Bernier the Bumbling Imperialist

According to an article in The Toronto Star, the Afghans were going to can the governor of Kandahar until Maxime Bernier opened his big mouth. Aside from our general maltreatment of First Nations, Canada has never really chosen to act as an imperial power. If we can't handle this sort of delicate manipulation of the local scene, that's one more reason we shouldn't be wasting blood and treasure in Afghanistan.

Our National Shame

The Toronto Star has another story about absolutely appalling conditions on a reserve, in this case a police station has to be shut down because it "lacks running water, uses 'medieval locks' and relies on a wood fire in a 170-litre drum." Elsewhere the article mentions police officers living in motel rooms due to a lack of housing.

Canada likes the label "tolerant" and frankly we're a bit smug about how we never had Jim Crow laws or apartheid - we're not conquerers with designs on an imperial system. Sometimes I'm guilty of thinking this way too. Until we decide to do something meaningful about the way we've cached too many first nations groups on economically useless land with little in the way opportunity, we really should wonder why we feel so proud about ourselves.

National Post Should Re-Read the Constitution

Not a newspaper to let facts ruin a tirade against anyone other than right-wingers, the Post came up with this gem this morning:

"In terms of the land holdings at play, the Caledonia crisis is small compared to similar disputes in other parts of Canada. But this is beside the point. The bottom line is that a group of hooligans is openly flouting the government -- and Mr. Mc-Guinty [sic] has done nothing about it except attempt to shift blame to Ottawa."

Leaving aside the characterization of Caledonia's protesters as "hooligans" and the National Post's general (willful?) ignorance of the more complicated historical issues involved in native rights, this is a federal issue! Read the constitution, National Post. The feds have been happy to leave this problem in Ontario's hands for a couple years now, if the federal government stepped in on the original land claim matter, Ontario might have more authority to resolve the issue.

Kashechewan Can't Catch a Break

It appears that the federal government is going to rebuild the Kashechewan reserve in the same place on the same low-lying floodplain. Apparently it was too expensive to move the community to higher ground. So what? Will they keep rebuilding it every couple years as it gets flooded out each time?