On First Nations issues, co-operation is key

It may be possible that a concerted countrywide aboriginal protest action could bring the Canadian economy to its knees, as one Manitoba chief recently threatened.

On the other hand, it is hard, if not impossible, to envisage what constructive purpose this would serve.

Both the aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations would come out losers, with those in whose name such an action is taken probably coming out the biggest losers of all. The aboriginal population is heavily dependent not only on the sound performance of the economy, but also on the goodwill of the nonaboriginal population.

There was reassuring evidence that there is an understanding of this among the aboriginal population as Wednesday’s national “day of action” in support of aboriginal demands came off peacefully.

Locally, there were demonstrations — with a downtown rally at Emilie Gamelin Park and activists from Kahnawake handing out flyers to motorists along Highway 132 to raise awareness of the Idle No More campaign calling for a more equitable relationship between the federal government and aboriginal peoples. But they sensibly refrained from disruptive action. As one of the local campaign leaders rightly put it, “Blockades only reinforce the us-vs.-them mentality.”

Precisely so. The understanding that must prevail when it comes to dealing with aboriginal needs is that we must — all of us, aboriginals and non-aboriginals — be in it together.

It is true that the challenge is daunting for all concerned. The overall state of the aboriginal population is something that shames this country. Consider that just 52 per cent of First Nations adults are gainfully employed compared with 82 per cent of non-aboriginals; and that the $11,229 median family income on reserves is less than half that of non-reserve families. Nearly 10 per cent of homes on reserves have no sewage or running water, and more than 100 aboriginal communities have to boil their drinking water. And these are just a few of the dire problems plaguing the aboriginal population.

With the protest actions of recent weeks and the rise of the grassroots Idle No More, the point has been made that action is needed now to redress aboriginal grievances. Awareness of this, and agreement with it, is now widespread among the non-aboriginal population and appears to have sunk in with the federal government.

As such, it is now time for the parties involved to focus on what can best and realistically be done to deal with the problems. This will require both action and restraint, and recognition of what is helpful and what is not.

The Harper government has shown a willingness to work toward improving the lot of the aboriginal population. It has committed itself, in negotiations with First Nations leaders, to enhanced funding arrangements, co-operation on treaty implementation and aboriginal self-governance, and the promotion of economic development in aboriginal communities.

What is not helpful on the government’s part is the packaging of measures affecting aboriginal communities — such as changes in waterways protection and resource-exploitation procedures on reserves — in its monster budget-implementation bill, a tactic that is as offensive to the non-aboriginal population as it is to aboriginals.

It is helpful that aboriginals are raising awareness of their concerns and forcing them to the forefront of the national agenda. What is unhelpful are disruptive tactics and inflated rhetoric spewed by some aboriginal leaders, alleging a genocidal agenda on the part of the government and insulting non-aboriginal Canadians as colonialist oppressors. As well, aboriginal society should look within itself at flaws in its own governance and accounting of band funds. Aboriginals should also lobby for rights such as individual property ownership on reserves, something not available under the Indian Act; this is something that would help them prosper.

The keys to improving the lot of Canada’s aboriginal population are not so different from what works for non-aboriginal society. They primarily include education, jobs and economic development. The confrontation that has taken place in recent weeks has brought the need for these to the fore among reasonable people on both sides of the debate.

It is time now to move to co-operation in order to bring about what is needed. That cannot be achieved with an us-vs.-them approach.