in Downtown East Side of Vancouver and the issues of poverty, selective policing, criminalization of a community, criminalization of poverty, colonialism, aboriginal rights and how the legal system affects social activism.

"The law and justice are totally different," said Walia "there is a difference between what is legally right and what is morally right."

“There is an increasing reliance on criminalization as a tactic to deter activism.” said Walia. An example is Bill 78  passed by the Quebec government as an attempt to restrict student protests.  

(Quebec Bill 78 included these measures:

• rules against preventing students from entering an educational institution;[4]
• requirements for organizers of public demonstrations to give police advance notice;[5] and
• penalties for people who offer encouragement to protest.[6]

Judy Feng, Legal Perspectives on Bill 78 – Quebec’s“Emergency Law” to Quell Student Protests)

However, Quebec students ignored the provisions in Bill 78 and continued their protest in defiance of Bill 78. Students continued to march by the hundreds and thousands which made enforcement of the Quebec’s anti-protest law unenforceable. Leading to tuition hikes to be frozen and Bill 78 to be repealed in September, 2012 by Pauline Marois.

(Bill 78 was repealed by Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois on her 1st day in office.)

Governments and the courts have other methods of affecting social activism. Contempt of Court, Obstruction of Justice, Trespass, Libel, Defamation and Slap Suits are legal mechanisms in place that can affect activists. Surveillance and Infiltration are another set of court sanctioned means used to monitor First Nations and activist groups.

Walia was arrested pre-emptively, before the G20 because they thought she may pose a threat to the meeting but those charges were quickly dropped.  This is one example of the sweeping arrests made before the G20 and the increase surveillance that was authorized to quell protests of the summit.

Manuel offered encouragement to the youth in the final comments of the conference. The conference closed with a prayer from a local elder and a traditional song from Aboriginal students at TRU.

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Material of Interest:

The National Post ran a story Police violated civil rights, acted illegally, says scathing report on G20 Summit.  Where the Office of the Independent Police Review Director found that police violated the rights of approximately 1000 people during the G20 Summit.

Russell Diablo and Shiri Pasternak write about government monitoring of First Nations groups in the First Nations Strategic Bulletin a newsletter published by Russell Diablo.
“Russell Diabo (Kanienke’ha:ka) from Kahnawake is the Policy Advisor for the Algonquin Nation Secretariat & Wolf Lake First Nation, and is the Editor & Publisher at First Nations Strategic. Bulletin”Indigenous Waves.

Treaty Essential Learning from the Office of the Treaty Commissoner

Here is a Treaty Backgrounder from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner. (OTC)

Purpose of the OTC is:

"The OTC will assist the Parties in understanding the relationship building process inherent in the Treaties and promoting that relationship amongst all Canadians.

The OTC is committed to coordinating the research, initiating, facilitating and supporting of initiatives aimed at achieving First Nations economic independence in the context of Treaty in a modern environment.

The OTC is committed to coordinating independent and focused research on Treaty issues to assist the Parties.

The OTC is committed to engaging in public information and public awareness programming to educate and advance good relations among all the peoples of Saskatchewan on Treaty issues." the Mission Statement of the OTC.

The OTC produced:  We Are All Treaty People (pdf) a document used to prepare teachers to use the OTC's Treaty kit in classrooms in Saskatchewan.

Covering:

1: The Treaties,
2: Treaty Relationship,
3: Historical Context of the Treaties,
4: Worldviews,
5: Symbolism in Treaty Making,
6. Contemporary Treaty Issues.

The link to "We Are All Treaty People" is published here with permission from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.  Any feedback that will help improve this resource can be left in comments and will be forwarded to the OTC.