More Thoughts on Idle No More

Does everyone realize that a reply to a comment can only be 4,096 characters total? Well I didn't know that since I'm still figuring out how all this blog stuff works, but I am learning all the time and will get there. 

Here is the link to the posting in reference in case you missed it the other day.

Some Thoughts on Idle No More

Occupy The Parliament Buildings's photo. - I really like this photo.

Last night I started off writing a very long reply to a comment, but then it wouldn't let me post it as it was too long. Just before I had discovered that I was thinking that I had gotten carried away on the reply and that it was turning into a new blog post. I got lost in the reply in trying to scroll up and down to see what I had already included and not. Then I thought that chances were that I'd said all that needed to be said at that point in response to the comment of R.J. Pare (sorry don't know how to make that accent-ague). So a decision was made for me... stop trying to make it a reply and change it into a new blog posting.


 Here is the culprit that started this extra work (totally kidding; I really enjoy getting comments):

 

r. j. paré  Commented on 20 January 2013 20:31 

I think the Idle No More movement has been very disingenuous. Originally focused on Chief's Spence's ongoing disagreement with the Gov and a grossly misrepresented bill C-45. When the general public began to see that Chief Spence's position and the conditions on her reserve were not the result of an evil government - they began to question Idle No More. When they examined the claims made by Idle No More, in regards Bill C-45, and discovered many exaggerations and misrepresentations they - doubted Idle No More - even more.

When they then took the time to see the aggressive and violent agitators in the movement they then realized that it has more in common with the recent history of First Nations violence [Oka & Caledonia for examples] than rights advocacy.

We can debate treaty rights and speak of various issues that need to be resolved - but once you use violence - you position becomes moot as society needs to be protected from such actions.

My Reply:

Hi R.J, Ty for leaving a comment.

I have not heard of any violence surrounding the INM events. Of course I do not have any MSM (Main Stream Media) in my house at this time, but I have been on and around the INM pages and have not heard of anything bad happening. Do you have some specific details about some problems that occurred?

 CENSORED NEWS: Whapmagoostui Youth Trekkers 'We are true Warriors'

By Matthew Mukash -Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

A special thank you to Matthew and the walkers from Censored News!

I did have some doubts about the genuineness of the INM movement at some moments surrounding Spence as well. Only because I didn't feel that she was supposed to be a leader of the movement, but somehow the media was trying to put her in that position. INM was just emerging at the same time as Spence declared her hunger strike, and as such, people idled even less to get by her side and support her cause. Thereby, the media mistakenly jumped to it's assumptions that she was the movement's leader. The Spence/Attawapiskat issues are more complicated than what was being said at that time.

The INM Movement is bigger than Spence and Attawapiskat. It is gathering momentum every day it seems and is about all societal issues that are affecting all Canadians (especially First Nations), and it is about time that we all band together and do something about it. This ties into the Occupy Movement as well. We are all the 99%. There are more of us than them, and I believe that they might just be getting worried about now. Because we can hit them in the pocketbook, which is all they seem to care about.

However, it sounds like you were listening to some disingenuous smears against Spence that was orchestrated by the CPC gov't and MSM to try and diffuse the movement. Touche to them.

The Oka crisis, as far as I can remember (I was fairly young at the time and not very politically aware) was about a land grab by some developers that wanted to build a golf course on lands that were not negotiated out of a treaty territory (sorry if I am not that accurate on this, as I did not take the time to look it up at this time; just going by what I remember). Ok, so I went and looked up the year lol - 1990 - I was 25 and struggling with my own crises in BC. I had never been that involved in politics nor Quebec at that time (was just starting to learn about vicious office politics tho), but I watched the news every evening. By looking at your pic, I'm guessing you are even a bit younger than me? So you probably don't remember that much first hand either?

Anyway, in one of my links in the article above, Chelsea Vowel, was the best info that I could find about the misinformation that was smeared about Spence. Maybe you didn't take the time to take it all in - it is a very long article, but I found interesting and informative and worth the read.

