Text of letter to Premier McGuinty
Dear Premier McGuinty,
Non-Aboriginal people owe a huge debt to the original peoples of this country for welcoming us to what is now Canada, teaching us how to survive here and agreeing to share their land and resources with us.
In return we've abused them and robbed and defrauded them of the same gifts they generously agreed to share. We put them in jail for daring to defend their traditional lands in a peaceful and respectful manner.
This abuse has to stop, it has to stop now.
And as the Premier of Ontario, you are one of the people who has to stop it.
As a Canadian and Ontarian I demand that you rescind Platinex's exploration licence in traditional Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug territory and free Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack McKay, Head Councillor Cecilia Begg, Councillors Samuel McKay and Darryl Sainnawap and band employee Bruce Sakakeep.
Likewise you must act now to stop Frontenac Ventures' activities on traditional Ardoch Algonquin First Nation territory and free Robert Lovelace.
It is not the people incarcerated, but Platinex, Frontenac Ventures, and the Governments of Ontario and Canada who have brought the province and country into contempt for their treatment of these matters from the beginning, by ignoring their legal and moral duty to consult the First Nations peoples concerned.
Ontarians and other Canadians are no longer prepared to look the other way while the governments elected to represent us perpetuate the abuse of Aboriginal people.
Private, for-profit interests cannot be allowed to trump First Nations interests and environmental interests any longer. The greed of mining companies is not more important than First Nations rights and environmental protection. The treatment of Aboriginal people in Canada makes me and many others ashamed of the country we love deeply.
First Nations people have been patient with us for many generations. It's time we got it right. Free the KI6 and Robert Lovelace and let's not let it happen again.
I do not want to hear excuses from you as to why you cannot do this. You're the Premier - it's your job - end of story.
Thank you.
AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine on the jailing of the KI6 and Robert Lovelace:
(See the entire speech here)
Links to more information:
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Attawapiskat
Or - When is a negotiation not a negotiation?
When is a deal not a deal?
When it's the federal government screwing First Nations again, this time over funding for a school at the Attawapiskat First Nation near James Bay.
In an interview with the Timmins Daily Press, Susan Bertrand, a spokesperson
for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada emphasized that talks planned with the Attawapiskat council are not negotiations and that a school for Attawapiskat is still "not on our five-year plan."
It's important to note that treaties with First Nations specifically included education. The Government of Canada is reneging on a legal contract by not providing educational facilities to the Attawapiskat First Nation and other communities like it. Schools are not optional extras, they're legal obligations that the Government of Canada or the British Crown committed to in exchange for land. That's exactly the same as a store taking your money and then not giving you the goods that you paid for - but on an enormous scale. So why do we tolerate it?
High school graduation rates for First Nations students are dropping, while First Nations are experiencing rapid population growth. As AFN National Chief Fontaine observes in the video below, these children are Canada's future. They deserve a decent education as a matter of justice and fairness. But we also need to provide First Nations children with good educational opportunities now, so that they are prepared to take a significant role in Canada's future development.
Learn more about the fight for a school in Attawapiskat here.
Hear AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine talk about the Attawapiskat situation and First Nations poverty in general:
From a speech to the Ontario Energy Association, January 24, 2008 - see the full speech at - Part 1 and Part 2.
Sign the "First Nations Children of Attawapiskat Fight for a School" petition to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl at http://www.petitiononline.com/FNCA08/petition-sign.html.
For more on this issue, visit the Fighting for a School for Attawapiskat website.
When is a deal not a deal?
When it's the federal government screwing First Nations again, this time over funding for a school at the Attawapiskat First Nation near James Bay.
In an interview with the Timmins Daily Press, Susan Bertrand, a spokesperson
for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada emphasized that talks planned with the Attawapiskat council are not negotiations and that a school for Attawapiskat is still "not on our five-year plan."It's important to note that treaties with First Nations specifically included education. The Government of Canada is reneging on a legal contract by not providing educational facilities to the Attawapiskat First Nation and other communities like it. Schools are not optional extras, they're legal obligations that the Government of Canada or the British Crown committed to in exchange for land. That's exactly the same as a store taking your money and then not giving you the goods that you paid for - but on an enormous scale. So why do we tolerate it?
High school graduation rates for First Nations students are dropping, while First Nations are experiencing rapid population growth. As AFN National Chief Fontaine observes in the video below, these children are Canada's future. They deserve a decent education as a matter of justice and fairness. But we also need to provide First Nations children with good educational opportunities now, so that they are prepared to take a significant role in Canada's future development.
Learn more about the fight for a school in Attawapiskat here.
Hear AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine talk about the Attawapiskat situation and First Nations poverty in general:
From a speech to the Ontario Energy Association, January 24, 2008 - see the full speech at - Part 1 and Part 2.
Sign the "First Nations Children of Attawapiskat Fight for a School" petition to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl at http://www.petitiononline.com/FNCA08/petition-sign.html.
For more on this issue, visit the Fighting for a School for Attawapiskat website.
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