Bill C-45

[Dawnland]

I understand there are protests all over this country by the First Nations and environmentalists regarding this piece of legislation. I've hardly seen anything on the news or reported in mainstream Canadian media yet I managed to find that European and Middle Eastern news sources such as Al Jazera have reported the most information. There is even the Chief of the first Nations Community, Attawapiskat, on her eighth day of hunger strike, just trying to get a meeting with Stephen Harper. If the media isn't reporting on it and the Prime Minister isn't addressing it, does that mean that the information sources and government are trying to dissuade the public from paying attention to an important topic? Why? If it isn't so bad, why are we not more informed? How can we stop it until we know more?

[Bsuds]

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/billc45.html

If that's what you are talking about then it's a bit late to complain isn't it?
Passed in 2004.
If that's not what you are talking about then how about a link to some info?

[Dawnland]

I am referring to the following link...
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/18 ... ostpopular

I believe there was some legislation in this bill that also removed protected lakes and rivers from the designation. There was some report that now only less than one percent remain in the protect list... I hope that's grossly overstated.

[Bsuds]

OK here you go and this one has been passed too. Read on and tell us which part you don't agree with.

http://parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Pub ... Id=5942521

[grammafreddy]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/attawapiskat-c ... 03786.html

Attawapiskat chief's hunger strike part of wider movement

CBC – Tue, 18 Dec, 2012


A large group performed a Round Dance at the Cornwall Centre in Regina to raise awareness of their Idle No More campaign on Dec. 17.


As Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence continues her hunger strike on Parliament Hill in an attempt to get a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a grassroots protest movement of First Nations activists across Canada has united on social media and at public rallies.

Idle No More's supporters say they are upset about the effects of the Harper government's policies on their communities. They want First Nations to be recognized as sovereign stakeholders in decisions affecting the country's land and resources.

Spence’s hunger strike underscores that wish. Now, after more than a week without eating, concern is mounting about her health as she protests what she sees as a lack of respect for the treaty rights of First Nations.

Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Stan Louttit has been keeping a close eye on developments with Spence.

Louttit said leaders and communities across the country are uniting in protest in a way he has not seen in the past.

“They can all relate to the fact that communities are in despair,” he said.

“Over a year ago, Attawapiskat declared an emergency for lack of housing and they are still not out of the woods. And they brought national attention to their issue. And people are seeing that and feeling that.”

Louttit said Spence's protest shows a long-standing fight over treaty rights has come to a head.

“The government does not want to talk about the treaty,” he said.

“The way they look at it is ‘this is 120 years ago and that's old business.’ But we are saying the treaty of 1905 is as relevant in terms of spirit and intent then as it is now.”

Attawapiskat is covered by Treaty No. 9.

Author and Nipissing University Prof. John Long, who has written a book about the treaty, said there is conflict due to interpretation.

“Virtually every treaty has this built-in contradiction,” he said.

“One party looks on it as a real estate transaction, giving up the land and rights to the land and the resources…and the other party says, ‘We agreed to share and there were promises made to help us and protect us.’”

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan told a CBC reporter last week that the rallies are a result of social media.

"We'll just have to see where that goes," he said.

Duncan proposed a meeting with Spence to discuss issues affecting Attawapiskat, but there was no response.

Quebec City-based writer and activist Nora Loreto recently blogged, "Idle No More has reminded me that there exists massive gulfs between people, experiences and awareness."

She claims there’s been an “effective media blackout” on the cause.

“After an aggressive social media campaign, flash mobs, rallies, blockades, co-ordinated actions, letters of support from national unions and a hunger strike, the media coverage has still been significantly lacking,” she said.

“How can someone know what’s going on if none of their friends are talking about it?”

The campaign was started by four women from Saskatchewan who were protesting against a number of bills before Parliament. They are particularly critical of Bill C-45, the government's omnibus budget legislation, which they say weakens environmental laws.

"There are many examples of other countries moving towards sustainability, and we must demand sustainable development as well," says a manifesto published on the group's website, idlenomore.com.

