Do you think Harper and the GG should meet with her and other First Nations leaders though? My understanding is that she wants to discuss treaties and how they're both effective at this point (although I'm not well educated in this whole thing).
I think they should meet. Have some open and honest discussion about a treaty/reserve system that is clearly doing no good for either side and maybe make some progress toward a better future. When you see the conditions on the reserves and the corruption you have to wonder what "culture" is being preserved here. I say that not based on anything meant to be racist or derogatory towards the First Nations either; its just that with as much corruption and terrible conditions as we've seen (and that's a whole other concern, in that its largely self reported), is there a lot of culture left to preserve?
I'm not a fan of hunger strikes either. I actually think the other methods used here are great, and there has been nothing wrong with them. I just think the hunger strike is worse because its pure martyrdom. I know, that's the point. I suppose I can just picture being on the other side and would just say "OK, don't eat then, its your decision."
Not really, when the Feds tried to take care of the housing crisis and asked her to open the books she raised a holy stink about any kind of audit.
So I don't think the PM should be rewarding her for that.
IIRC they had a first treaty meeting with the PM early this year, she refused to show.
The minister of Aboriginal affairs and the health minister both offered to meet her, she refused yet there she is meeting with Trudeau for photo opportunities.
Besides she doesn't negotiate for the natives she's the leader of one community, that's not the Prime Ministers preview.
So no, this is a publicity stunt by a crooked corrupt little woman, in no way shape or form should the prime minister sit down with her.
Besides my thought is it will be a waste of time.
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Do you think Harper and the GG should meet with her and other First Nations leaders though? My understanding is that she wants to discuss treaties and how they're both effective at this point (although I'm not well educated in this whole thing).
I think they should meet. Have some open and honest discussion about a treaty/reserve system that is clearly doing no good for either side and maybe make some progress toward a better future. When you see the conditions on the reserves and the corruption you have to wonder what "culture" is being preserved here. I say that not based on anything meant to be racist or derogatory towards the First Nations either; its just that with as much corruption and terrible conditions as we've seen (and that's a whole other concern, in that its largely self reported), is there a lot of culture left to preserve?
I'm not a fan of hunger strikes either. I actually think the other methods used here are great, and there has been nothing wrong with them. I just think the hunger strike is worse because its pure martyrdom. I know, that's the point. I suppose I can just picture being on the other side and would just say "OK, don't eat then, its your decision."
Spence has also asked for a meeting with Oprah.
She is eating soup and traditional medicines.
As others have said, she has refused meetings with the Minister who is directly responsible.
She is making it difficult to take this seriously.
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Lol, that's right. I forgot about the Oprah tweet. I guess I chalk that up to someone in the camp being foolish, and frankly that could make them fit right in with the people they want to meet with!
I guess I just think that an honest discussion of the reserves/treaties would be a good idea in general. I'm not sure how Spence is the FN representative in those kinds of talks, other than the hunger strike, but Canada needs to have these discussions IMO. It wouldn't surprise me if the outcome of those talks was unacceptable to many FN people, but I think we should have the talks regardless of that possibility.
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We happened to pass by part of this protest in Broadview Saskatchewan, mostly involved the highway going down to 1 lane for a stretch of maybe 10-20km, and being forced to coast at 50/kmh. When we saw one car at the beginning with a flag hanging from it, and a bonfire of some kind in the ditch, at which point the RCMP was flagging the traffic to get moving.
Well I can't say it was effective in getting any real message across (maybe I missed the activity & just saw the end?) they protesters at least appeared to be working with the RCMP in sharp contrast with the occupy movement a while back. So I'll commend them for having their protest without insisting that people pay attention.
Lol, that's right. I forgot about the Oprah tweet. I guess I chalk that up to someone in the camp being foolish, and frankly that could make them fit right in with the people they want to meet with!
I guess I just think that an honest discussion of the reserves/treaties would be a good idea in general. I'm not sure how Spence is the FN representative in those kinds of talks, other than the hunger strike, but Canada needs to have these discussions IMO. It wouldn't surprise me if the outcome of those talks was unacceptable to many FN people, but I think we should have the talks regardless of that possibility.
Except that she's not the person that the government talks to about treaty rights, the feds had the meetings earlier this year (iirc) with the band chiefs. I don't think that Spence showed for it.
She's like the mayor of one town demanding a meeting so that she can discuss something on a national level.
Plus with her hystronics and other actions in front of the press, chances are all she'd do is probably yell at the Prime Minister or punch him or something.
