From the Saskatoon SP;
Over a four-month period last winter, 1,500 cheques were written from the $3.7- million trust account of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), despite orders from the band’s trustees to freeze all spending from the account.
This spending spree occurred on the watch of longtime Chief Ron Michel, who last month was voted in as chief of the powerful Prince Albert Grand Council.
[…]
Under pressure from community members this summer, Michel said he ordered an audit of the trust account with results to be released in August.
August and September came and went with no audit results released.
On Oct. 18, still with no audit results in sight, Michel won a fourth ballot vote to take over arguably the most influential post in Saskatchewan First Nations politics — grand chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council.
He now controls an organization that represents one-third of the province’s First Nations people and has an annual budget of more than $40 million.
In an interview following his election as grand chief, Michel refused to discuss the promised audit or the emptied trust account.
“Well, right now I’d like to leave that as is. As you know, leaders have critics all over the place,” he said. “I want to leave that behind.
Via Silence No More where there is much more extensive quoting.
The RCMP refuses to investigate, and to be truthful, who can blame them? Why invest man hours and resources into cases of alleged misconduct of First Nations leaders, when the track record of the Department of House Arrest means there’s scant likelihood of incarceration or restitution?
For their part, Indian And Northern Affairs have told concerned band members to “take it to the RCMP. ”
So, everything is tied up in a neat little bow. Besides, whats a few missing millions in the grand scheme of things? First Nations band councils are reliable financial supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada – and there’s always more where that came from.
See also: Darcey’s take – “Big Chief goes to Hollywood” – on the missing Keeseekoose education fund.
More of the same from Aboriginal elders who apparently have no trouble seeing thousands of their own people drink polluted water and live on reserves in pre-fab houses that are worse than any government-subsidized housing in major cities. The Canadian public gets all misty eyed and ashamed when they hear about reserve living conditions, but seem unwilling to acknowledge there is a problem. We need a new national police force, or get rid of this one and get one with some teeth. The Mounties fail Canadians every time they look the other way.
Iron Lady, there is nothing wrong with the majority of “pre-fab” houses built on reserves. Take a drive through any prairie town, and you’ll see plenty of very small, modest homes owned by people with equally modest incomes, kept in superb condition.
What’s wrong is that so many are trashed beyond recognition within a few years.
Meet the Minister of Corruption and sub-chiefs at “indian bank of canada”. The fish rots from the head down; the head is great white chief AdScam Martin & his gang council, the Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The Honourable Andy Scott
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development and Federal Interlocutor for
M�tis and Non-Status Indians
Fredericton (New Brunswick)
…………
In 1996, he headed the federal Task Force on Disability Issues. Between 1981 and 1993, Mr. Scott served as the executive director of the New Brunswick Liberal Party, senior policy advisor to Premier Frank McKenna, and assistant deputy minister for intergovernmental affairs in the Government of New Brunswick.
Deputy Minister – Mr. Michael Horgan
Associate Deputy Minister – Ms. Suzanne Tining
Associate Deputy Minister with special responsibility for northern issues – Mr. James Lahey
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for M�tis and Non-Status Indians –
The Honourable Susan Barnes
Minister of State (Northern Development) –
The Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew >>>
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/minist_e.html
The houses are very high quality although boxy. They have to conform to CMHC material standards.
Hey, what else is there to say…Liberal party-connected first nations bureaucrats like spending public money amidst palm trees and golf courses as much as their Quebec bag men do.
Criminal intent is genetic in the Liberal creed and it crosses all politicial, ethnic and other loyalties.
Once again Indians current problems come back to the resevation system and culture of welfare.
Property right for natives on reserves are the first step to changing this culture of dependency. After all, whoever washes a rental car? No one owns houses on reserves.
End apartheid, free the indians.
enough
This really nails it: “Lessons from Kashechewan”, by Jonathan Kay, National Post, Nov. 21
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=7faead40-2ef2-4697-90c9-77cfd464c629
Excerpts:
‘The ongoing scandal of Canada’s native reserves follows a predictable pattern. First, some particularly appalling story is revealed in the media — say, a rash of suicides, or on-camera glue-sniffing or an epidemic of some obsolete disease that white Canada said goodbye to 50 years ago. Then, the wretchedness is held up as an example of how natives are being ignored by Ottawa, and by a racist white society more generally. And since Indian leaders and their counterparts in Ottawa can conceive of only one solution to this problem — more money — the only question becomes how many millions taxpayers will fork over.
Over the last month, this pattern has been unfolding in the remote James Bay community of Kashechewan…
It’s all part of the perverse tragedy of Canada’s natives: Every time we’re confronted with a scandal that demonstrates just how inhumane it is to encourage aboriginals to remain encamped in destitute, disease-ridden Bantustans, the nation’s activists and politicians conspire to stand the lesson on its head — to argue that what we really need is more subsidies for this obsolete way of life. Meanwhile, the more obvious solution — encouraging natives to migrate to urban schools and job centres — is denounced as a form of cultural genocide…
The lesson here is that the water problems in Kashechewan have little to do with “abuse and neglect.” All the money in the world won’t help if you don’t have a functioning society with a real economy (not a make-believe one fuelled by government handouts) and an educated work force.
