Op-ed: Government inaction contributes to cycle of violence
- John Lagimodiere | March 25, 2014
The time has come for all Canadians to stand up and demand an inquiry into the tragedy of the massive numbers of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. According to the Native Women's Association of Canada, the number is close to six hundred, but that number is purported to be a low estimate. If it was six hundred children, or new Canadians, or middle class white ladies, there would be outrage, endless media coverage and an all out inquiry.
A parliamentary report tabled earlier this month made 16 recommendations intended to address the violence faced by aboriginal women in Canada, but did not suggest the government set up an independent public inquiry. The behaviour of the current federal government is an embarrassment. As always they stick to the party line. "We have a program for that!" "We will work with those that are 'willing'!" It is almost like a hypnotic chant. Or as Justice Minister Peter McKay put it in the House of Commons, "I do not want to stop the action and the forward-looking policies of this government to stop and have an inquiry. I want to say we will keep doing what we have been doing." Which, if you look, the government is doing nothing other than cutting budgets of groups that work to improve the lives of Aboriginal women as well as starving out bands in education, health, housing and other federal responsibilities. This leads to more poverty and the vicious cycle continues.
Unfortunately, in Canada Aboriginal women are treated as second class people. They are victims of the highest levels of domestic violence in Canada and three times more likely to be victims of violence. Aboriginal women's homicide rates are almost seven times higher than those of non-Aboriginal females. Remember, these are just reported numbers. How many people are suffering their abuse or violence in silence? Tragic.
So please dear readers. Keep up the awareness and tell all of your friends to sign petitions and reach out to your local Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly. They are the ones that can help. For the record though, dont bother talking to Conservative MP Brad Trost. He is too busy trying to deny women the right to an abortion, rather than doing something tangible to change and improves the lives of Aboriginal women.
SNTC play
The play Reunir, written by P.J. Prudat tells the heartbreaking story of Métis women post battle of Batoche. Even though the subject is hard hitting-for example more Métis women and children died in the year following the battle than soldiers on both sides of the conflict-the story was told with compassion and humour.
The play was the culmination of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Companies Circle of Voices program. Several high school students and young adults attended evening programs where they learned Métis history and then worked with playwright Prudat to tell the story. It all came together in a mesmerizing hour of laughter and tears.
The women and children of Batoche suffered miserably. The biggest causes of death were tuberculosis and starvation. You have to remember that government forces effectively decimated the community. Houses and businesses were looted, farms were burned and over 70 Métis were arrested for treason and taken to Stony Mountain in Manitoba to serve their sentences. With the men gone and the community ravaged, the women and children paid the ultimate price.
Stories like these have not been told in our schools, robbing Canadians of understating our true national history. Thankfully we have groups like Gabriel Dumont Institute and young people like the Circle of Voices working on telling our story. And once that story is told, people will realize the immense contribution and sacrifice of Métis women after the Battle of Batoche, all the way to the present.
Fire support
Another house fire on reserve has led to another tragedy. A federal government study suggests that First Nation people are 10 times more likely to die in a fire than the rest of the population. Four children have died in house fires on reserve in Saskatchewan since September.
The Aboriginal Firefighters' Association of Canada (AFAC) has come forward and is now lobbying the federal government to implement a Canada wide fire prevention policy that would mandate training fire inspectors at all First Nations. If proper building codes are followed on reserves and fire alarms were made available, these deaths could have been prevented. Currently First nations are exempt from national building codes and fire codes. That makes no sense what so ever. Please spend the $25 and get yourself a couple smoke detectors for your house, makes a great gift to your family.