Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

JOHN FELDSTED: All the money and studies have not bought anyone a spine ... or lit a fire under complacent rear ends in Ottawa


CBC News ~~ January 15th, 2019

... the United Nations Human Rights Committee says Canada still discriminates against First Nations women and their descendants through status requirements under the Indian Act despite several amendments since 1985.

In an 18-page decision released Jan. 14, the committee said Canada is obligated to remove the discrimination and to ensure that all First Nations women and their descendants are granted Indian status on the same footing as First Nations men and their descendants ....

CLICK HERE for full story:

The ironies are piling up like a Canadian version of the Egyptian pyramids.

Our government has been boasting about its self-appointed role as a world champion of human rights – except on its doorstep. Added to that is a current UN Human Rights Committee with some very questionable members:


Afghanistan (2020)
Hungary (2019)
Rwanda (2019)
Angola (2020)
Iceland (2019)
Saudi Arabia (2019)
Australia (2020)
Iraq (2019)
Senegal (2020)
Brazil (2019)
Japan (2019)
Slovakia (2020)
Chile (2020)
Mexico (2020)
South Africa (2019)
China (2019)
Nepal (2020)
Spain (2020)
Congo (2020)
Nigeria (2020)
Tunisia (2019)
Croatia (2019)
Pakistan (2020)
Ukraine (2020)
Cuba (2019)
Peru (2020)
United Kingdom (2019)
Egypt (2019)
Qatar (2020)



Posturing on the part of the UN Human Rights Committee and our government has caught them all with their trousers at half-mast. Worse, they don’t have the honour or decency to be embarrassed.

We have a UN agency without credibility chastising a government without credibility. It would be humorous if it wasn’t so pathetic. The UN and Canada are pointing the way to compassionate and ethical behavior but are unwilling to adopt the underlying ethics and principles themselves.

The Indian Act has needed repeal and replacement for decades, but successive governments have failed to act. There is no joy in having our failings rubbed in our face by another failed organization.

This long-standing travesty has poisoned to atmosphere with aboriginal people. We cannot paper over real problems with endless chatter about ‘reconciliation’. We have spent $ tens of millions on studies and have dozens of recommendations. All the money and studies have not bought anyone a spine ... or lit a fire under complacent rear ends in Ottawa.

We have to act and break a cycle of suffering that pre-dates confederation. 200 years should have taught us that isolating aboriginals is not working, and that aboriginals are not going to assimilate except on their own terms. We have to stop whining, looking for excuses and get on with it. 


John Feldsted
Political Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The NDP is destroying BC's softwood industry as 100 Mile House mill shuts down and jobs vanish

No more than a few days after the province hosted its much-touted summit to discuss the continuing impact of U.S. softwood tariffs, and with Statistics Canada reporting another decline in BC’s softwood production, the axe has fallen on West Fraser Timber’s 100 Mile House mill. Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo–Chilcotin , says the devastation now hitting the South Cariboo is what happens when government ignores every warning sign coming from the forest sector. “One hundred and sixty-five people in 100 Mile House just lost their jobs,” said Doerkson. “That’s 165 families wondering how they’ll pay their bills and whether they can stay in their own community. The ripple effect will hit every business on main street, from the gas stations and restaurants to the grocery stores.” “The Minister’s thoughts and prayers aren’t enough for those families facing unimaginable hardship. It’s time this minister did his job and not another photo op,” said Doerkson. “The Minister thinks the ...

Premier’s Office Acknowledges Richmond Residents Affected by Cowichan Land Claim Face Issues on “Mortgages, Property Sales”

“The Premier’s Office is secretly sending letters to my constituents behind my back. If the NDP were truly committed to transparency and supporting residents, they would have proactively engaged with owners years ago, not rushed out last-minute letters to cover their tracks.” ~~ Steve Kooner, Conservative MLA for Richmond-Queensborough and Opposition Critic for Attorney General Steve Kooner, Conservative MLA for Richmond-Queensborough and Opposition Critic for Attorney General, is criticising Premier David Eby and the NDP provincial government for secretly delivering non-committal, last-minute letters to Richmond residents affected by the Cowichan Tribes land claim. For over six years the NDP misled British Columbians on the implications of indigenous land claims. Premier Eby is now quietly sending staff to conduct damage control following public fallout from his 2019 strategic directive for government lawyers not to argue extinguishment of aboriginal title, even over p...

Kamloops woman’s cancer test cancelled due to Interior Health mandates for OB/GYNs (iNFO News)

A Kamloops woman’s cancer screening appointment was considered urgent by her doctors and scheduled within weeks, but it was postponed indefinitely when Interior Health ordered her gynecologist take that day’s on-call shift. Troylana Manson now waits with the mystery of whether she might have cancer amid a staffing crisis for women’s health care specialists in Kamloops. “I was happy to have that appointment in December so we could rule this out, but now it’s thrown in the air again. People in Kamloops, certainly people in positions of power, need to realize what Interior Health is doing”  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Labels

Show more