Even those politicians who understand all this will typically defend our inhumane aboriginal policy on the basis that grinding poverty is the price of sustaining “authentic” aboriginal culture. As horrible as life in Kashechewan may be, the theory goes, the reserve puts a needed glass bubble over the ancient hunter-gatherer civilization contained within…
Even in faraway Kashechewan…we have already destroyed the aboriginals’ culture — through television, guns, the English language, packaged food, schools, hospitals, ATVs and Christianity. None of these genies can be put back in the bottle, even if natives wanted to — which, of course, they don’t.’
Sorry for the length of quotes but they sum things up perfectly.
Mark
Ottawa
At one time I used to have some sympathy for the plight of the “noble” indian, and for the poor souls that aren’t part of the chief’s family and living in poverty, I still do, to a certain extent.
Canada has always had a “thing” for lack of a better term, about taking care of the poor native that doesn’t understand the ways of the white man. A hundred years ago that might have carried weight but today it is the white man who doesn’t understand that natives know the system as well as any Lieberal. Accountability – none, responsibility – none, just throw more money (preferably taxpayer’s) and the problem will go away. Any audits or inquiries started by non-aboriginals are considered to be interfering with aboriginal self government.
I agree with most of the posters here: Cut the apron strings, get rid of the hyphen and let them be Canadians Period.
Here is a typical scene of the Chiefs indulging in their culture.
Hard at it too
The Department of Indian Affairs is nothing more than another Adscam, (that has been going on for over thirty years!)THIRTY YEARS! Billions upon billions of dollars- gone! That is worse than insane! And just like a fish rots from the head down, this country rotten head is centered right in Ottawa!
Kate, I was thinking of the images we see on tv, where the old wooden frames look like they’d collapse under a strong prairie winter or a gust of wind. The heating costs alone would cripple any budget. I’d like to see strong subdivisions with solid foundations – brick and mortar – good schools instead of portables. I admit I’m only getting one view of the situation, but it is a bleak one. I hope there are better out there. With all the money being thrown at these communities, anything is possible if the right people are running the reserves.
Cut the apron strings, get rid of the hyphen and let them be Canadians Period.
After that, can we please let Canadians be Canadians again? You may have noticed that we have our own troubles with welfare dependency, dysfunctional public health care, crappy schools, rampant drug abuse, official corruption, etc. What’s good for the native wild goose will be excellent for the european domestic gander.
The Jonathan Kay column above starts out OK, but veers off the rails when it says that natives must be “encouraged” to migrate to cities. Another social engineer masquerading as a newspaper journalist! Dear Jonathan, the whole problem with Indians is that wannabe social engineers think they know what’s best for the Indians, and then devote their energies – and my money – to “encouraging” them to do this, that, or the other thing. You want to help the Indians? Leave them alone. I’m sure you feel that you yourself do not need to be told where to live, what to study in school, where to get a job, and so on. Give the Indians a little credit for also being able to decide these things for themselves, and to pay their own way. You’ll probably be surprised.
Any Alberta remember the case of the judge in Cochrane (outside Calgary) who wanted to investigate why the neighbouring indian band had an extremely high suicide rate? Seems this band of 3,000 also had $30 million from Indian Affairs that year and oil royalties and timber revenues of almost the same amount yet were $4-5 million in debt. Also, 3/4 of the people (who were not in the chief’s family) were on welfare.
Last time I heard, before heading south, was that he was told on several government levels to mind his own business that he was undermining aboriginal self determination.
Justzumgai,
Agreed on enough social engineering.
What i would be surprised is any changes to the Indian act etc. Stuck in a rut they will not be able to get out without forcing some dramatic changes.
“For the 12 months ending in March 2005, 13.6 percent of Native people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia were unemployed, Statistics Canada reported.
The “Labour Force Survey” only focused on Native people who live off-reserve. Unemployment rates on First Nations reserves are believed to be much higher.” Imagine the unemployment rates on reserve!
Take a look at unemployment rates for the Maritimes and the trend is obvious. Welfare and the culture of government handouts only encourages this.
And we want to bring in immigrants to fill job needs. This ready, waiting pool of jobless people and we go overseas looking.
enough
methinks the current chief of the Enoch Cree did time for embezelling band funds to pay gambling debts. but got reelected anyway.
now they are putting in a casino, spose the problem is one more of recycling then rather than sending the money to vegas.
TEXAS Canuck
all you say is true. they took all the timber off the reserve and had the companies pay some of the band members direct. then they went after the federal government for allowing it to happen.
“the keepers of the land” allowed them to clear cut right up to the border of the Kananaskis park. surprised they didnt claim it.
“till the rivers flow, the buffalo roam and all the damn trees are cut” this land is ours
Stop paying blackmail. Let the tribes build and operate their own economies, pay for their own schools and social services and retain their own democratic governance on their own land. Our tribes have relatively sovereign land. They are free to develop it, and largely govern themselves.
Forgot to mention, I would appreciate if you would also sell commodities on an open market. Trees, for example.
is money always the answer? we seem to have handed over alot of money in the last 20 yaers to first nation communities. How’s that working for them? Not working just like most of the community members 90% of the $ is coralled by 10% of the population out there?