‘ Uprising’ possible, chief warns
Primer minister must take concerns seriously or face organized revolt, aboriginal leader says
Canada could face an “uprising” if the PM doesn’t give a clear indication to aboriginal leaders he’s prepared to take their concerns seriously, B. C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says.
OTTAWA — Canada could face an Arab Spring- style “uprising” if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t give a clear indication in his meeting with aboriginal leaders today he’s prepared to take their concerns seriously, a B. C. native leader warned Monday.
“We must do better. The honour of the Crown and the very integrity of Canada as a nation is at stake,” said Stewart Phillip, grand chief of the Union of B. C. Indian Chiefs, in a news release issued by the Assembly of First Nations’ B. C. wing.
“Otherwise, an aboriginal uprising is inevitable.”
An estimated 400 chiefs from across Canada, including 47 from B. C. and 22 from Alberta, have gathered for their first facetoface meeting with Harper since the Conservatives formed the government in 2006.
Harper was to meet with a select group of chiefs late Monday afternoon, then meet again until lunchtime today before departing for Davos, Switzerland to take part in the World Economic Forum gathering of global political and business elites.
Some participants are optimistic in advance of their meeting with Harper, who won accolades for his residential schools apology and endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Others remain skeptical. George Stanley, the AFN’S regional chief in Alberta, suspects Harper is simply trying to get a “photo op” to prove he consulted with aboriginal Canadians. “That is a very tainted picture in my eyes,” he said.
The meeting comes following national and even international interest in the plight of Canada’s aboriginal population after reports of Third World- style poverty at the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat.
“The gathering provides the prime minister with an opportunity to demonstrate that he is a true Canadian” by making substantial commitments on education, health, governance and land claims, said Jody Wilson- Raybould, the AFN’S regional chief in B. C. “The world is watching.” Phillip cited the handful of violent confrontations involving aboriginal groups starting with the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec, which included the shooting death of a Quebec police officer. Phillip said aboriginals from across Canada engaged during Oka in various demonstrations of solidarity across Canada, including a roadblock near Penticton.
He predicted a largely peaceful uprising along the lines of the U. S. civil rights movement of the 1960s, but using social media.
“In today’s world, that response will be more instantaneous.”
Wilson- Raybould said chiefs have a range of views — from angry to optimistic — and she said she’s holding out hope the summit will lead to substantial progress.
She said Harper could take an important step by agreeing to meet at least once a year with chiefs to assess progress.
The B. C. chiefs are asking the government to accelerate the stalled comprehensive treaty process, work with the B. C. government to improve resource revenue- sharing, agree that aboriginal “consent” is needed on “major industrial developments” — an apparent reference to the $ 5.5- billion Northern Gateway pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the B. C. coast — and “revisit” the $ 5.1- billion Kelowna Accord for First Nations that was killed when Harper took office in 2006.
The federal government tried to set the stage for the discussions Monday by announcing 18 agreements with first nations across Canada, including eight in B. C. and two in Alberta, that have signed agreements under the First Nations Land Management Act. That legislation, enacted in 1999, allows reserves to opt out of land- related sections of the Indian Act to have greater control over their land and natural resources.
In B. C., the Haisla, Shuswap, St. Mary’s, Stz’uminus, Williams Lake, Aitchelitz, Skowkale and Yakweakwioose first nations struck deals, the latter three under the umbrella of a single regime run by the Sto: lo Tribal Council.