Idle No More News Wrap: Harper's Friday Meeting, the Path Forward, Court Defeats, and Feds Audit Attawapiskat First Nations

By Keith Edmund White, Editor-in-Chief

Building off of last week's post exploring the growing aboriginal rights grassroots movement Idle No More, there are a few headlines that are worth highlighting.

• Harper to Meet with First Nations Chiefs Friday.  Harper will hold a meeting with aboriginal leaders, including the face of the Idle No More movement Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, Friday.  And Governor General David Lloyd Johnston will be attending.

• Harper Faces Federal Court Defeats on Cases  Related to Aboriginal Issues.  Two recent court decisions show some of the issues driving the Idle No More social movement.  From o.canada.com's Natalie Stechyson:

Treaties, land rights and economic opportunities are all on the agenda for the meeting Friday that comes almost a year to the day after a landmark gathering in Ottawa designed to renew and review the relationship between the Crown and First Nations.  

That relationship has been tested in court, with the Federal Court the focus of two cases Tuesday, including a ruling in one that said Metis and non-status Indians should be considered “Indians” under the Constitution Act, thus falling under federal jurisdiction. The ruling ended a 13-year legal battle.  

While the court didn’t say exactly how the government must work with Metis and non-status Indians, it expected that off-reserve aboriginals would have just as much right to consult with the government over proposed legislation as do those on-reserve.  

In the second case, two Alberta-based First Nations are taking the Harper government to court over its budget legislation, adding another layer to the actions aboriginals have taken across the country to protest Bills C-45 and C-38. The chief of one of the First Nations at the centre of the case, said the request for judicial review was a separate and distinct process from Idle No More, the actions of hunger-striking chief Theresa Spence, and the meeting Friday.

• Making Friday's Meeting Successful.  What constitutes success for Friday's meeting?  The National Post offers an insightful editorial  from University of Calgary professor and former chief of staff to the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 2006-2008 Jean-Sébastien Rioux:

Leaving aside the specific controversies surrounding Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike, or whether Idle No More’s criticisms of omnibus Bill C-45 have merit, let us focus on the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and aboriginal leaders on January 11. What would constitute success? What could move the file in a productive direction, for both the government and First Nations?  

I have some insight into these issues, having served as the chief of staff to Jim Prentice, Prime Minister Harper’s first Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister (as the Department was then called), after the Conservatives formed government in early 2006. We dealt with all these difficult issues then, including the backlash from “cancelling” Paul Martin’s Kelowna Accord, which promised $5-billion in cash to First Nation, Inuit and Métis leaders days before the December 2005 writ.  

There were successes, and they were built on a policy of keeping the channels of communication open, and continuing to meet with aboriginal leaders through thick and thin. Prentice led the federal plan to improve water quality on reserves; matrimonial real property legislation was introduced to protect the rights of women who divorced on reserve; settlement of comprehensive claims in British Columbia, including Tsawwassen and Maa-nulth, were concluded — with more to come. And, of powerful symbolic importance was the agreement to settle the sad legacy of Residential Schools.  

So, while many of today’s issues seem intractable, success in advancing tough files can be achieved with the right set of people at the table, and through perseverance.  

... 

To return to the original question: What would constitute success on Friday?  

First of all, the Prime Minister and national aboriginal leaders should refocus the broadly-titled agenda items: No one can honestly tackle “Inherent Aboriginal and Treaty Rights” in one gathering. Focusing on, say, economic development would be a practical solution.  

Within a known set of parameters, such as the budgetary envelope for the next five years, a joint AFN-Government of Canada Task Force with a strong mandate could be appointed to write a plan to engage the country’s most significant untapped labour force by the end of this calendar year. Start with a pilot project and engage successful First Nations leaders in the process as advisors and mentors (one can think of Chief Clarence Louie of Osoyoos; Chief Darcy Bear of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation; and many others).  

The danger is that the “grassroots” movement may spin out of control. The government needs the AFN to be a legitimate interlocutor, and both sides need to keep channels open and keep working together to find solutions to the difficult problems facing First Nations. Only the demonstration of progress — not just its promise — will quell the Idle No More movement.

• Attawapiskat First Nations Faces Audit, Distraction or Real Issue?  And CTV offers an interview with aboriginal activist Ellen Gabriel, who discusses the Idle No More movement in general and responds to the federal audit of Attawapiskat First Nations.  Theresa Spence is chief of Attawapiskat First Nations.

Two Countries; Two Leaders; Two Headaches: Harper Deals with Growing Idle No More Aboriginal Movement and Boehner's Seeming Sandy Legislation Misstep

By Keith Edmund White, Editor-in-Chief

Two growing news-stories with two very different routes to prominence. 

In Canada the Idle No More movement, which started as a series of teach-ins, has now turned into a growing social movement propelled by Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike.  After 23 days of nothing more than fish borth and herbal tea, Spence still remains strong in her demand: a meeting with Prime Minister Harper.

And in the United States, what was thought to be the end of 'Drama-Filled December' with the fiscal cliff resolved has been jolted by reaction to Speaker Boehner's decision to not permit a vote of Senate-passed Hurricane disaster relief legislation.