It does basically dispel the inflated figures that were broadcast and supposedly mismanaged. The $90 million figure is over the course of several years and is not all gov't money... etc, please read the article; that is why I included the link. I have already read it in it's entirety and don't want to repeat its relevant points again all here. I'm just trying to respond the best I can to your comment.

Have you considered what type of blatant spending that goes on in the Canadian gov't? What they may or not be able to say about any First Nations spending, would pale in comparison to the expense accounts of MPs. Remember Bev Oda, with the limo rides (even though there was a free shuttle available) and $15 glasses of orange juice? I have the dishonour of living in John Duncan's constituency. Try that link to see what I think of him.

Jessica Ernst demonstrating flammable water

I hope to be here to educate and I am very pleased that I have had a very good audience for this article and yesterday's post about Jessica Ernst's struggle with Encana over fracking. TY all - I doubled my views from the last 3 months in the last 3 days. Yippee; I am thankful for the interest/support ;) However, I had less visits to the fracking issue which is showing promise and some sanity from some jurisdictions. More info on the Ernst case can be found at http://www.ernstversusencana.ca/. New York State just instituted a moratorium on fracking.

Wheatland County, Alberta - Councillors Call for Fracking Halt Until Protective Methods are Developed

Back to you R.J., please assess the media influences you see with a grain of salt, gather information from various sources, and then piece it all together for yourself and come up with a truth. Along the way, your truth may be challenged.... be open to that, you never know what you may learn and need to change your version of your truth if it is warranted.

pic via Sandy Sjollema

You look Canadian, and we need everyone's support (all Canadians, Indians, Indigenous, brown, black, red, yellow, whoever, and their dog). Anyone who gives a crap about this earth and the preservation of our planet and environment in which we all need to survive (including the dogs and all other critters great and small); water, air, land.

May I recommend that you look a little more into what is involved and bundled up in Bill C45, be critical of every media input, and delve a little more into the issues that have faced Canadian First Nations (again - some links above), especially - Feature: The Canadian Holocaust: Hidden No Longer - KevinAnnett - Unrepentant (YouTube link).

More Bill C45 Protest

Excerpt:

The nationwide movement has united First Nations to talk about the issues facing their people and the passing of federal Bill C-45. First Nations have voiced concern with changes made in the bill, such as the removing of federal protection for several lakes and rivers and the management of reserve lands.

Then again, maybe you are a troll, but my key-strokes are not wasted as long as someone else reads this and takes a deeper look into the issues and informs themselves. Bill C-45 is a complex bundle of legislation that touches on all kinds of elements of Canadian values that should not be included in a "Budget" Bill as far as I'm concerned. It is a deliberate attempt by the CPC gov't to try and slip injustices by Canadians without them paying attention. Well, guess what? I think he failed at that. Our Mr. Dictator Harper has been caught trying to put one over on us.

The blatant continual degradation of democratic procedure, has stirred up a hornet's nest that he may or not have been expecting. Maybe he expected to just pass these things through without anyone noticing? A big bundle of crap, that no one would want to try and decipher? His mistake though was just that - Enbridge, FIPA, CNOOC, Budget Bill 5, 10 36, 45, HUT - caught all of our attentions. He just made the biggest mistake of his career; shot himself in the foot so they say. Previous Post - Canada Has Lost its Democracy

P.S. (I knew I had a PS) I am not native per se, but I believe in Mother earth and that is all that is needed right now. She is screaming out... can you hear her?

Check this out:
Same Thing is Going on in the UK
What is going on with all of our world leaders? Have they all lost their minds? Do you really think they can get away with this crap? It's almost like they are wanting us to challenge them on their actions.

And in Australia:
Lost the link to what I saw on there. Will post it later if I find it again.

Anyway, the point is that the INM movement is going viral and global. This is going to be undeniable to all leaders in all countries if they don't smarten up and stop the injustices being done to people Indigenous and otherwise, all over the world.

Some Thoughts on Idle No More

Well, I said I would create a new post about the Idle No More movement.

Occupy The Parliament Buildings's photo.

In response to some of the backlash against Chief Spence, here is a good article in her defense:
Chelsea Vowel - Tells Where the Attawapiskat Money Went

Here is a great documentary that talks about the history of when settlers first arrived and how the native were displaced, moved, restricted, and how some treaties came about. This specifically covers what happened and it still happening in Ontario and Quebec.

