Thunder Bay Weather Forecast, Canada


Home  »  The mishandling of the situation in Attawapiskat is coming home to roost

The mishandling of the situation in Attawapiskat is coming home to roost

Written by: James Murray on February 2, 2012.

John DuncanTHUNDER BAY – Editorial – The mishandling of the situation in Attawapiskat is coming home to roost on the desk of Minister John Duncan. The Minister doesn’t seem to be capable of comprehending that the millions of dollars expended on modular homes isn’t going to solve the problem this winter. There are no sites for the homes. There is nothing prepared to put in the waterlines, sewage lines, and electrical service for heat into these new homes. The Minister is claiming that his third party manager is simply awaiting the information from the First Nation so the sites can be prepared.

Sources tell NNL that it is very possible that the power grid in Attawapiskat won’t be able to handle the demands of the new modular homes. The Third Party Manager who Minister Duncan has credited with making the purchase of those homes, is likely to wish that that credit was given elsewhere. However the move into third party management which appears to be a hamfisted reaction from the Minister, who has yet to visit to community since the crisis started, is now set to hamper the school year for all the students from Attawapiskat. It is interesting, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives have hammered Ontario’s Ring of Fire Co-ordinator for never having set foot in the Ring of Fire. Yet the federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister appears to be following the same playbook. I digress.

When the Minister placed Attawapiskat in Third Party Management, MP Charlie Angus shared that by making that decision, Minister John Duncan was putting the school year at risk for all the students from Attawapiskat. There are agreements to fund education that Angus asserted in early January which were going to be broken by the Minister’s actions.

Angus stated, “The Christmas break gave Duncan the chance to change the channel and move the story elsewhere. Instead, the Conservatives made claims on the Healing Lodge they couldn’t back up. They are locked in a fight with the community about the Third Party Manager taking over control of the education budget”.

“When Duncan says the Band is failing to supply ‘information’ he doesn’t say, or doesn’t understand, that writing cheques at the Education Authority includes intervening in agreements with: teachers, post-secondary off reserve students, high school student tuition agreements in Timmins-North Bay, boarding house arrangements, supplies for the portables, etc, etc,” continued Angus. “Having a third party dude from WInnipeg take control of every education agreement is unnecessary and will lead to numerous problems. As it stands now, if the Band doesn’t comply, these education agreements and payments will be nullified”.

Watching Minister Duncan during the Crown First Nations Gathering, one senses that Duncan would be an excellent Parliamentary Assistant, rather than the Minister. Coming in to give his speech to the Gathering, you could see everyone in the audience looking around. Duncan was late walking in. His words were good, but his actions have in effect caused damage to the relationships between the Government and First Nations.

In Question Period, Minister Duncan often appears like a deer caught in the headlights. Wednesday during Question Period, Duncan first tried to say the concerns raised by Charlie Angus were all fabrications, and added he couldn’t comment about a matter which was before the courts. Then in his supplementary, he proceeded to answer the question he first said was a fabrication and he couldn’t comment on. It all makes for a very confusing process.

The Liberal leader, the NDP leader and a score of officials have all made the trip to Attawapiskat to see the conditions and get a feel for the community’s problems first hand. Minister Duncan and the Prime Minister have not made the journey. Perhaps it is time for Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo to invite Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan to come with him to Attawapiskat?

Maybe by getting “boots on the ground” and seeing for himself that this is a community that is trying really hard, and that this constant blame game isn’t helping will allow the Minister and the First Nation to honestly demonstrate that Prime Minister Harper is serious about making a real difference in Canada’s First Nations.

James Murray
Chief Content Officer

  • Rirwin

    Minister duncan is doing a good job.
    Charlie Angus has been the rep for this community for at least 10 years and never said anything. MR DUNCAN IS A DEER THAT HAS BEEN THRUST INTO THE HEADLIGHTS BY  CHARLIE ANGUS, A WOLF CIRCLING IN FOR A KILL,UNNOTICED FOR 10 YEARS ,LACK OF ANY recognition to Attawapiskat ON HIS PART,HAS DONE NOTHING, NOW ONLY BECAUSE HE HAS DRWAWN BLOOD HE CAN CIRCLE IN FOR A KILL. I  am a trapper and would throw Charlie back to the ravens, spoiled meat, bad catch by the electorate.

  • Anonymous

    All it takes is a few moments on Google to find out that from the day after Angus was elected, he was talking about Attawapiskat. He has worked with successive Ministers, or tried.

    With Minister Duncan, he is the one who went on the media to share he had not heard from Charlie Angus about Attawapiskat. As Minister one might think it would be his job. The FN was in co-management, and all decisions made were with the Department and Minister’s approval.

  • Tired of the baloney

    Where did all the money go? Not just here but all over Canada. You are obviously a Liberal or NDP shrill. Monies have been going missing for many years with very little to show for it. Chief Atleo keeps calling for the UN to intervene. I say bring them on. Of course bring along the Un people who determined that of all the billions of dollars that were sent to Africa only pennies made it to the continent and then the warlords took that. The deplorable conditions never being improved. No different here. 

  • Anonymous

    Actually someone who tries to look past the spin.

    Prime Minister Harper told the Crown First Nations Gathering that “We are dealing with things that have been in the talk shop for twenty years”.

    Dealing with issues is a path to solving them.

    When you paint a massive picture like First Nations saying no changes are happening, then likely your experience isn’t very wide. There are a growing number of leaders and success stories out there.

  • Tired of the baloney

    I’ve lived all my life beside the largest reserve in Canada. Ive gone to school with natives. I count a great number of them as friends. Many natives wonder the same thing that I do, Where did the money go.

    In the case of the Attiwapiskat reserve we are talking 90 million dollars and you have seen the pictures. Has anything been done? No. Yet there seems to be money for lawyers. I didn’t even include the moneies that were given to the band from Debeers. Until the Assembly of First Nations open their books to an audit none of us will ever know.

    Ask Mr. Harper how the talks are going with Six Nations. I wrote to Chuck Strahl four years ago and he said that talks were the best course of action to resolve the issues. There have been no talks since.

    Perhaps my experience might be a little broader than you think.

oiopub_tracker::tracking_code();