First Nations - CF help, protests, solutions, residential schools, etc. (merged)

[jollyjacktar]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-s-nisga-a-becomes-only-first-nation-to-privatize-land-1.2355794

To me, this measure is actually a positive one. I say give them all the same degree of individual ownership and responsibility that they have when they choose to move off-reserve (as most have done, anyway...). A sense of ownership and the ability to profit (and the accompnying risk of loss) from the individual posession of land would, IMHO, go far to address some of the hapless dependency and despondency of so many FN bands.

I realize that the treaty system in BC is different than in the rest of Canada, but the principle should still apply.

I disregard the fear of "assimilation": simply because you adapt to a changing world does not mean you abandon your culture. Failure to adapt is the mark of a dying culture.

I agree.  Then those that do can pay property taxes and a mortgage like the rest of us too.

 

[Bluebulldog]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-s-nisga-a-becomes-only-first-nation-to-privatize-land-1.2355794

To me, this measure is actually a positive one. I say give them all the same degree of individual ownership and responsibility that they have when they choose to move off-reserve (as most have done, anyway...). A sense of ownership and the ability to profit (and the accompnying risk of loss) from the individual posession of land would, IMHO, go far to address some of the hapless dependency and despondency of so many FN bands.

I realize that the treaty system in BC is different than in the rest of Canada, but the principle should still apply.

I disregard the fear of "assimilation": simply because you adapt to a changing world does not mean you abandon your culture. Failure to adapt is the mark of a dying culture.

Until First Nations, band councils, and reserves are placed under a set of rules and regs like the Municipal Act ( let's be honest here, most reserves are in fact Municipalities), giving "ownership" will not account to much, unless they are held to account for its management.

 

[Lightguns]

Completely meaningless.  You buy a piece of land and some faction of the band does not like what you do with it or does not get the necessary graff, they will occupy it and you will never see, feel, touch or smell anything you own on that land ever again.  There is no rule of law beyond the rule of the most popular loud-mouth and there is no police force in Canada that will help you. 

 

[PuckChaser]

Completely meaningless.  You buy a piece of land and some faction of the band does not like what you do with it or does not get the necessary graff, they will occupy it and you will never see, feel, touch or smell anything you own on that land ever again.  There is no rule of law beyond the rule of the most popular loud-mouth and there is no police force in Canada that will help you.

I don't think there's going to be a line up of non-aboriginal people buying up all the land, but what its going to allow is some autonomy of the people living on the reserve. They'll be able to own land, build equity, and cut the dependance on social programs and the tribal council for handouts.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

You can't help people that don't want help or won't help themselves.

However, don't equate 'don't want help' with 'don't send me more money'.

 

[Bluebulldog]

I don't think there's going to be a line up of non-aboriginal people buying up all the land, but what its going to allow is some autonomy of the people living on the reserve. They'll be able to own land, build equity, and cut the dependance on social programs and the tribal council for handouts.

Sadly, it won't.

No one is going to guarantee a mortgage on Native land without checks and balances in place. I doubt CMHC would touch it with a 10' pole, unless they were compelled under an act of parliament to do so.

Let's just look at the reserves as a total different geography, shall we? Akin to a Banana Republic, where the governance and accountability ebbs and flows with the whim of those in control. Are you, as a lender, going to issue a loan or mortgage on any land within that boundary?

The last time I checked, the people living on the reserve have tons of autonomy.....If you genuinely believe that they will not continue to rely on social programs, and hand outs, just because the title of the land can be registered......well, I'll just say you're an extreme optimist, and leave it at that.

 

[brihard]

The whole concept of 'reserves' is part of the problem. We have two tiers of Canadian citizenship- those registered under the Indian Act, and everyone else. To me its unconscionable.

Scrap the indian act and the reserve system. Will there be an uproar? Absolutely. Will there be a big vacuum needing filling? Yup. But at least whatever gets built in its place to deal with out first nations will be predicated first and foremost on them being treated as equal citizens and being provided with equal services. It's easy to talk about how first nations need to build capacity and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Much harder when funding for things like education falls short of what other students receive through the provinces.

 

[GAP]

Sadly, it won't.

No one is going to guarantee a mortgage on Native land without checks and balances in place. I doubt CMHC would touch it with a 10' pole, unless they were compelled under an act of parliament to do so.

CMHC backs reservation housing so long as it is built to standards...

 

[OldSolduer]

CMHC backs reservation housing so long as it is built to standards...

How long it remains at that standard is questionable.

 

[Bluebulldog]

CMHC backs reservation housing so long as it is built to standards...

I stand corrected.

However if you read the language, the only way CMHC will issue loan on reserve lands is if it is in fact guaranteed by the First Nation, and backed by a fund set up for just that purpose.

Seems to me by reading the language set out, that they are not actually guaranteeing any property financing if it's on reserve lands, they're simply acting as a facilitator in the financing of same, as long as someone else is on the hook.

https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/hoficlincl/moloin/rean/upload/LoanInsuranceOn-Reserve.pdf

I also find it amusing that the first part of the CMHC site referring to First nations is all about home maintenance, and mould remediation.....

 

[GAP]

I also find it amusing that the first part of the CMHC site referring to First nations is all about home maintenance, and mould remediation.....