***NFB - INVISIBLE NATION - full feature*** (93 mins.) - This is a "Must Watch". This should be taught in all schools.

The Invisible Nation by Richard Desjardins & by Robert Monderie, National Film Board of Canada

Invisible Nation - Trailer  (1:30 min)

Synopsis: Online release: November 30, 2012 The Algonquin once lived in harmony with the vast territory they occupied. This balance was upset when the Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Gradually, their Aboriginal traditions were undermined and their natural resources plundered. Today, barely 9,000 Algonquin are left. They live in about 10 communities, often enduring abject poverty and human rights abuses. These Aboriginal people are suffering the threat to their very existence in silence. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie have decided to sound the alarm before it's too late.

Every Canadian should watch this before they post negative or racist comments on articles on the subject. If you can watch this and still say that the First Nations don't deserve anything more than they already have, there is something very wrong with you.

And then there is this recent example of the treatment of a First Nations people in Manitoba. Shame on the Provincial government that flooded their reserve and then doesn't properly relocate them. Shame on the Feds for not stepping in either. You have to read/watch this and click HERE to go to Causes and sign the petition.

Displaced Lake St. Martin First Nation

Here is some more background information about the injustices done by the Canadian Government by trying to strip First Nations of their culture, and the Catholic Church for allowing cruelty to be perpetrated on these poor scared children. People need to be aware of what has happened before they should dare criticize Native people:
Feature: The Canadian Holocaust: Hidden No Longer - Kevin Annett - Unrepentant

Some more great wisdom:
The Old Mans Journal - A Call For Unity the Indigenous Spring of 2013 to Protect the Earth and Its People

There is so much out there on this subject, I'm sure there are many more good links, but I have to put a limit on it at this point... Now for my own words:

(originally posted on Facebook "Idle No More - Official" page on January 12th)
Here's my take as of now..... It seems that things are getting a little muddled and the mainstream media loves to pick up on any weakness. I thought/believed/hoped that this movement was concentrating on Harper's enacting bills that affect EVERYONE (all Canadians). In particular the gutting of environmental regulations, selling our resources to China, and the just all out exploitation of all resources, no matter what the environmental damage.

Now it seems to be getting confused with chiefs, and the hunger strike, meetings, etc. Yes, I realize that this is a Native driven movement, but it can't become "Native" against "White". What I want to see and what I believe will help everyone along is for this movement to be inclusive of all Canadians. As all Canadians respect clean air, land, and water. We all want wild spaces left wild and not contaminated. Spaces that support food/subsistence hunting and gathering.

What my hope was that through treaty rights and Indian Act laws, the First Nations would have a legal leg to stand on to challenge Harper on all these bills and regulations that he is making changes to without consultation with First Nations, which I believe is required.

What we all want is for Harper to back up and to be able to force him to reconsider what he is doing, because he is pissing EVERYONE off!!! All Canadians will back this movement as long as it is clear what we are really fighting for. The movement will lose support if it becomes all about renegotiating treaty rights and funding and all the issues that the government has done wrong. There is already an amazing amount of negative commenting that I have seen on some mainstream media articles (Ottawa Citizen, National Post). We should all know that people have been taught all those negative stereotypes about natives. That is going to take something special to get past for the majority of con supporters and urban dwellers.

The treaty rights issue is important but it is also HUGE. It can't be dealt with quickly and the protests will die out before anything could possibly be changed. That way Harper will win, if it all dies out quietly. What we need is to concentrate on one battle at a time, starting with the highest priority, and something that can be attainable and measurable as a win. 

I believe that that fight needs to be the issue of unbridled exploitation of the oil and gas development without regard for the environment. PERIOD. Let's start there because it deals directly with the contamination and use of treaty territories without consultation, which shouldn't be allowed. And it stands to be the most harmful and irreversible issue (to me anyway) that is the biggest threat to all Canadians and especially to the health of all nations in the north. Most Canadians also are now aware of the FIPA issue and CNOOC deals, and do not want to sell out our National resources to China.

