Quote du Jour: Poilievre's Racism

Ignorance on parade. Why not pull out the "lazy Indian" stereotype on the day your prime minister is apologizing for the residential schools abuse? Might as well signal to all of those racists out there who vote for your party that you're still on their side, right?

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who represents the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean-Carleton, appeared on a lunch-time program on CFRA News Talk Radio in the capital Wednesday.

It was just hours before Harper stood to atone on behalf of all Canadians for generations of abuse in once-mandatory native residential schools.

"Now along with this apology comes another $4 billion in compensation for those who partook in the residential schools over those years," says Poilievre, in a clip circulated by the Liberal opposition.

He was apparently unaware that students were once forced to attend schools meant to assimilate them, as his boss would later rise to say in Parliament.

Poilievre then questioned the wisdom of related compensation payments.

"Now, you know, some of us are starting to ask: 'Are we really getting value for all of this money, and is more money really going to solve the problem?'

"My view is that we need to engender the values of hard work and independence and self reliance. That's the solution in the long run - more money will not solve it."

That's exactly the kind of "white supremacy" Phil Fontaine railed against in his statement in the house on Wednesday.

It's not up to you, Mr Pierre 'PMO Talking Points Coming Out of My Ass on a Daily Basis' Poilievre to "engender" anything on our first nations people. Do you not realize that that's exactly why residential schools were set up in the first place?

Oh, but he didn't stop there:

Poilievre also told CFRA that aboriginal chiefs have too much control.

"That gets to the heart of the problem on these reserves where there is too much power concentrated in the hands of the leadership, and it makes you wonder where all of this money is going.

"We spend $10 billion dollars - $10 billion dollars - in annual spending this year alone now, that is an exceptional amount of money, and that is on top of all the resource revenue that goes to reserves that sit on petroleum products or sit on uranium mines, other things where companies have to pay them royalties.

"And that's on top of all that money that they earn on their own reserves. That is an incredible amount of money."

It's their money and their resources, you fool.

You think living on a reserve is heaven? I'd suggest you take a field trip for about a year and get back to the rest of us on that. I'll tell you what: I'll even raise the money to get you to Hobbema here in Alberta. I dare you. Tough it out for a year (if you can last more than one week) and then tell us what it's really like if you can manage to even sputter by then.

Your hatred and bigotry are nothing short of astounding. Enjoy the flames you'll get in parliament and from the public for this amazing display of absolutely pathetic ignorance. You're a disgrace.

And your party wonders why so many first nations people didn't take the apology seriously. If you have a problem with the amount of money your party has decided to spend on aboriginal affairs, take that up with your boss. And while you're having that chat with him, ask him why he ditched the Kelowna accord - the first slap in the face towards first nations people perpetrated by your Conservative party when you won minority status. Oh yes, that involved too much money too, didn't it? How would you like it if I stole your land, gave you smallpox, kidnapped your children, abused them in every possible way and tried to turn them into what I deemed "acceptable"? Just how much money do you think you'd deserve as compensation for those crimes?

I, for one, am extremely grateful that you only have minority status. Enjoy the tiny bit of power you have while it lasts. Thankfully, we've all been saved by what surely would have been a destructive bull in a china shop style of government had you actually won a majority. Your party's actions have proven that you don't deserve to govern.

Never again will this House consider us the Indian problem just for being who we are.
- Phil Fontaine

When are you going to learn that, Poilievre, or are you now leading the campaign to prove him wrong?

Want to give Poilievre a piece of your mind? Here you go: PoiliP@parl.gc.ca


(h/t Far and Wide)
 

Live Coverage of The Apology for Residential Schools

Today we recognize this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in this country.
- Stephen Harper

"Fallen Feathers" (image from Turtle Island Native Network - a site with extensive background links and information)

You can watch coverage online at CPAC which began at 1 pm ET.

Before Harper spoke, a motion was presented by the government to allow several first nations leaders, beginning with AFN leader Phil Fontaine, to give responses in the house - a move the Conservatives had resisted until the very last minute. Approval of the motion was unanimous.

I will post links to Harper's statement and the responses when they're available.

CBC reporters have noted in their live coverage that there is a festival-like atmosphere on the hill, where hundreds of first nations people have gathered inside and out, as many reunite with family and friends they have not seen for years. But the solemnity of the occasion hangs heavy in the air, just as it does in many of our hearts.

