[ad_1]
Canada Toronto – After this year’s discovery Unmarked graves belonging to indigenous children Cindy Blackstock, who attended an assimilation school in Canada, has more expectations for those who want to lead the country.
“This is heartbreaking,” said Blackstock, a Gitxsan child welfare activist and executive director of the Canadian Aboriginal Children and Family Care Association.
“If you are a government and children’s group– Hundreds of people, Thousands of people-found in schools you control and operate. There is evidence that you can avoid these deaths in many cases. So why is gun control more important than that? She asked.
In the days when the federal election campaign was about to end, the sentiment that the Aboriginal priorities were not given enough attention was echoed by many leaders. Among them, the rights and priorities of the Aboriginals, Inuit, and Métis mostly retreated. Secondary location.
The cruel legacy of colonialism is well documented in a country that is world-renowned for its human rights reputation.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated that Canada had committed “cultural genocide” through its so-called “boarding school system”, forcing 150,000 Indigenous children from the late 1800s to 1996 to enter institutions, many of whom were abused, Malnutrition and death.
Due to lack of access to clean drinking water, violation of treaty rights, excessive number of foster children, tragedies of disappearance and murder of indigenous women and girls, and youth suicide crisis, this “dark past” has existed to this day.
“I think it’s important for all parties to participate in the plan, so to speak, and respond to their own voters by explaining how they will begin to solve some of the long-standing issues related to the Aboriginal people in Canada,” RoseAnne said. Archibald is the country’s president of the Aboriginal Congress, and she added that she is happy to see more attention in the final stages of the campaign.
“Recognizing, implementing and respecting these inherent and treaty rights-this is indeed the way forward to heal the entire country.”
‘Cooperative work’
According to 2016 statistics, Aboriginal people accounted for less than 5% of the Canadian population, or about 1.7 million people. Census.
beforehand Federal elections on September 20Organizations such as the Canadian Aboriginal Women’s Association once again promoted the Aboriginal voting. At the same time, a record 77 people came from the Aboriginal, Inuit, and Metis communities, and they ran as candidates for all political factions.
But Natan Obed, chairman of Tapiriit Kanatami, a national organization representing Inuit, emphasized that most federal party leaders have always lacked understanding of how indigenous people structure their politics and how to work respectfully to achieve reconciliation. .
He told Al Jazeera that in many respects, the tone of the conversation stays in another era. Leaders talk about working with individuals who may be well-known. “It seems that we don’t have our own system to determine our priorities, and then we have to communicate with each other through a governance model. The federal government directly establishes relations.”
Obeid refers to Erin O’Toole, the leader of the Conservative Party, who used the term “indigenous people” as if it applies to all indigenous people, “just heard a term that doesn’t understand the basics It’s just the leader of the party”.
“During the election, the leaders were asked what they would do for the indigenous people. I think we are no longer in that field. We work together,” he said. “Indigenous people have agency rights, we have power, and we have governance models.
“We hope that Canadians will continue to follow the path of reconciliation with us and choose to elect politicians who respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and respect the work done in cooperation.”
Water heating consultation, child support
The leader of the Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau, became prime minister in 2015 and pledged to repair the government’s relationship with the indigenous peoples across Canada. In the current campaign, he stated that his government is “on the path of reconciliation,” ending 109 long-term boiling water consultations in the Aboriginal Reserve, rebuilding schools, and investigating the disappearance and killing of Aboriginal women.
But in a French-language debate, the issue of getting clean drinking water on the aboriginal reservations was seen as a problem rather than a priority. In the ensuing English debate, the young Aboriginal man Marek McLeod (Marek McLeod) Ask the leader, “After more than 150 years of lying and abusing my people, how can I trust and respect the federal government?”
As of August 28, 32 Aboriginal communities in Canada have issued 51 long-term drinking water recommendations. government, Although Trudeau promised in 2015 to end boiling water consultations in all indigenous communities within five years.
The Liberal Party leader’s record has been challenged by his opponents, especially the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh. The long list of calls to action comes from countless inquiries.
A man raises his head while participating in an impromptu vigil at an anti-Canada Day event called “Genocide without Pride” in Toronto, Ontario, July 1, 2021 [File: Cole Burston/AFP]Singh added: “If you are going to bring the indigenous children to court the next day, you can’t kneel down.”
The federal government is currently fighting a compensation plan ordered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled five years ago that Canada discriminated against indigenous children on reservations by systematically underfunding their services. Advocates said this resulted in a disproportionate number of foster care. .
“Since 2016, there have been 20 violations and procedural orders,” said Blackstock, who is at the forefront of the lawsuit because her organization is one of the complainants in this case.
“How do we heal?”
As far as War Chief Stewart Phillips, who has long served as the chairman of the British Columbia Indian Chiefs League, neither Trudeau nor Conservative Leader O’Toole has any “real intentions to change the status quo.”
“In terms of climate policy, Prime Minister Trudeau went out and bought a pipeline,” Philip said, referring to the controversial Cross-mountain pipeline expansion project From the Alberta tar sands to the BC coast.
“And Erin O’Toole is talking about restoring a dead pipeline (the Northern Gateway project), so none of them are really committed to a gradual climate policy,” Philip said. He said that this is the biggest concern for many indigenous communities who feel the severe impact of the climate crisis.
Lynne Groulx, chief executive of the Canadian Indigenous Women’s Association, said her organization had rated the NDP platform before the Liberal Party and pointed out that Trudeau had lost confidence because the promise had not been fulfilled. She also emphasized the importance of involving indigenous women in decision-making.
“This is a historic moment,” said Glucks of Metis. “We are on the cusp of another large-scale discussion about how we decolonize, how we can get rid of this system, get away from the Indian Act, and move towards true self-determination.”
Archibald, the leader of AFN, agrees that the situation has changed significantly.
She said: “Ordinary Canadians are struggling to cope with the interruption of Canadian mythology and are beginning to understand the truth about this country. It is actually built on the graves of our children, and it is based on genocide.” “But among them. Many of the people are on our side. They are really looking for the answer. How do we start to heal from it?”
[ad_2]
Source link