I believe if we concentrate on the environmental oil and gas issues, we will have the support of millions of Canadians, no matter what colour they are. And that they will all stand behind the Native leaders if they have the intention of taking the Harper government to task in COURT on the issues that the newly rammed through Bills infringe on.

Care needs to be taken as to not cause any undo hardships on working Canadians. They need to get to work freely. Blockading access for regular-working-stiff/slave Canadian's freedom of movement is not the way to go. It will only create backlash attitudes in those that you are trying to win over.


Now this is what I have wanted to see and what I have been advocating:

Kamloops News - Canadians Urged To Fight Omnibus Bill

From left, Shane Camille, Joe Meldrum and Randy Sam perform drum songs before the start of Friday's march through downtown Kamloops.

Excerpt:

Organizers of Friday’s rally repeatedly stressed that Idle No More is an inclusive movement, not confined to aboriginal issues. All Canadians need to understand the implications of environmental protections weakened by bills C-35 and C-45, the omnibus legislation passed in December.

“We’re being very cognizant of the fact that we have a lot of non-aboriginal allies,” said Lenora Starr, a march organizer.

Idle No More is all about making people understand the impact of the new legislation, she told the rally.

“We’re just really thankful that aboriginal people have the constitutional right to be able to challenge this legislation,” said Anita Strong, who joined the march. “The rest of us don’t have that.”

“There should be 5,000 people here, not 50,” said another non-aboriginal who didn’t want to give her name. “What they’re doing to Canada is appalling and unforgivable.”

The Mikisew Cree Nation has declared its intention to bring a constitutional challenge against Bill C-45, Good said. It would take 10 years to fight the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, but if the litigants can demonstrate that the legislation could cause irreparable harm that money could not mitigate, they could obtain a court injunction against the legislation as an interim measure.

“I think it should be a groundswell of Canadian efforts to repeal the act,” Good said. “My hope that the entire bill will be repealed and that, in the interest of democracy, it can be unbundled and Canadians can understand what it means.”

Ok, so let's go. If there is legal standpoint to get an injunction, then we can at least delay the destruction of the lands for as long as we can drag it out for; the courts seem to allow those stall tactics. Ten years, ok. That will cost the government a few billion in tax revenues - billions more in lost profit to the oil and gas companies. In order to get their attention, it has to cost them money, as that is the only thing they hold dear.

All this talk about high level meetings and such just slows the process of protecting the lands, and gives Harper and Big Oil the idea that all they have to do is negotiate a bigger pay off to the native leaders. If they absolutely want to destroy and rape all the lands and water, then you need to hold out for a really big pay out so that you can move to where there is clean water (that might be an impossible challenge in itself). I do not recommend allowing your leaders the idea of biting at the golden carrot. It is a sell out to everything you hold dear and everything that other Canadians hold dear (at least most of us). To sell out would be to give up on the territories and would be the end of the natural world of the north. It would also be the selling out of our last hope to stave off the gluttonous big oil companies and the Harper pigs.

Spreecast - Idle No More - Where Do We Go From Here - Part 1

Via Geoffrey Rankin

There are 3 parts to this presentation. You will find the other 2 at the link for Part 1. The Spreecast went down a few times during the broadcast, but it seams together without missing anything when you watch all 3 parts. Highly recommended. This was a great, spirited, informative, inspirational get together at UVIC on the evening of January 16th. Wait until they finally swing the camera around and so you the standing room only, and out into the hallway crowd that attended. It was awesome!!

Nathan Cullen - Describes What the Cons Consider Consultation
A quick 1:30 clip of Nathan Cullen, NDP, Leader of the House on December 5, 2012. His constituency includes the Central and Northern Coast including Kitimat where the pipeline is proposed to go to.

Please Click Here to Vote Up/Recommend on Progressive Bloggers

Continued.... 
In response to the comment by R.J. Pare below, I expanded on this posting with another post.
More Thoughts on Idle No More Click to go there.

Stand Up with Ernst and Tell Big Oil to FRACK OFF!!