Related:

CBC has extensive text, audio & video coverage of Canada's Stolen Children.

The department of Indian and Northern Affairs also has live online coverage.

Globe and Mail coverage includes snippets of the statements by Harper and Dion.

The Toronto Star's coverage.

Update:

Leaders from the following first nations organizations responded in the house:

Assembly of First Nations (Phil Fontaine)

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (Patrick Brazeau)

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) (Mary Simon)

Metis National Council (Clement Chartier)

Native Women's Association of Canada (Beverly Jacobs)

more to come...

Update:

Video of Harper's statement:

Part 1


Part 2


Phil Fontaine's response:

The Angst of Privileged White Men

Just how much personal resentment and anger does a person like Don Martin carry around inside of him to have the audacity to call the upcoming apology to first nations victims of residential schools "the greatest grovel in Canadian history"?

He continues:

The government, Parliament, indeed every Canadian will be apologizing without exception for every student's experience, be it positive, negative or abusive.

But there are still high-level concerns it won't be enough and, while unlikely, could be rejected by native leaders as a political stunt that isn't sufficiently sincere. One senior government official involved in drafting the apology acknowledged in mid-gulp on an Ottawa beer patio: "Of course, we're still not sure they'll accept it."

Beverage splattered. Excuse me?

No. Excuse me, Mr Martin.

It's absolutely clear that by his inclusion of the word "positive", Don Martin is just plain clueless and vindictive. No one is apologizing for "positive" experiences - whatever few there may have been. And his public angst over the possibility that this apology will not be enough to satisfy all first nations people who lived through and were affected by the horrendous trauma which impacted every single area of their lives - the sexual, physical and psychological abuse, the destruction of their identities and culture, the indoctrination of forced assimilation, the resulting suicides and massive social problems that still reverberate to this day - (and that's not even mentioning the fact that our ancestors stole their land, gave them smallpox, herded them onto reservations like animals to be penned and continue to expect them to live in third world conditions) and Martin bemoans the fact that some people won't see this apology as being enough?

As far as I'm concerned, it isn't.

And let's not be too charitable in giving props to Stephen Harper's government for crafting this apology. Over and over again in the house, he and his cronies have made a point of chastising the Liberals for not properly handling this issue. While it's absolutely true that the Liberals dragged their feet for decades, that type of finger-pointing by such a shallow prime minister shows that there is some political grandstanding involved here. If there weren't, Steve would allow - as has been requested on many fronts - aboriginal leaders and victims the right to respond in parliament. But Steve is so anal-retentive that he stands on the "tradition" excuse ie. that he simply can't allow those voices to be formally heard or recorded in Hansard for all time because it would be an unusual break from parliamentary tradition. Well, Mr Harper, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures so spare us your angst as well.

Our first nations people have already suffered enough at the hands of policies crafted by privileged white men - government and religious leaders who decided their job was to "civilize" a group of people whose culture they feared and didn't understand. And it seems that fact is still being denied by people like Don Martin and Stephen Harper who would rather re-victimize that population by mocking them and silencing them on the national stage.

Parliament does not belong to privileged white people. It belongs to all of us so, as far as I'm concerned, the people who should really be silenced in all of this are those who have yet to truly come to grips with what our country has done and continues to do to our first nations brothers and sisters. What they most need to do is to listen instead of continuing to be in love with the sound of their own sanctimonious voices. Maybe then they'll actually learn and understand why the wounds this nation, the victims, and all of us who care about the sorriest part of our history cannot be fixed by mere words pontificated on from above.

StatsCan released a report on hate crimes statistics today. This country still has a long road to travel before prejudice based on race is anywhere close to being eliminated. One thing is certain: if our government officials and the media refuse to acknowledge their complicity in stirring up resentments against minorities, we are all doomed to suffer those continual injustices with the victims - those of us who actually care, that is.

Do your part. Speak up and act when you can. Compassion is not a vice.

Related:

More Don Martin bigotry. Let him know what you think about his intolerable rants: dmartin@nationalpost.com

Reconciliation goes sour in Canada

Assembly of First Nations

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

CBC Newsworld will provide complete coverage of the apology and house proceedings on Wednesday as will CPAC where you can watch it online.