OTTAWA—The Conservative government has sparked outrage among native people by reneging on a federal deal to help relocate the trouble-plagued Kashechewan reserve in Northern Ontario.
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice blamed the previous Liberal government, insisting it had not set aside the millions of dollars needed to relocate the Kashechewan community.
Leo Friday, chief of the community that has been battered by tainted water and floods, warned activists may bring their protests to the House of Commons floor.
"What are they going to do to us when we do that? Are they going to put us in jail?"
Friday was in Ottawa yesterday to raise concerns with Prentice about the dire problems in Kashechewan, where the entire population of 1,800 has been evacuated because of water problems that have devastated schools, houses and other facilities.
He said he was shocked to hear that the Conservatives are walking away from the federal Liberals' promise to move the community to a new location on the James Bay coast with a proper water supply.
"This government is trying to send my people back to that same shit hole that we've been out of for the last months," Friday said. "What are we going to do?"
Prentice walked away when Friday tried to question him in the Commons foyer.
Kashechewan's residents, who are now scattered in northern Ontario cities and towns, were most recently evacuated in April in the face of rising floodwaters.
It was the third time they were forced to leave in less than 12 months — once for an earlier flood emergency and once because of polluted drinking water. Sanitation problems, including the lack of clean water on the reserve, have shocked the public and embarrassed Canada internationally.
Last October, then-Indian affairs minister Andy Scott signed a multi-million-dollar agreement to improve health conditions for Kashechewan's people, repair houses damaged by flooding and work toward building a new community by constructing 50 new houses annually for 10 years.
New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, whose Timmins-James Bay riding includes Kashechewan, said the most recent flooding had slowed repairs and reallocation efforts. But he said $9 million in federal money under the Liberal-signed agreement had already arrived in Kashechewan.
As well, community leaders were in contact with federal officials about how to move ahead under last year's agreement and were not informed until yesterday that the Conservative government has no funding to fulfil it, Angus said.
"I have one question for the minister before a single refugee flies home to that rat hole on the coast: Will he stand up in the House and tell the people of Canada that he respects an agreement that was signed by the government of Canada and the people of Kashechewan First Nation," Angus asked in the Commons.
Prentice said there is no funding to implement the agreement.
"Despite promises made by the previous Liberal administration and the previous Liberal minister, there was no money set aside in the budget for the relocation of Kashechewan," he said to the howls of opposition MPs.
Speaking with reporters, Prentice declined to answer when asked why the Conservative government had not earmarked money for Kashechewan in its own budget delivered on May 2.
But he denied that aboriginal people were a low priority for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government.
"What I'm saying today is that we're going to sit down, work with the (Kashechewan) community, work with the leadership to determine the way forward," he told the media.
Native affairs are likely to continue to draw national attention.
Former prime minister Paul Martin is planning a national tour to increase public pressure on the Harper government to honour the $5.1-billion Kelowna accord signed by Ottawa, the provinces and aboriginal leaders last fall.
It was a long-term plan to improve native living conditions. But the Conservatives have not committed to fulfilling the accord.
"It was an historic breakthrough and everybody recognized that," Martin said in an interview.
Martin will introduce a private member's bill in the Commons today demanding that the Conservatives live up to the Kelowna deal. The former prime minister admits that, as a private member's bill, it has little chance of obtaining the unanimous agreement needed to pass.
But he is still hopeful. "We had all the governments in the country come together" to reach the accord, he remarked. "It would be a wonderful thing if all of Parliament came together and said, `Let's do it.'"
Over the coming months, Martin plans to take his campaign to fulfil the Kelowna agreement to the Canadian public in a series of speaking engagements.
The plight of 1,800 Kashechewan residents was not the only native issue that flared yesterday. Liberals complained that, during a Commons committee discussion, Conservative MP Brian Fitzpatrick (Prince Albert) referred to Canada's aboriginal policies as that of a "Marxist paradise." Toronto Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) was among those who called on Fitzpatrick to resign as vice-chair of the public accounts committee, which had been examining Auditor General Sheila Fraser's recent report on failings in the federal government's native policies.
In an interview, Fitzpatrick said he couldn't remember exactly what he said in committee but didn't deny making the "Marxist paradise" remark. The comment was intended to be sarcastic, he said. "If I meant to insult anybody, it was the department of Indian affairs officials who had the responsibility" for the failed programs, he added.
Fitzpatrick caused an outcry during the 2000 election campaign by joking about being scalped by natives.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...026&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
Sad. Natives, any native issue is never and never will be a priority for the conservatives. And wouldn't the blame the liberals get old after a year or two?