OK, so there is Chief Spence's hunger strike and it coincides with the INM movement that was about to happen anyway. Well, turns out, she is not as pure as the driven snow, and needs to get back from the limelight. She was never proclaimed as a leader in the INM movement. And if you have any dirt, or the appearance on impropriety, guess what, the Harper Cons are going to exploit it. However much they show their maliciousness, thievery, blatant lies, etc. is just par for the course though.

Check out this link:

The Tyee.ca - Ernst: Frack Update 

 

On the other hand here we have a perfectly "pure" (at least pure intentioned; not running for a political seat) spokesperson standing up for all of our rights and taking Encana to task and suing for the contamination of her well water and all others in the area of Rosebud, Alberta. But hey guess what, if she can win (hopefully since the defense is pretty lame), she will set a standard/precedence for EVERYONE in Canada. The precedent will be set and a message will be sent to all BIG OIL Co's. that it is:

Not acceptable to contaminate the drinking water of one or many people!! FRACK OFF!!!

This is the message that needs to go out!!! NO MORE and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The groundwater contamination is measurable and has been going on for at least 10 years, while the gov't keeps letting them profit hugely and carry on business as usual and play dumb (it's not proven). If you don't look for the proof of cause and effect, then it will never be "Proven", and further, they say, they have no burden to look for that link (not my job man). Well then who's job is it? I would have believed that it is the regulatory body's - whoever they are - responsibility to ensure the public's and the greater environmental protection. The USA's EPA is trying to skirt this responsibility as well. Again, I would have to ask, what have these people been doing all these years (being paid the big bucks)?
Can we make this stop? Can we support Jessica Ernst? Absolutely!! and it is in EVERYONE's best interest to do so. Piss on waiting for some "talks and meetings" with Harper. This is HERE and NOW. Let's go. If you are in Alberta, show up on the court house steps and DEMAND action. Demand that this hearing proceed without all the stall tactics that are business as usual to all the parties that have something to lose; the ones that want the complainant to either: a) run out of money; b) run out of all support and resources: c) die and/or give up.

Damn them, that they can keep getting away with those stall tactics and the courts support those tactics. Disgusting. I think the gov't (ERCB - Energy Resouces Conservation Board) agency, by stating such a lame defense; that they are "not responsible for a duty of care". Excuse me? If that is not their mandate, whose is it?

Excerpt: (from The Tyee):
How Alberta Will Fight Fracking Folk Hero Jessica Ernst In famous flaming water case, regulator to argue 'no duty of care' to landowners or groundwater.
By Andrew Nikiforuk, 16 Jan 2013, TheTyee.ca

Energy board's 'duty of care' stops where?
A common complaint among Alberta landowners is that the ERCB reacts slowly to public concerns. It was one of the continent's last oil and gas regulators, for example, to table regulations on hydraulic fracturing.
Several recent court decisions also show that ERCB has a history of not upholding its own laws.
In 2010 the Royal Society of Canada, the nation's top scientific organization, criticized the board for 2007 incident in which the regulator spied on landowners and damaged "its credibility as independent quasi-judicial board."
In a court document filed on Dec. 5, 2012 lawyers representing the ERCB argue that a regulator charged to develop oil and gas resources in the public interest owes no duty of care to protect a citizen's groundwater.
Furthermore the Ernst lawsuit does "not indicate omissions on the part of the ERCB but a failure of the ERCB to act in accordance with the Plaintiff's expectations."

Klippenstein says the ERCB's arguments are both unusual and unorthodox.

And then why do we have any of these gov't bureaucracies with a bunch of high paid ass lickers and what do they get paid for? Can I have one of those jobs where I can make good bucks, benefits, and pension without actually doing anything remotely close to what I was hired for?

Talk about who's on "Welfare" which is also considered "Government Payroll"... well there is so much dead wood out there, but yet MSM points the finger at the natives as the ones sucking all the tax money from Canadian taxpayers. I get so frustrated, the more I delve into these matters, the more I find corruption, waste, incompetence, and just plain old BS and lies.

 I thought that INM might be a good movement, but yet.... now I have my doubts. It has been getting sidetracked and derailed, because the natives don't have good strong leadership that are looking out for their interests either (the peoples interests; I'm sure they are looking after their own interests) which is part of the problem. 

