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Canada is an embarrassment Printer friendly page Print This
By Jenny Uechi, Vancouver Observer
Vancouver Observer
Monday, Sep 29, 2014

Editor’s Commentary:

Once again, the government of my country takes the low road. The government of Canada hasn’t had much to brag about for about 50 years or so, but it has become abysmally worse during the past decade.

 

Today, we are ruled by an automaton bureaucrat (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) whose only real claim to fame is that he has a pulse. And even that is only speculation. He certainly has no other discernible merit.


During his tenure (at the start of which he bragged that Canadians wouldn’t recognize their country when he was finished), the wheels almost immediately began to fall off his wagon. In the eight dreadful years of this national nightmare, we’ve been subjected to his enormous disregard for virtually everything Canada has held sacred.

 

Stephen Harper apparently likes cats, and that’s to his credit. But in almost every other way you could measure this man, he is a complete waste of skin and space.

 

For example:

  • Canada is unquestioning and uncritical in its support of Israel – it doesn’t matter what awful things are done by Israel, Canada is prepared to stand up and cheer. Harper behaves when he's with Netanyahu as though he was in the presence of a god
  • Canada dismantled a statistical system of social measurement that was the envy of the world and which taught its techniques willingly – this had to go because keeping all those measurements were what allowed us to properly target social service programs. If you can’t measure it, there is no problem simply ignoring needs and instead ensuring that corporate friends get all the social benefits
  • Canada has backed away from all its environmental commitments
  • Canada has muzzled its scientists who are no longer able to speak on important matters without using scripts written by non-scientist bureaucrats
  • Canadian parliamentarians (those in the government party) have been completely silenced and must march in lock-step with the edicts from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The PMO is largely staffed by hipster punks with no elected accountability and referred to by opposition politicians as 'the guys in short pants'
  • Canada openly supported the overthrow of the duly elected government of Ukraine, then cheerily threw its support behind the Nazi-like government currently holding power in Kiev
  • Canada openly supported the illegal overthrow of Libya's government
  • Canada has signed (in recent months) several international trade agreements whose content still remain secret - because, after all, what business is it of Canadian citizens to know what's being traded away in our names?
  • Canada condemned Russia because the Ukraine air force shot down a Malaysian airliner (notice how this story has gone silent now that the evidence is actually available –  all the Western press heartily condemned Russia when the details were still speculative and now, silence)
  • Canada’s government has been rebuked numerous times by our own Supreme Court for trying to introduce legislation that cannot pass constitutional muster, for trying to circumvent the courts with illegal judicial appointments, and for a host of other activities whose only real purpose could have been to challenge the authority of the supreme law of the land
  •  Canada has repeatedly looked for ways to expand production and export of the filthiest fuel on the planet
  •  Canada has continued a long tradition of crapping on our Indigenous Peoples (or First Nations, as we properly call them) – and as you can see from the article below, this is apparently a tradition that we’re not going to give up without a fight.

 

Canada has become an international embarrassment. We at Axis of Logic fully support the plight of Indigenous Peoples everywhere – and as a Canadian citizen, I personally express my disgust with my government.

 

- prh, Editor

Axis of Logic


 

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation at Peoples' Climate March, ahead of the UN Climate Summit in New York. Photo by Zack Embree.


First Nations groups are expressing outrage at the Canadian government's stance toward Indigenous rights, expressed at a United Nations forum on Indigenous rights.

 

"It is deeply concerning...that Canada continues to embarrass itself on the world stage," Assembly of First Nations interim chief Ghislain Picard said. "These actions are not consistent with our much-needed work toward reconciliation between First Nations and the crown." 

 

The Canadian government posted an official statement earlier this week, criticizing the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples Outcome document and voicing disagreement about Indigenous people's rights around consent, which it said could be misconstrued as a veto.

 

"Free, prior and informed consent, as it is considered in paragraphs 3 and 20 of the WCIP Outcome Document, could be interpreted as providing a veto to Aboriginal groups and in that regard, cannot be reconciled with Canadian law, as it exists," the government statement said. 

 

"Agreeing to paragraph 3 of the Outcome Document would commit Canada to work to integrate FPIC (free, prior and informed consent) in its processes with respect to implementing legislative or administrative measures affecting Aboriginal peoples.  This would run counter to Canada’s constitution, and if implemented, would risk fettering Parliamentary supremacy."



 

The government argued that "Canada’s position on this issue is well known" and said "we regret that our concerns were not taken into account." It emphasized that Canada "cannot associate itself" with elements in the document relating to First Nations' consent. 



 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had earlier snubbed the UN Climate Summit while in New York, also skipped the two-day long UN Indigenous peoples meeting. Environment minister Leona Aglukkaq, however, was in attendance.  



 

In response to Canada's objections over the non-binding document on Indigenous rights, high-profile First Nations groups issued a strongly-worded joint statement condemning the federal government's stance:  

 

Indigenous peoples' organizations and human rights groups are outraged that the federal government used a high level United Nations forum on Indigenous rights as an opportunity to continue its unprincipled attack on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

On Monday, the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples -- a high level plenary of the UN General Assembly in New York -- adopted a consensus statement reaffirming support for the UN Declaration.

