Dear Editor
On a very serious note and regarding the Idle No More movement, I offer the following:
Over the years we have all listened and watched as successive Canadian governments have tried to deal with the residue of our colonial past. On the evidence, a wide range of policies, and a huge amount of our money, has failed to solve a seemingly insoluble problem of abortive aboriginal treaties, perceived entitlements and social disasters. Many good people on both sides of the fence have spent lives of frustration, using different administrative models, to no lasting effect.
The only consistent result of over 300 years of wasted time, money and lives is the fact that, for many, being a treaty aboriginal has become a business in and of itself. Aboriginal Incorporated has become a way of life, a leadership management philosophy, a negotiating tool, a public spectacle and a very lucrative business model, at least for a few. The latest public display of Chief Spence and her Aboriginal Inc. handlers has backfired and, with the release of the audit report on her financial management of millions of tax dollars, we see what the issue really is; The criminal misappropriation of funds intended to help the social ills of an important, but socially failing segment of the Canadian population.
This has to stop! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different result. A failed policy approach is a failed policy approach and over 100 years should be sufficient evidence that enough is enough. We need to start from first principles:
No one in Canada is above the law of the land.
Your economic well-being is your responsibility, not the government's.
Employment rules apply to everyone. If you can't get a job where you live, move. Be Idle No More at our expense.
If you receive public funds, you are accountable. Penalties apply.
Theft is theft! See my first point.
If the funds are badly spent, or the recipients do not care for the infrastructure and benefits provided, the funds will not be replaced.
Treaties will be respected in the context of the date of the treaty and the standards of the day.
Your administrative costs and the pay of your local leadership will be set by the people that fund your operation.
As our municipalities are governed by provincial rules, so the reserves will be governed by federal rules.
I believe this list is a good start, but is clearly a work in progress. I further believe that a valid counter to the Idle No More movement needs to be a strong "enough Is enough" movement.
I truly hope the government gets the picture and puts its foot down once and for all.
If enough Canadians repeat this message, perhaps the abusive power of Aboriginal Inc. Will be lessened and the real needs of the thousands of aboriginal Canadians in need can be met.
J O'Brien
North Battleford SK