Can we just fire all the politicians and start anew? I suggested this before.... If I were PM for a day.... Everyone is fired!! And then they can come crawling back and beg for their job, and they may get it back if they can prove that they are beyond reproach, not corrupt, and have done something - anything positive for their constituents or for anyone in Canada, and not just lined their own pocket. How many do you think would get their jobs back? I would ball park it at 5-10%. Gee, that means we could cut gov't spending by 90% in year 1 and then build it up again with the kind of people that matter and make a difference!

Alas, I got going on that Utopia thing; have to come back to reality and go stick my dinner in the microwave and remember that I'm kinda just a nobody, and can't make the kind of difference that I would like to see.

But hey... heard a line that I liked - watched the DVD "I AM" by Tom Shadyac the other day. One of the gurus on there said "how do you eat an elephant? - One bite at a time...."

US EPA Must be Corrupt

This is my response to seeing  this article:

EPA Chief says no proof that fracking is dangerous

 

Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

________________________________________________

Open Letter to:

US Environmental Protection Agency
National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL)
Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD)
Associate Division Director: Samuel L. Hayes

CC: Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator; Cynthia Sonich-Mullin, Director; Brian Kleinman, Acting Deputy Director; whoever else I feel like sending it to, and the Public.

From the Environmental PROTECTION Agency web site:

What We Do

As EPA’s premiere laboratory for risk management research, NRMRL focuses on environmental problem-solving. Recognized as a national leader in scientific and engineering expertise and capability, NRMRL’s research portfolio spans the five goals outlined in EPA’s Strategic Plan, and directly supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, manage chemical risks, clean up hazardous waste sites, and protect America's water.
Environmental risk management seeks to determine what environmental risks exist and how to manage those risk in a way best suited to protect human health and the environment. Our mission is to advance scientific and engineering solutions to manage current and future environmental risk.

Research Projects Managed by NRMRL

• Air
• Climate Change
• Groundwater & Ecosystems Restoration
• Land, Waste and Cleanup
• Sustainable Technology
• Technology Assessments, Verifications & Transfers
• Water

You need to do your job - according to the description directly under your name (Samuel Hayes) on the web site.

What We Do: WSWRD research supports EPA's systematic evaluations of the primary and secondary regulations for drinking water and pollution control programs for water quality by developing innovative approaches to manage water contaminants that pose a threat to human health and the environment.

________________________________________________

 

You need to PROTECT water supplies and sources, not give them over to oil and gas companies to be exhausted, contaminated and then dumped improperly, compounding the problem and causing contamination of land and water.

Does the agency really need another year to complete an analysis as to the contamination being caused by fracking. I think by now it is public knowledge, and that any 10 year old is able to recognize the connection between ground water contamination and fracking procedures.

Do what you are paid to do. Be a whistle-blower if you need to. There is obviously much corruption going on in the highest levels of this organization. Lisa P Jackson cannot really be that ignorant that she needs PROOF that fracking is causing environmental damage. Besides that, the agency was put in place to PROTECT the environment. Here is a novel idea; How about having the oil and gas companies PROVE that what they are doing is safe for the environment. That is the way I think business should be done and should have always been done. But alas, those in power play dumb and allow the money to be made and then can just say "OOPS, we didn't realize.... there was no PROOF."

What ever happened to common sense? Is it a prerequisite for a position at the EPA to not have any? To be a good soldier and do what you are told and tow the line. I'm sure that that was not the philosophy of the founders of the EPA. Unless of course its history is just that of an appointed body, by the government to give the APPEARANCE of environmental protection to the public.

I selected your name, Samuel Hayes, from the list of many on the EPA's contact list because your division would seem to be the most directly involved in the current issue of fracking, and if it isn't - it should be. I am holding you responsible to do the right thing - to do the job in which you are paid to do - and to hold properly accountable the corporations that are damaging the environment and especially sacred drinking water that belongs to all living things of this earth.

What are you going to drink once all the groundwater is contaminated?

Signed,
An inhabitant of North America that requires uncontaminated drinking water to live in peace; aka Janice Plante