Oh, it's, mould remediation, is well taken care of....if it's mouldy, they just burn the house down...mould remediated.....

 

[Bluebulldog]

Oh, it's, mould remediation, is well taken care of....if it's mouldy, they just burn the house down...mould remediated.....

Not quite what the book says...but then again...I guess they have more experience at it....

 

[The_Falcon]

Someone check the temperature in hell it may have dropped several degrees.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/04/20140408-100239.html

Clayton Kennedy, the former co-manager of northern Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation, has been charged with theft and fraud.

Kennedy, 62, was co-manager of the band's finances between July 2010 and the end of the summer of 2012.

He refused to comment on the charges when contacted Tuesday morning at the offices of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation in Cochrane, Ont., where he is currently the co-manager.

"It's in my attorney's hands," Kennedy said, saying his side will "come out in our day in court."

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police said Kennedy was charged with fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000 on March 26. He is scheduled to appear in court May 28.

Kennedy is the partner of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.

Financial audits released in January 2013 show the couple made as much as $250,000. Kennedy's consulting company, Moo Shum Enterprises Inc., charged $850 per day while he was co-managing, working out to $221,000 a year.

 

[Journeyman]

Kennedy is the partner of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.

    :

 

[Canadian.Trucker]

Someone check the temperature in hell it may have dropped several degrees.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/04/20140408-100239.html

No one should be shocked by this article at all.

 

[The_Falcon]

More from the National Post

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/08/clayton-kennedy-former-attawapiskat-co-manager-and-partner-of-chief-theresa-spence-charged-with-fraud/

Clayton Kennedy, former Attawapiskat co-manager and partner of Chief Theresa Spence, charged with fraud
Republish ReprintRepublish OnlineRepublish OfflineReprintJosh Visser | April 8, 2014 | Last Updated: Apr 8 11:47 AM ET
More from Josh Visser | @joshvisser

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Adrian Wyld/The Canadian PressBuildings on the Attawapiskat reserve in November 2011. The federal government had appointed a third-party manager for the financially troubled First Nations community thast year, following a housing crisis..
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.The former co-manager of Attawapiskat First Nation and romantic partner of Chief Theresa Spence, who gained national attention for her role in the Idle No More movement, has been charged with fraud and theft.

Clayton Kennedy, 62, was the band’s co-manager and director of finance in July 2010 until summer 2012. He was paid about $850 a day in the position.

He was charged on March 26 with fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000 by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service.

Sgt. Jackie George said the allegation of fraud was put forward in August 2012 and the investigation began in February 2013.


ScreenshotClayton Kennedy, seen in a 2013 interview with APTN..An official with the Attawapiskat First Nation said the band brought the complaint forward to police.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Post, said the band would have an official statement later Tuesday.

Kennedy was released on conditions and will next appear in court on May 28 in Attawapiskat.

Co-management is the second of three levels of intervention used by the federal government in dealing with a First Nations finances. A co-manager is agreed on by the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the band. The co-manager is paid by the band.

In 2011, the Attawapiskat band said that Chief Spence was not in any of the meeting where they discussed bringing Kennedy in as a co-manager.

The office of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said they could not comment directly on the case as it is before the courts.

“We’re committed to protecting all Canadians from those who engage in abuses of trust. Those who break the rules must suffer the consequences,” the minister’s office said in an email to the Post.

Kennedy is currently the co-manager of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation in Cochrane, Ontario. A woman answering the phone for the band issued a brief “no comment” and hung up when asked if Kennedy was available to speak to the Post.


Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian PressControversial Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence celebrates the end of her liquid diet protest in Ottawa on Jan. 24, 2013..Between 2001 and 2004, Kennedy was Attawapiskat’s director of finance, co-manager and band manager. Five years prior, he had declared bankruptcy, citing debts of $24,380 and assets of just $2,403.

Related
Theresa Spence’s partner declared bankrupt before taking charge of Attawapiskat’s books, documents revea
Kelly McParland: Theresa Spence’s carefully woven cause starts to unravel
Christie Blatchford: Attawapiskat management worthy of a Seinfeld episode
.Attawapiskat became the flashpoint for strained relations between the Conservative government and First Nations after a housing crisis there triggered a state of emergency in 2011 and Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused the band of mismanaging its finances.

A Deloitte and Touche audit found millions in missing financial records between 2005 and 2011 from the $104 million in federal government funding.

Spence staged a six-week hunger protest (via liquid diet) near the end of 2012, at the height of the Idle No More demonstrations across the country. She set up her protest near Parliament Hill and met with former Prime Minister Paul Martin but by the end of her hunger protest, she was largely discredited due to her changing and conflicting demands.

Chief Spence won re-election last August amid controversy, taking 214 out of 507 cast votes.

With files from The Canadian Press

 

[Rifleman62]

Kennedy is the partner of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.

Possibly he is the former partner and that's why he is being charged.

 

[Remius]

Come come now.  This is obviously a witch hunt.   

 

[Bluebulldog]

Let's not ignore that in the face of obvious financial mis-management, and possibly inappropriate accounting practices...another band gave the boob a job doing the exact same thing.  :facepalm:

 

[Old Sweat]

Let's also remember that while he has been charged, he has not been convicted of anything and is considered innocent until proven guilty in court.