06) THE TORY TWO-STEP STRATEGY

People's Voice Editorial

     Courageous and inspiring Idle No More mobilizations continue across Canada and in many other countries, proving that the racist, genocidal status quo will no longer be tolerated. In fact, indigenous peoples have growing support in their opposition to the Harper government's destructive agenda. Yet (with some honourable exceptions) the corporate media largely keeps recycling Tory lies and misinformation.

     To those smug pundits who speculate about "divisions" among the First Nations, we say: look closer to home. Are Canadians "united" simply because our blatantly undemocratic electoral system gives complete political power to a party which receives only 39% of ballots cast on voting day? When you gloat about "financial irregularities" on reserves, we ask: why did the auditors sent by the Harperites to "investigate" Attawapiskat refuse to even look at many of the records kept by the band? When you repeat fairy tales about the "benefits" given to Aboriginal peoples, we wonder: were the treaties signed between First Nations and the colonizers just a fiction to open the door for history's greatest theft of lands, waters and resources?

     The campaign of media distortion is part of the classic "Tory two-step." On the one hand, under enormous pressure to hold meaningful consultations about improving the living conditions of Aboriginal peoples, the Conservatives offered a brief symbolic meeting and threw out some vague promises. On the other hand, their racist spin machine is working overtime to smear Chief Teresa Spence and other First Nations activists. It's time to make Harper & Co. sit down and talk with Aboriginal peoples, nation to nation, on the basis of genuine respect and equality. Nothing less can be accepted.

The above article is from the February 1-14, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)