Idle No More, Meet the Norwegians
Canada's elite lack guts dealing with oil giants. First Nations might embolden all of us.
Norway is a long way from Attawapiskat but there may be some important lessons for Canada's First Nations from across the Atlantic in the looming showdown with Stephen Harper. In a
recent series for The Tyee, I documented how this tiny Nordic country stood up to powerful outside oil interests intent on exploiting their natural resources and achieved a remarkable economic success.
By standing their ground with a clear vision and united front, Norwegians negotiated arguably the toughest ever terms with the world's most powerful industrial sector. They now enjoy full employment, no debt, generous social programs, and have over $600 billion in the bank -- putting them
$1.2 trillion ahead of Canada.
Norwegian experts I interviewed repeatedly stressed that this achievement was rooted not in policy or economics but in their
culture. Because people in Norway have such a strong and ancient connection with their land, and a famous Viking
chutzpah dating back to the Iron Age, they refused to capitulate to outside timelines or artificial industrial imperatives.
Seen through this lens, the First Nations of Canada have a far better chance of replicating the Norwegian success story than the rest of our country. Their awakening could well lead the way forward towards transforming resource management in our country. And it needs transformation.
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The Tyee – Idle No More, Meet the Norwegians