First Nations delegation in Iran to discuss human rights offenses in Canada

[Flabbibulin]

The Iranian state-owned Press TV has been bashing Canada since we cut diplomatic ties, but this new development is interesting to say the least.

Former Manitoba chief Terry Nelson, part of the entourage in Iran, makes some crazy claims in his interview with Press TV:

There's no real economic development on reserves. The reservations have between 60 and 95 per cent unemployment. This is the root cause of the artificial poverty that's on reserves. It is economic sanctions. It is enforced by the Canadian government."
Pashe was a little more inflammatory with his comments evoking concepts such as extermination and concentration camps when describing Canada's approach with First Nations' communities.
"It's part of the ongoing effort by the Canadian government to exterminate us," he said when asked about the high incarceration rates of Aboriginal women.
"In the past they used a gun and [a] disease infested blanket to wipe out our people, to take our resources, to take our lands and to exploit them for their own profit. Today they use legislation as the gun, alcohol and drugs is the bullet so to speak. And they use alcohol and drugs to cause a lot of of social evil in our families and our communities to undermine our family values," he said.
"[In one Manitoba First Nations community,] they live on $225 a month on social assistance, they cannot buy food, they cannot buy the proper food, the proper diet. A lot of them have cancer, a lot of them have poor health, diabetes and they're not free so they're captured in that concentration camp known as a First Nation. It's a vicious cycle."

Kind of a long video in the article, but it is sure to rile up a few people.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canad...211949389.html

[peter12]

These goofs should be embarrassed.

[Resolute 14]

Now that is some quality trolling. Well done, Mr. Nelson. Well done.

[Cowperson]

The reservations have between 60 and 95 per cent unemployment. This is the root cause of the artificial poverty that's on reserves. It is economic sanctions. It is enforced by the Canadian government."

What do reservations offer that would cause jobs to take root in them?

Cowperson

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Now that is some quality trolling. Well done, Mr. Nelson. Well done.

He's got a good history of trolling:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sadeq-...b_1900389.html

Nelson is a popular leader among some disaffected aboriginal groups, and has repeatedly proven himself to be no stranger to either politics, controversy or militant activism. "There are two ways to deal with the white man," he says, "you either pick up a gun, or you stand between him and his money."

He warned the Canadian and American governments that they had "plans to launch actions against existing oil pipelines in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, along with several U.S. states."

In February 2012, Nelson wrote a letter to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad via the Iranian embassy in Ottawa. He thanked the Iranian government and specifically the Iranian embassy in Ottawa for their support of his activities, and, in a rather risky move, he associated Iran's "right to defend themselves against aggression," with the flow of Canadian oil to the United States, and the precarious nature of that situation as the Canadian government "endangers its right of access to our Treaty historical lands including the lands upon which the pumping depot sits."

[Muta]

Leave it to Iranian TV to bring in a figure like this to negatively twist the image of Canada in their favour.

Perhaps Mr. Nelson can claim refugee status there, I'm sure he'd love to do that. Quit the foreplay and just do it.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

What do reservations offer that would cause jobs to take root in them?

Cowperson

Or for ambitious people to stay on a reserve? There is a serious brain drain on reserves.

Honestly, I think the whole reserve system is holding them back and just doesn't fit well into modern society. Giving up that autonomy would likely lead to greater success in the long run, but it's a difficult thing to give up.

[CaramonLS]

I wonder if Mr. Nelson managed to take a tour of any of the Kurdish areas to see how their Iranian 'saviors' treat them.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Or for ambitious people to stay on a reserve? There is a serious brain drain on reserves.

Honestly, I think the whole reserve system is holding them back and just doesn't fit well into modern society. Giving up that autonomy would likely lead to greater success in the long run, but it's a difficult thing to give up.

Honestly, the sooner the reserves system is abolished, the better it'll be for them. Doing an alternative that integrates them into society has to be a better result. It's depressing the way it is right now.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Honestly, the sooner the reserves system is abolished, the better it'll be for them. Doing an alternative that integrates them into society has to be a better result. It's depressing the way it is right now.

Agreed.
The reserve system is so flawed it's not even funny.

[Azure]

Of course Mr. Nelson wants more financial support from the government. Helps him line his own pockets.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Or for ambitious people to stay on a reserve? There is a serious brain drain on reserves.

Honestly, I think the whole reserve system is holding them back and just doesn't fit well into modern society. Giving up that autonomy would likely lead to greater success in the long run, but it's a difficult thing to give up.

I've heard this argument also for Foreign Aid in Africa. African governments depend on this money so much that they can't get their own economy going.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I've heard this argument also for Foreign Aid in Africa. African governments depend on this money so much that they can't get their own economy going.

Do you think reserves are as corrupt as many African nations that recieve aid?

[Bootsy]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Do you think reserves are as corrupt as many African nations that recieve aid?

In some cases more so .....if you've ever been to a reserve take a gander at the Chief's house compared to a typical shack the rest of them live it.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Bootsy

In some cases more so .....if you've ever been to a reserve take a gander at the Chief's house compared to a typical shack the rest of them live it.

Yeah I been to lots and lots of reserves.

[chemgear]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...-manitoba.html

A former Manitoban First Nations leader has raised the ire of Canadian officials with his appearance on Iranian television comparing aboriginal reserves to concentration camps.

"This is the root cause of the artificial poverty that's on reserves. It is economic sanctions."

[chemgear]

^ Wait, I thought the Iranian government denies that concentration camps ever existed in the first place?

What a joke all around.

[wpgflamesfan]

He also said there are more chances for First Nations youth to be incarcerated than to graduate from high school.

[theinfinitejar]

Originally Posted by wpgflamesfan

Technically he's not wrong, there's only one way to graduate high school; there are many ways to be incarcerated.

[nik-]

Iran can twist Canada's image as much as they want. Their opinion of my amazing country is about as important as the opinion of my morning ####.