"We believe in healthy, just, equitable and sustainable communities and have a vision and plan of how to build them."

Louttit is concerned that Spence’s quest to bring this message to Canada’s top leaders is heading down an unhealthy path, however.

“She's a mother and a grandmother and there's a lot of people, I think, that are worried about her,” he said.

The federal opposition parties and the head of the Assembly of First Nations have urged Harper to take steps to end the hunger strike.

In a letter to Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called on the prime minister and the Governor General to meet with aboriginal leaders to end the protests.

"I ask that you please act swiftly to avoid a personal tragedy for Chief Spence," Mulcair wrote. "I look forward to your early positive response to this urgent matter."

Spence has been living in a teepee on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River, less than a kilometre from Parliament Hill, since beginning her fast Dec. 11.

Victoria Island is considered by the Anishinabe as traditional territory. New Democrat MP Paul Dewar visited Spence on the island Tuesday and reported that she is so far in good health.

Harper met with Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo as recently as Nov. 28 to review progress the government has been making in addressing aboriginal issues, said spokeswoman Julie Vaux.

"The prime minister hosted an historic gathering of the Crown and First Nations this past January," Vaux said in an email.

"Since then, the government has been working with First Nations leadership to make progress in several areas, most notably education and infrastructure on reserve."

The Liberals and the Assembly of First Nations also sent letters Tuesday to Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston, calling for an urgent meeting to discuss Spence's demands.

"I urge you to agree to participate in this meeting and meet with Chief Theresa Spence to hear directly from her why she has felt it necessary to take such drastic action," wrote Liberal aboriginal affairs critic Carolyn Bennett.

[grammafreddy]

http://idlenomore.com/

[zzontar]

Idle No More's supporters say they are upset about the effects of the Harper government's policies on their communities.

“Over a year ago, Attawapiskat declared an emergency for lack of housing and they are still not out of the woods. And they brought national attention to their issue. And people are seeing that and feeling that.”

Now from logicalview's post in the Attawapiskat thread:

The Bands revenue given to them by the taxpayer in 2011 was $34,000,000.00

Their expenditures were $31,174,847 and not surprisingly they awarded themselves $18,191,437 in wages and benefits.

I smell mismanagement here. Better get a an independent auditor over there pronto. Oh wait, the taxpayer did that and the band ran him out of town.

http://www.attawapiskat.org/wp-content/ ... ements.pdf

Oh, and they have $34,038,363 in buildings - not the $5 million you wrongly stated.


Buildings $ 34,038,363
Equipment 3,979,702
Land Improvements 1,888,556
Roads 15,077,035
Sewer and Water 19,724,737
Vehicles 797,286


Nice infrastructure for 1,929 people.



Wow, really smells like mismangement.

So why aren't these people holding protests against their own native leaders who are robbing their own people blind? Wow, just keep blaming the white man for everything.

[grammafreddy]

So why aren't these people holding protests against their own native leaders who are robbing their own people blind? Wow, just keep blaming the white man for everything.

Because there's probably a whole lot more to the story. The government is NOT innocent in all this.

[Dawnland]

Finding mainstream information on this is very hard. So you may not technically be able to consider any snippets a reliable source. Asking a few people about this legislation I did discover that when the Federal Government changed legislation regarding the water protection issue, the water that was removed from the designation flowed into reserves and in some cases fed the main water supply to those reserves. In Alberta for example, there are reserves close to proposed mining developments that inevitably will harm their water sources. When those water sources were removed from protection it allows developers to put these sources at risk. The government failed to consult the First Nations people of Canada when creating the legislation that effects their water rights. Taken from Lawyers Weekly Nov. 2010:
The Supreme Court of Canada has reiterated that governments in Canada have a duty to consult with aboriginal groups when making decisions which may adversely impact lands and resources subject to aboriginal claims. At the same time, however, the top court rejected an attempt to impose on administrative tribunals a constitutional duty to consider whether adequate consultation has taken place and, if not, to provide that consultation.
It kind of makes me think that this is a great way to remove the First Nation issue so that the government can push through increased oilsands development including the Pipeline.
on our way to slaughter I think.

