(still image from video of RCMP aiming gun at Wet'suwet'en people from Gidimten Camp Facebook)
Today,
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer made the shocking statement that protestors
and activists need to “check their privilege” and let people whose jobs depend
on the railway systems get to work. In this case, it is Scheer who needs to
check his own privilege. His comments appear to be racially motivated as the
people occupying the rails in Ontario are very obviously Indigenous peoples. Scheer’s comments
reflect worn out stereotypes about Indigenous peoples that are not worth
repeating, but are not based on facts. These kinds of comments serve only to
promote societal division and manufacture hatred towards a specific group - Indigenous
peoples. Scheer’s white male privilege as a top 1% income earner (according to
Statistics Canada) stand in stark contrast to the staggering socio-economic
conditions of the majority of First Nations peoples in Canada. First Nations
have the highest rates of poverty in the country, the lowest health indicators
and the highest rates of suicide in the world. Far from “privilege”, their
under-privilege is a direct result of the violent colonization of their
territories and the continued oppression of their peoples.
In
2019, the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls
found, as a matter of fact and law, that Canada is guilty of both historic and
ongoing genocide. Both the Organization of American States and the United
Nations expressed deep concern about this finding and officials have offered to
assist Canada address this. So, far there has been no urgent action to address
ongoing acts of genocide against Indigenous peoples. The rates of Indigenous
over-incarceration continue to sky-rocket with Indigenous women (less than 2.5%
of the population) making of 42% of those in federal prisons. Why? Aside from
noting many areas of discrimination within the justice system, the Office of
the Correctional Investigator expressed concern that federal corrections seems
“impervious to change”.
Indigenous
children represent half of all children in foster care, which even federal
ministers called a “humanitarian crisis” – yet numbers continue to rise. The numbers
of abused, exploited, disappeared and murdered Indigenous women also continue
to rise, despite a National Inquiry drawing national attention to the crisis. Indigenous
women and girls are the primary targets of human traffickers who are able to
exploit them with relative impunity. It should come as no surprise to anyone at
this point that some First Nations in Canada have the highest suicide rates in
the world, even higher than post-conflict countries. Indigenous peoples make up
40-80% of homeless peoples in Canada depending on the region and we all know
about the lack of access to clean drinking water that has plagued some First
Nations for decades.
The
United Nations has called on Canada many times to address its grave human
rights violations against Indigenous peoples to no avail. The Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights has made similar recommendations to Canada to end
the human rights violations. The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on
the Rights of Indigenous peoples James Anaya, wrote in his report on Canada
that the relationship with Indigenous peoples was getting worse over time and
that “It is difficult to reconcile Canada’s well-developed legal framework and
general prosperity with the human rights problems faced by Indigenous peoples”.
He went on to report that “The most jarring manifestation of those human rights
problems is the distressing socioeconomic conditions of Indigenous peoples in a
highly developed country.” Canada is
wealthy because it stole the lands and resources of Indigenous peoples, carried
out violent acts of genocide to reduce Indigenous populations and then
constructed a complex set of laws, policies, practices, actions and omissions
to oppress Indigenous peoples and clear the lands for settlement and extraction.
These
actions of solidarity across the country are about more than pipelines – they
are about the continued genocide of Indigenous peoples and the failure of
Canada to abide by the rule of law in respecting their land rights and their
right to say no to development. These solidarity actions with the Wet’suwet’en Nation
are about bringing attention to the ways in which Canada criminalizes
Indigenous peoples for peacefully living, asserting and defending our sovereignty
over our lands. While politicians make flowery speeches about reconciliation
and respecting our rights, when it comes to wanting our lands for development
or extraction, they will send in heavily armed RCMP or military to take what
they want. That is what these actions are about – the failure of federal and
provincial governments to abide by the rule of law – all the laws in Canada,
not just the ones that suit their political or economic needs.
Scheer’s
ill-informed comments serve only to cause confusion and apprehension in the
public, instead of offering thoughtful solutions that would bring
everyone together. His words are shameful and thankfully, don't
represent those of most Canadians. Canadians continue to be our strongest
allies in seeking justice for our peoples as lawyers, teachers, academics,
social workers, labourers, unions and Canadians from all backgrounds continue
to stand with Indigenous peoples at solidarity actions all over Canada. That's
what the treaty relationship is all about. We need to work together to find a
way to harmonize all laws in Canada – Indigenous, Canadian and international
laws - and restore social justice for all peoples. We must urgently end genocide against Indigenous peoples which includes the ongoing theft of our lands and resources. It also means telling the RCMP to stand down.
Comments
Post a Comment