Idle No More Aboriginal Movement Is Growing, But to What End?

CTVNews.ca and Jordan Press at Canada.com offer a good primer for the Idle No More Movement. 

From CTVNew.ca:

Attention to the growing movement was sparked in part by Chief Theresa Spence, who launched a hunger strike last month in a bid to secure a face-to-face meeting with Stephen Harper. Spence has taken up residence on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River, wanting to discuss issues at Attawapiskat, her First Nations community located on James Bay.

Spence is also calling for a new relationship between the federal government and First Nations peoples.  

Her hunger strike stretched into Day 23 on Wednesday, with Spence vowing to survive on nothing more than fish broth and herbal tea until a meeting is set.

The broader Idle No More movement urges the federal government to honour historic treaty agreements, and organizers are concerned that Bill C-45 -- the omnibus federal budget bill which they say erodes aboriginal rights -- was drafted with no input from aboriginal leaders.

From O.Canada.com:

Rail blockades have already taken place in Quebec and Ontario as demonstrations take place around the world, and Spence’s spokespeople said Wednesday in a written statement that the situation “is becoming more volatile.”

The statement added that chiefs who met in Ottawa last week plan to launch “countrywide economic disturbances” if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t meet with Spence.

On social media, activists were calling for blockades of border crossings on Saturday “to show the government that we are willing to escalate this to a point where we shut down the country.”

The movement, which started as a series of teach-ins on a small Saskatchewan reserve, has grown into a national movement that is now receiving international attention.
Spence has become a focal point for Idle No More, subsiding on nothing more than fish broth and water since Dec. 11. She has said she’ll starve herself to death if Harper doesn’t meet with her, but has also suggested that a meeting between the government and native chiefs to discuss treaty concerns would suffice.

Harper has so far not said if he will meet with Spence. Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has offered to meet with Spence, but she has declined his offers.

On New Year’s Day, a close aide to Spence sent a letter to the founders of Idle No More which quotes Spence as saying that chiefs “must humble themselves and be one with the brave grassroots citizens of our nations.

But Keith Beardsley at HuffingtonPost.ca questions whether the Idle No More continued demand for a meeting with Harper may preclude the best outcome: both PM Harper and Chief Spence to have a face-saving way to improve the the challenges facing First Nations People.

From Beardsley's column where he urges Harper to meet with National Chief Shawn Atleo and former Prime Minister Joe Clark, and for Chief Spence to declare victory--steps which then allow both sides to begin substanial dialogue:

Chief Spence has succeeded in galvanizing First Nations communities, activists and youth to take action. Her efforts have helped the "Idle No more" movement which started in Saskatchewan, to take root and grow into a national movement. The movement will not go away any time soon and it is something both the present and future Canadian governments, as well as the First Nations leadership will have to deal with. There is more than enough here for Chief Spence to declare victory.
The Prime Minister also needs a face-saving victory. No national government regardless of its political stripe can be seen to give into a protest for the precedent it will set. He too, needs a way out. Victory for Harper will be one where he can say he did not give in to the protest.

Harper needs to reach out beyond his inner circle, cabinet and departmental advisors. Their advice is stale and hasn't worked so far.

...

Solutions exist, but both sides have to show flexibility, they also need a win-win situation. Both sides want to improve living conditions for First Nations, both sides also want increased opportunities for First Nations, especially for the youth. Who then will be the first to offer a hand in friendship this time and allow the dialogue to begin?

U.S. House Speaker's Sandy Misstep (and now mending):  Growing Criticism Over Boehner's Decision to Not Bring Senate-Passed Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill to a Vote  

This morning on the House Floor, and now with New Jersey Governor's press conference this afternoon, the excoriations of House Speaker Boehner's decision to pull Sandy relief legislation is growing, and getting more and more play throughout the cable news echo-chamber.

Christie's powerful opening statement at his press conference two hours ago included: 

"Last night politics was placed before our oath to serve our citizens.  For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch...Last night the House of  Representatives failed that most basic test of public service, and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state."

You can watch Christie's opening statement via YouTube, and definitely check-out the full presser courtesy of C-Span. 

Why has passing the Sandy bill so hard for Boehner?  Well, no one seems entirely sure--apparently there was a commitment to vote on the bill that then fizzled.  But FOXNews says the complaints from Republicans--particularly House Rep. Peter King and Christie--may be for show:

Less than an hour after Christie’s press conference, Republican lawmakers confirmed that the backlash against Boehner was mostly for show, announcing that the Speaker promised a vote on the Sandy aid package on Friday.

Rep. Peter King, R-NY, who earlier Wednesday said that anyone donating money to House Republicans is “out of their mind”, told reporters that he planned to back Boehner for Speaker again.

Update:  Boehner mends fences by agreeing to two votes on January 15, reports The Hill:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has agreed to hold two votes on Hurricane Sandy aid after coming under withering fire from New York and New Jersey Republicans.

The House will vote to provide $9 billion to shore up the National Flood Insurance Program on Friday and will vote on another $51 billion Sandy spending package on Jan. 15, according to GOP aides after a meeting between Boehner and GOP lawmakers from the affected states.