[Dawnland]

I have to say that after looking at the information available, I see why Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not responding to the issue at all. The duty to consult was not met and therefore has the ability to overturn the legislation and all aspects that were included within it. I found the following information was found through the David Suzuki Foundation:
Bill C-45 and the Navigable Waters Protection Act (RSC 1985, C N-22)
Overview
For 140 years, the protection of navigation rights and the waters that enable it have
been core to the federal role in environmental governance across Canada. The
Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) is one of Canada’s oldest federal
environmental laws, enacted by Parliament in 1882. The NWPA built upon pre-existing
common law navigation rights and the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over
navigation and shipping pursuant to section 91(10) of the Constitution. Since that time,
the NWPA has protected the rights of Canadians to navigate Canada’s waterways
without interference from logging operations, bridges, pipelines, dams, and other forms
of industrial development.
Although regulation for the sake of regulation is not desirable, the proposed
amendments go to the opposite extreme: the NPA would exclude 99.7 per cent of
Canada’s lakes 3
and more than 99.9 per cent of Canada’s rivers
4
from federal oversight.
For the few navigable waters that remain regulated under the NPA, the protection
offered by the law will be significantly weakened.

I suppose the 'less than one percent' that I referred to earlier was NOT overstated as I had hoped.
Someone please tell me, "it isn't as bad as it seems" and then back it up with some SOLID documentation.
If the government is unilaterally taking away the rights of the people to clean water and then ORDERING the media to not report it, I'd like to help stop it, and I won't be waiting until the next election either.

[zoo]

The Bands revenue given to them by the taxpayer in 2011 was $34,000,000.00.

Wow, and we all wonder why we dont have enough money for health care etc. in this country. This is one band, people.
This will never end because it can have no end. The country will bleed from this as long as it is aloud to continue.

[grammafreddy]

The Bands revenue given to them by the taxpayer in 2011 was $34,000,000.00.

Wow, and we all wonder why we dont have enough money for health care etc. in this country. This is one band, people.
This will never end because it can have no end. The country will bleed from this as long as it is aloud to continue.

$34M might be chunk change compared to what some other Nations get from us. Why dontcha do some research into where the Ministry hands out our money to bands all across Canada? You can start here: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/canbandsbyprov.html

Don't forget, they don't just get a nice fat cheque in their little hands to spend as they wish. The government tells them what to spend it on and how much.

[zoo]

.[/quote]

$34M might be chunk change compared to what some other Nations get from us. Why dontcha do some research into where the Ministry hands out our money to bands all across Canada? You can start here: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/canbandsbyprov.html

Don't forget, they don't just get a nice fat cheque in their little hands to spend as they wish. The government tells them what to spend it on and how much.[/quote]

I live 1 block from a reserve. 1 guy on that street was told by the government to drive a $85000 Benz and his neighbor must have been told to buy a hummer. I guess you need those to pull the boats they were told to buy. LOL.
But, really, Canada is not doing well financially so something needs to change right now. I strongly believe its time to treat all equal as no country in this world can afford to treat people differently. It cost way to much.

[Tony]

These guys need to take a lead from Chief Louie and the Osoyoos Band.

[Dawnland]

I'm wondering if people like Zoo don't mind drinking water contaminated with uranium? Because that's exactly what would have happened if the Okanagan Nation didn't fight for the moratorium on mining in this area? Or how about telling your grandkids about back in the day when you could swim in the lake without your skin burning. How about trying to describe to future generations what fish tasted like? Try to drink that 34million that was transferred to the band. Or have you been sucking at the teat of the 40BILLION dollar fighterjet trough too long. The government has long led you to believe that First Nations are low life scum and it seems as though you drank the koolaide. Now you have someone to blame, when in reality it is the government that holds the public in contempt by legislating your rights and freedoms away. Go ahead, keep looking at the rez next door and judge but when a whole nation of people asks for help to protect the water and then people scream about a money grab....you're obviously not listening. The First Nations in this country are asking for fair legislation and government policies for EVERYONE and protection of our natural resources, not money.