Today's column ("Figure out our Native Land") actually makes some kind of sense. The elephant in the room regarding native land claims isn't governmental ineptitude so much as the disarray of the governing process of the various native groups, and the power struggle within.
...It seems to me, though, that if we are going to streamline the process, the first thing an independent body needs to decide is which claims have merit and which don't. Then someone in the aboriginal community needs to decide who can speak on their behalf. You can't have dozens of disparate groups all claiming a part in the discussions.
It's not just road, rail and new construction that is in peril. Native groups are also demanding a say in where new power lines go and how we go about building new generating plants. You can't hold the economy of this province hostage in that fashion...
Good stuff, Christina.
Stick to your knitting and let the Pope run the Catholic Church.
* * * *
Update: Speaking of the Catholic Church, a Canadian Bishop speaks out on the issue. Bishop James Wingle states:
Amen.
And Nicol relates a personal story describing how he witnessed Dalton taking Communion.
Latest Caledonia developments at local church - Tensions High as Natives Block Caledonia Church Construction.
"No person can claim immunity from the truth. People in positions of civic leadership cannot legitimately espouse a form of schizophrenic split between what they know personally to be true and good, and the proposition of laws or policies that negate that truth and good."
Amen.
And Nicol relates a personal story describing how he witnessed Dalton taking Communion.
Latest Caledonia developments at local church - Tensions High as Natives Block Caledonia Church Construction.
(BTW - This is post #600 since I started blogging back in Dec. 2005. Thanks for the memories.)
6 comments:
The biggest problem with Caladonia is that McWimpy cannot understand the sentence "The land claim is invalid."
Off topic, if you're planning to spend the holiday weekend up north, you might want to check out the rules for moose crossings at www.blogger.com/indepthandinvest.
Wow!
Good warning from Swift for anyone planning to go north this weekend.
Jo -- In order to check whether someone linked to an article gets an automatic e-mail, I just put your blog URL on my most recent post and then saved again. Let me know if you get an e-mail about that post.
Sandy, nothing so far, but my son is mucking around with my computer...
Jo, I would argue that Blizzard's column today only makes sense in small land claims.
Google "land claims" and "Lower Mainland"
1.5 million (or 2.0, whatever) stand to be displaced.
Will they be? Not likely. Will the $ settlement be ridiculously high? Yes. And it will be the fault of the government(s) that refused to negotiate a way-back-when.
Land claims are most easily dealt with when existing treaties can be quoted. If you've refused over the centuries to agree to anything, well, you've only yourself to blame IMHO.
And no, there were no battles in BC to my knowledge. No losses. Ever.
Canadian Squatters' rights.
Sauce for the goose...
Thanks, Candace. The link provides an interesting perspective.
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