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice blamed the previous Liberal government, insisting it had not set aside the millions of dollars needed to relocate the Kashechewan community.
Leo Friday, chief of the community that has been battered by tainted water and floods, warned activists may bring their protests to the House of Commons floor.
"What are they going to do to us when we do that? Are they going to put us in jail?"
Friday was in Ottawa yesterday to raise concerns with Prentice about the dire problems in Kashechewan, where the entire population of 1,800 has been evacuated because of water problems that have devastated schools, houses and other facilities.
He said he was shocked to hear that the Conservatives are walking away from the federal Liberals' promise to move the community to a new location on the James Bay coast with a proper water supply.
"This government is trying to send my people back to that same shit hole that we've been out of for the last months," Friday said. "What are we going to do?"
Prentice walked away when Friday tried to question him in the Commons foyer.
Kashechewan's residents, who are now scattered in northern Ontario cities and towns, were most recently evacuated in April in the face of rising floodwaters.
It was the third time they were forced to leave in less than 12 months — once for an earlier flood emergency and once because of polluted drinking water. Sanitation problems, including the lack of clean water on the reserve, have shocked the public and embarrassed Canada internationally.
Last October, then-Indian affairs minister Andy Scott signed a multi-million-dollar agreement to improve health conditions for Kashechewan's people, repair houses damaged by flooding and work toward building a new community by constructing 50 new houses annually for 10 years.
New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, whose Timmins-James Bay riding includes Kashechewan, said the most recent flooding had slowed repairs and reallocation efforts. But he said $9 million in federal money under the Liberal-signed agreement had already arrived in Kashechewan.
As well, community leaders were in contact with federal officials about how to move ahead under last year's agreement and were not informed until yesterday that the Conservative government has no funding to fulfil it, Angus said.
"I have one question for the minister before a single refugee flies home to that rat hole on the coast: Will he stand up in the House and tell the people of Canada that he respects an agreement that was signed by the government of Canada and the people of Kashechewan First Nation," Angus asked in the Commons.
Prentice said there is no funding to implement the agreement.
"Despite promises made by the previous Liberal administration and the previous Liberal minister, there was no money set aside in the budget for the relocation of Kashechewan," he said to the howls of opposition MPs.
Speaking with reporters, Prentice declined to answer when asked why the Conservative government had not earmarked money for Kashechewan in its own budget delivered on May 2.
But he denied that aboriginal people were a low priority for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government.
"What I'm saying today is that we're going to sit down, work with the (Kashechewan) community, work with the leadership to determine the way forward," he told the media.
Native affairs are likely to continue to draw national attention.
Former prime minister Paul Martin is planning a national tour to increase public pressure on the Harper government to honour the $5.1-billion Kelowna accord signed by Ottawa, the provinces and aboriginal leaders last fall.
It was a long-term plan to improve native living conditions. But the Conservatives have not committed to fulfilling the accord.
"It was an historic breakthrough and everybody recognized that," Martin said in an interview.
Martin will introduce a private member's bill in the Commons today demanding that the Conservatives live up to the Kelowna deal. The former prime minister admits that, as a private member's bill, it has little chance of obtaining the unanimous agreement needed to pass.
But he is still hopeful. "We had all the governments in the country come together" to reach the accord, he remarked. "It would be a wonderful thing if all of Parliament came together and said, `Let's do it.'"
Over the coming months, Martin plans to take his campaign to fulfil the Kelowna agreement to the Canadian public in a series of speaking engagements.
The plight of 1,800 Kashechewan residents was not the only native issue that flared yesterday. Liberals complained that, during a Commons committee discussion, Conservative MP Brian Fitzpatrick (Prince Albert) referred to Canada's aboriginal policies as that of a "Marxist paradise." Toronto Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) was among those who called on Fitzpatrick to resign as vice-chair of the public accounts committee, which had been examining Auditor General Sheila Fraser's recent report on failings in the federal government's native policies.
In an interview, Fitzpatrick said he couldn't remember exactly what he said in committee but didn't deny making the "Marxist paradise" remark. The comment was intended to be sarcastic, he said. "If I meant to insult anybody, it was the department of Indian affairs officials who had the responsibility" for the failed programs, he added.
Fitzpatrick caused an outcry during the 2000 election campaign by joking about being scalped by natives.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...026&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
Sad. Natives, any native issue is never and never will be a priority for the conservatives. And wouldn't the blame the liberals get old after a year or two?
