To date I have restricted any blog subject to "happenings" hereabouts (Six Nations of the Grand River). However today there was an event so egregious, so outlandish in relation to the Aboriginal community in general, that the horizon will be expanded at least for this one occasion.
The recently "leaked" version of a "public inquiry report" has been picked up by journalists for the CBC (the Trudeau Government journalistic outlet) to Arab reporters at Al Jazeera (see here). The conclusions of the "report" could easily have been predicted in advance knowing the agendas of the participants. Here we once again see a situation where Native people refuse to accept any blame for a problem and instead attribute it to racism, colonialism, and now the most inappropriately used word yet seen in an official report - genocide.
After many years and a lot of press coverage, Prime Minister Trudeau capitulated to the incessant calls for an inquiry into the perceived high percentage of Indigenous women who have been murdered or gone missing. So after the expenditure of $92 million Canadian taxpayer dollars (who lined their pockets, and are railing against Canada?). The, "National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls" apparently concluded that, almost 1,200 indigenous women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012. The reason given by the authors of the report is that, "We do know that thousands of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) have been lost to the Canadian genocide to date," said the report, titled "Reclaiming Power and Place". Further that, indigenous women and girls faced a disproportionately high level of violence through "state actions and actions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies".
This very political, highly biased "report" needs to be seen for what it is - a document that had come to a conclusion long prior to hearing any testimony. Of course those see at the "hearings" were going to provide "evidence" that would be "proof" of some sort of "genocide". Those interested in the truth as opposed to lies and distortions may wish to read the article by Chris Seely in the "National Post" here. As Seeley notes, if this was anything beyond a political exercise the Commission would have included Indigenous males in the "study" - since they have a three fold higher likelihood of dying from violence (mostly at the hand of other Aboriginal males) than women. In the words of Selley,
"From the moment they decided to exclude male Indigenous Canadians, we knew the result was going to be more ideological exercise than roadmap to change". Clearly "men don't matter" in the world view of the "Commissioners", and neither does the truth. Unless we stare the truth in the face, change will never occur - and the Commissioners consistently chose to avoid exploring "internal" causes of problems and instead shuffle the mantle of blame on Canada - and to spice it up, use the word genocide.
Frankly, this author never expected even such a biased group to use a word that puts the average Canadian citizen in the same league as the German people in 1939, and the government composed of officials such as Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, and Spier who were fully cognizant and fully complicit in the extermination of 6 million Jews and other "undesirables". One might ask how can this group of "commissioners" in all good conscience use the word "genocide". They have only succeeded in ensuring that their words are seen as outlandishly radical, and their views woefully distorted and out of touch with history, and the facts. To equate the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women to the Holocaust is simply unacceptable, and the entire "report" needs to be called into question.
Since the author does know something of the matter, and has been exposed to the dysfunction in Native communities since the 1970s, the following reasons are offered as a more valid explanation of the disproportionately high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women:
1) Poverty.
2) Isolation.
3) Inordinate substance abuse including alcohol, other drugs, and chemicals (such as huffing gasoline which resulted in every child in a northern community being moved south to Newfoundland - Labrador for their own safety).
4) Extremely high rates of fetal alcohol abuse spectrum disorder.
5) Off the charts rates of physical, sexual, emotional abuse, and neglect / denying a child the necessities of life (including vigilance against human predators) - with other members of the community including close family members being the perpetrators.
6) Hopelessness - often due to the above, and leading to suicide.
7) Risky behaviour - often due to the above - which manifests as hitchhiking, to substance abuse, and working in the sex trade. They will also, as do many abused women, have a tendency to seek out men who confirm their sense of self worth, staying with perpetrators and failing to press charges (sometimes until it is too late by which time they have been killed by their domestic partners).
The conclusion is that Native women are more vulnerable, and hence preyed upon by the more sordid members of society (Native and non - Native).
It should be self evident that when the above circumstances are addressed appropriately, the number of missing and murdered women will diminish to levels seen in other Canadians. To date, despite the billions of Canadian taxpayer dollars thrown at the problem there has been little in the way of positive results. There are some exceptions of course which give hope that the problem could be reduced. Communities with positive outcomes include Osoyoos, British Columbia where the community itself has largely addressed their own problems, and the Reserves of Southern Ontario where problems of this nature exist, but not near the level seen in northern communities. In isolated impoverished communities where the old ways are gone, and there is little to replace them, the situation is ripe for dysfunction to flourish.
So whose fault is this acknowledged problem?
Until these Aboriginal advocates recognize the true source of the problems, "solutions" are hopeless and an utter waste of more time and resources leading to the same outcome - no change. Is the average Canadian (who has probably never met and Aboriginal person - except perhaps passed out in a bus stop thus reinforcing stereotypes) supposed to feel guilty about a problem which has nothing to do with them, and everything to do with the communities that these unfortunate women come from.
So Canada once again, and for no good rational reason, gives into these "Aboriginal pressure groups". The Commissioners had no misgivings about accepting the princely sum of $92 million dollars from Canadian taxpayers knowing full well they ultimately intended to spit in the face of Canadians, and give Canada a black eye on the world stage. It is now fashionable, worldwide, to believe everything that Aboriginals say, and so there will be many horrified at the contents of this "report". What they don't understand of course is that this is a political exercise and power play. The whole warped and distorted enterprise, which is based on a house of cards, will be eagerly lapped up by those on the far left of the political spectrum - to the detriment of the average Canadian who once again sees their wallet / purse picked for a highly questionable "cause".
In summary, the stated reason for the high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, "Canadian genocide" is meant to deflect from the true reason, which is the extraordinary dysfunction seen in the communities from which these women hail.
There is indeed a crisis but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the only solution is to disband and dismantle all Reserves, as Prime Minister Trudeau's own father proposed in the 1960s. The situation has only become worse since then, and drastic action must be taken before billions more Canadian dollars are thrown at a set of circumstances for which only full integration into the Canadian mosaic will work. Otherwise the suffering will continue unabated, and there will be more missing and murdered women, and those responsible will be the Indian leadership and White apologists who are willing to trade lives for the opportunity to participate in political expediency (and in the case of Indigenous leadership, enrich themselves in the process).
Fallout: In recent days some fairly predictable events have occurred. First, Prime Minister Trudeau was ultimately badgered into agreeing (showing utter lack of spine) that the murdered and missing Indigenous women situation constituted a "genocide". I expect that he inquired of each of the Commissioners, "which cheek would you like me to kiss first".
Secondly, the "news" got the attention of the wider world, used to having Canada criticize their own human rights records. So now the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes countries known to have spotless human rights records such as Nicaragua, will grill Canada over this new revelation of supposed atrocities permeating Canada - see here. This is the direct result of the "black eye" Canada and Canadians have been given by these self serving and biased "Commissioners".
In full throttle disgust.
** Updated 6 June 2019.
DY.
