04) WISE WORDS FROM UN RAPPORTEUR

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

            On Oct. 15, James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, called on the Harper government to avoid a "rocky road" in its relations with Aboriginal peoples. After visiting communities in six provinces, and meeting with federal officials and the RCMP, Anaya warned that Indigenous peoples still suffer from "multiple legacies of the history of colonization, treaty infringements, assault on their cultures and land dispossession."

 

            Anaya's full report will be released next year. For now, he said, the government needs to reverse its "hardened positions" on three key issues: by extending the mandate and time-line for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) into residential schools; by heeding the calls for a national inquiry into the high number of murdered and missing Indigenous women; and by reconsidering its proposed legislation governing on‑reserve education.

 

            PM Harper (who rules his Cabinet with an iron fist) has repeatedly signalled that there will be no meaningful moves to address Aboriginal demands around such issues. That's not surprising, since Harper denies any element of colonialism or racism in Canada's historic relations with First Nations.

 

            But the most immediate answer to Anaya's proposals came 48 hours after his news conference, when RCMP violence was used against anti-fracking protesters from the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. While the mainstream media showed burning police cars, the real story here is the centuries-long record of land theft and poverty imposed by Canada on Aboriginal peoples.

 

            Despite the stubborn positions of Harper and his government, the movement to reverse the genocidal policies of the Canadian state continues to gain momentum. The wise words of the UN Rapporteur should be heeded, not met with more RCMP batons, rubber bullets, and pepper spray.

 

(The above article is from the November 1-15, 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.)