The Government was right when they said the right level of person was the native affairs minister, the health minister went our of her way to set up a meeting Inuit to native and was refused, yet she took two hours out of her hunger strike to sit down with a Liberal with no portfolio in Trudeau.
Harper refuses to get drawn into a stunt by Spence where she's trying to make people forget her mismanagement of funds and her incompetent leadership of her community, why would he get involved with that.
She's doesn't have treaty negotiation rights so why bother.
Like I said instead of protesting the removal of the Department of Transportation not having freshwater usage permission rights (maybe someone can say it better then me) The natives should be protesting outside of her tent about stuffing her relatives pockets to rebuild a school on contaminated land and buying a Zamboni and taking her relatives on private jet trips to Toronto to shop instead of putting her people in heated housing.
I'm sick of this woman, she's no better then the corrupt mayors in Quebec.
I don't blame our Prime Minister for wanting nothing to do with her.
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Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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Theresa Spence is a complete fraud. She refuses to open her bands' books to show how the $131 million received since 2006 from the feds has been spent, plus a $40 million contract with De Beers. If her hunger strike lasts 2 years she will look just as chubby.
The PM should not meet with this person. Just because you are fat and go on a diet doesnt mean you should get a meeting with the PM.
What happens if a small town mayor wants a meeting with the PM, where does this BS stop.
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Im not overly versed in this topic but one thing i dont understand is how she has any right at all to withhold the books? If an independent audit is deemed necessary how is she legally able to road block it? I mean with a popualtion of what 1800 and govt assistance as well as the Debeers payments that little community should be pretty ship shape if not then an audit should be mandatory and all funds suspended until co-operation is given.
I could be way off base but i have spent considerable amounts of time on reservations in Alberta and Saskatchewan and i dont pretend to know what each reserve gets in payments but the level of squalor is pretty depressing whether that be due to mismanagement or not enough funding or whatever the case may be i cant understand how an audit can be rejected?
I believe that an audit could be rejected on the grounds that each reserve is technically a sovereign nation, entitled to payments as outlined in whichever applicable treaty. Once a payment is made, the Canadian Government would then no longer have any rights or standing to conduct an audit.
A rough equivalent would be Germany demanding the right to audit France's expenditures of the repayments sent after the Versailles treaty.
Or perhaps a better example would be the United States demanding the right to audit the expenditures of the Iraqi government. Sensible, perhaps, but not legal.
Im not overly versed in this topic but one thing i dont understand is how she has any right at all to withhold the books? If an independent audit is deemed necessary how is she legally able to road block it? I mean with a popualtion of what 1800 and govt assistance as well as the Debeers payments that little community should be pretty ship shape if not then an audit should be mandatory and all funds suspended until co-operation is given.
I could be way off base but i have spent considerable amounts of time on reservations in Alberta and Saskatchewan and i dont pretend to know what each reserve gets in payments but the level of squalor is pretty depressing whether that be due to mismanagement or not enough funding or whatever the case may be i cant understand how an audit can be rejected?
From what I have seen, on some, very little of the funds get down to the "average Joe".
From what I have seen, on some, very little of the funds get down to the "average Joe".
I don't believe that this was the audit that the government was after. This audit and I'm not an accountant looks like income coming in from various trusts and organizations like Deboers.
The government wanted an audit of spending and payroll and other disbursements and expenses. Those were things that Spence was raising a stink from.
somewhere online I read that they had a ludicrous payroll based on the size of the community. There were also issues with buying a 6 figure top of the line Zamboni. Building a school on contaminated land and then tearing it down and building it again on the same land.
There was also a question about who got paid for these contracts.
So that audit is only partial to what the government wanted.
Also the government wanted a proper audit due to Spence demanding emergency funds from the government, I believe that the government sent in someone to handle the books and the funds and he was promptly thrown out.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Can anyone honestly come up with a good reason why having First Nations people operate the same way every other culture does in Canada is a bad thing?
There isn't one. As a Polish citizen, I have yet to hear of any benefits I am entitled to from either Russians or Germans, even though both had governments (and in this case still within the last century) that wronged Poland greatly. This seems to be unique to Canada, and it baffles me to this day.
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"Correction, it's not your leg son. It's Liverpool's leg" - Shankly
An Ontario judge has ruled that a nearly two-week long First Nations blockade in Ontario must come down, as protesters launch other Idle No More demonstrations across the country and organizers hope to spread word of their cause in the United States.
The judge ruled that the railway blockade in Sarnia, Ont., could be dismantled by police Wednesday at their discretion.
Hours after the ruling, the barricade -- which had been mounted by protesters from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in December – was being removed.