 

Canada was the only member state to raise objections.

 

Chief Perry Bellegarde, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said, "The World Conference was an opportunity for all states to reaffirm their commitment to working constructively with Indigenous peoples to uphold fundamental human rights standards. Alone among all the UN members, Canada instead chose to use this forum to make another unprincipled attack on those very standards."

 

The Outcome Document, the product of many months of negotiations between states and Indigenous representatives prior to the World Conference, calls on member states to take "appropriate measures at the national level, including legislative, policy and administrative measures, to achieve the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."

 

The Outcome Document also affirms provisions in the UN Declaration that decisions potentially affecting the rights of Indigenous peoples should be undertaken only with their free, prior and informed consent.

 

After the Outcome Document was adopted, Canada filed a two-page statement of objections, saying that it could not commit to uphold provisions in the UN Declaration that deal with free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) if these provisions were "interpreted as a veto."

 

The notion that the Declaration could be interpreted as conferring an absolute and unilateral veto power has been repeatedly raised by Canada as a justification for its continued opposition to the Declaration. This claim, however, has no basis either in the UN Declaration or in the wider body of international law.

 

Like standards of accommodation and consent set out by the Supreme Court of Canada, FPIC in international law is applied in proportion to the potential for harm to the rights of Indigenous peoples and to the strength of these rights. The word "veto" does not appear in the UN Declaration.

 

"The right of free, prior and informed consent is crucial to us, as self-determining peoples," said Matthew Coon Come, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees. 

 

"The government has never explained what it means by 'veto.' Is a 'veto' absolute? If so, then a 'veto' isn't the same thing as 'consent.'"

 

In international law, human rights are generally relative and not absolute. The right to free, prior and informed consent in the UN Declaration is not absolute.

 

Grand Chief Ed John, First Nations Summit, said, "In the recent decision recognizing Tsilhqot'in title, the Supreme Court itself rejected Canada's incomprehensible position."

 

In its unanimous decision recognizing Tsilhqot'in ownership of a large part of their traditional lands, the Supreme Court stated in June, "Governments and individuals proposing to use or exploit land, whether before or after a declaration of Aboriginal title, can avoid a charge of infringement or failure to adequately consult by obtaining the consent of the interested Aboriginal group."

 

National Chief Ghislain Picard, Assembly of First Nations, said, "Canada keeps insisting that Indigenous peoples don't have a say in development on their lands. This position is not consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, decisions by its own courts, or the goal of reconciliation."

 

Regional Chief Stan Beardy, Chiefs of Ontario, said, "Either through the social license to operate, which refers to the level of acceptance or approval that a local community provides to development, or a Notice of Assertions as provided by First Nations in Ontario this past summer, First Nations are already exercising a direct say about development on their lands -- whether Canada objects internationally or not."

 

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said, "The Outcome Document speaks directly to the pressing human rights concerns of Indigenous Peoples in Canada such as Indigenous Peoples' participation in consent- based decisions regarding resource development, the need to close the gap in access to government services, and the dire need to address violence against Indigenous women. In light of the game-changing Supreme Court of Canada Tsilhqot'in Nation decision, Canada should have embraced the Outcome Document rather than be the only State in the United Nations to invent self-serving reasons to object."

 

Canada's objection to the World Conference Outcome Document contradicts Canada's 2010 statement of endorsement of the UN Declaration in which the government said, "We are now confident that Canada can interpret the principles expressed in the Declaration in a manner that is consistent with our Constitution and legal framework."

 

In contrast, Canada told the UN that FPIC provisions in the Declaration "run counter to Canada's constitution" and would "negate" Supreme Court mandated policies on consultation and accommodation.

 

"It strains credibility to think Canadian officials could actually believe the ridiculous claims they presented to the United Nations," said Michelle Audette, President of the Native Women's Association of Canada. "This kind of bad faith and dishonesty will only further tarnish Canada's reputation and erode Canada's influence on the world stage."

 

On 1 May 2008, over 100 scholars and experts in Canadian constitutional and international law signed an Open Letter stating that the Declaration was "consistent with the Canadian Constitution and Charter ... Government claims to the contrary do a grave disservice to the cause of human rights and to the promotion of harmonious and cooperative relations."

 

The Outcome Document adopted by the UN General Assembly also calls for "equal access to high-quality education that recognizes the diversity of the culture of indigenous peoples, as well as health, housing, water, sanitation and other economic and social programmes to improve their well-being." Specific measures are urged for Indigenous people with disabilities and to address HIV/AIDS.

 

In addition, the Outcome Document calls for "measures which will ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous women in decision making processes at all levels and in all areas," as well as intensified efforts to stop violence against Indigenous women.

 

 

Ad hoc coalition on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Statement endorsed by:

  • Amnesty International Canada
  • Assembly of First Nations
  • Canadian Friends Service Committee
  • Chiefs of Ontario
  • Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations First Nations Summit
  • Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)
  • Indigenous World Association
  • KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
  • Native Women's Association of Canada
  • Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs



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