Atawapiskat
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog
Re: Atawapiskat
Does the band not stock a supply of basic material for repair of their houses. No need for the buildings to be in such a state of disrepair,
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Meatservo
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Re: Atawapiskat
Guys, I think you're missing my point a little bit. You don't need to worry about me: I have a pretty good job and I've done things in and out of aviation you'd probably be pretty impressed by.CpnCrunch wrote:No, I think Meatservo is exactly right, and the vast majority of people live like that. I'm sure Meatservo had to move around to find jobs early in his career, but most people are too lazy to even do that.av8ts wrote:Sorry Meatservo but I think that is a horrible defeatist attitude. If our ancestors though like that we would all still be living in mud and stick huts in Africa and Europe. Like doesn't just happen "to" you. You go out and make it happen. That 1000 mile journey starts with one step
Not everyone is ambitious or adventurous. Out of a band of 100 hunter gatherers, it was probably one or two that explored a few hundred miles away, then one or two leaders who encouraged the band to move. Similar for the creativity and individualism to decide to put a different type of roof on your house to everyone else, or to build your house from a different material, etc.
If everyone was adventurous the human race would likely die out pretty quickly because everyone would always be out exploring new areas and nobody would have time to do all the boring-but-important stuff like gather food, raise children, etc.
My POINT was that if an average professional person with all of life's advantages can be temporarily immobilized by a small bout of non-chronic depression, imagine what can happen to a population whose average member has valid cause to suffer chronic, systemic and life-long discouragement.
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself
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oldncold
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Re: Atawapiskat
in the interest of not being band of reserve (b.c.r.) d i will keep my statements simple in point form
1/ native leadership dont trust white man education due previous history
2 funding formula of block grants per capitia to band councils provides no incentive for change, because an educated native person will more than likely seek a better life off reserve where which reduces the income and fiefdoms of local band chiefs not a smart play over a few generations .
3/when mining town runs out of ore it shuts down > sandon BC// Cassiar BC // Kitsalt bc // just to name a few we should look at this in the same hard light //no economic opportunity is the root cause, and all the fed money does is postpone this inevitable truth .This the real injustice to both native and non native alike
4/ the feds should stop lying to native peoples there are 600+ reserves and not a chance in hell that we can fund all to a descent standard of living. chiefs in each treaty area should hold election to decide which 1 or two should be properly funded the rest closed and cleaned up. they can live anywhere as all Canadians can but if you want services this where they are.
5/ 99 percent of Canadians have no racism to natives BUT THEY DO ALOT OF ANGER to weak and inept gov'ts as previous poster have alluded to about the social welfare industry ;consultants ,theory experts , do gooders pissing billions down rat-holes while they pay 40 percent in taxes with no end in sight or =return on the money .
1/ native leadership dont trust white man education due previous history
2 funding formula of block grants per capitia to band councils provides no incentive for change, because an educated native person will more than likely seek a better life off reserve where which reduces the income and fiefdoms of local band chiefs not a smart play over a few generations .
3/when mining town runs out of ore it shuts down > sandon BC// Cassiar BC // Kitsalt bc // just to name a few we should look at this in the same hard light //no economic opportunity is the root cause, and all the fed money does is postpone this inevitable truth .This the real injustice to both native and non native alike
4/ the feds should stop lying to native peoples there are 600+ reserves and not a chance in hell that we can fund all to a descent standard of living. chiefs in each treaty area should hold election to decide which 1 or two should be properly funded the rest closed and cleaned up. they can live anywhere as all Canadians can but if you want services this where they are.
5/ 99 percent of Canadians have no racism to natives BUT THEY DO ALOT OF ANGER to weak and inept gov'ts as previous poster have alluded to about the social welfare industry ;consultants ,theory experts , do gooders pissing billions down rat-holes while they pay 40 percent in taxes with no end in sight or =return on the money .
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Tubthumper
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Re: Atawapiskat
Let’s be clear, what’s going on in the Northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat is awful – the attempted suicides, the suicide pacts, the decrepit housing and foul water, the chronic unemployment, substance abuse and general despair.
But let’s be equally clear: a legion of government social workers flown in from down south, visits by consoling cabinet ministers, emergency Parliamentary debates and a few barge loads more of taxpayer dollars aren’t going to make an ounce of difference.
Because the problem is neither lack of government nor lack of other people’s money.
When we see images of the squalid homes in Attawapiskat (or scores of other northern reserves) and hear about how residents use buckets as toilets because their towns lack water and sewers, we wonder how such Third World conditions can occur in a First World country such as Canada.
It’s only natural, then, to conclude First Nations are being starved for funds by Ottawa or the provinces.
Then you hear someone such as Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day say “What if even just 25% of the profits from the diamond mine [90km from Attawapiskat] went to the First Nation, do you think they’d have a new school? They might have two or three. Do you think they’d maybe have a swimming pool for the kids? I think so.”
And that sounds pretty reasonable to you.
But consider this: Diamond company DeBeers already pays the Attawapiskat council nearly $3 million a year for a town of under 2,000 people.
Five years ago, DeBeers gave the community 22 housing units after former Chief Theresa Spence declared a housing emergency. Spence (whose Idle No More hunger strike made her famous) was only too happy to tour southern reporters around the walled tents and uninsulated shacks some residents were living in during the winter. But what most newscasts missed were the empty DeBeers units that Spence and council couldn’t figure out how to distribute.
The mining company has also done over $350 million in business with companies at Attawapiskat since 2006 to supply DeBeers with helicopters, camp catering, fuel, dynamite and other supplies. Many of those businesses are owned by the band.
The proceeds are supposed to go towards new housing, sanitation and recreation. But by the looks of Attawapiskat, the money isn’t making it to where it’s supposed to go.
Moreover, one in seven adults at Attawapiskat is employed by DeBeers – 20% of the mine’s workforce.
Ottawa sends the community another $18 million or more a year, plus more for new houses. Then there is the million or more from the Ontario government and a similar amount from a revenue-sharing agreement for proceeds from aboriginal casinos in southern Ontario.
It’s not uncommon for the Attawapiskat council to receive $30 million annually, or somewhere around $18,000 per resident.
A typical non-aboriginal community in Northern Ontario would have revenues of about $3,500, mostly from its own taxes. It wouldn’t have to pay for its residents’ clinics or housing, the way the First Nation does, but it would have to pay some of its own infrastructure, plus sewage, snow clearing, garbage collection, policing, rec centers and so on.
Now recall that an audit of Attawapiskat’s books in 2013 found over 80% of the band’s transactions lacked sufficient paperwork to determine where or how the money was spent.
The problem is not too little money. If anything, it’s too much money – money that comes too easily and is replaced too quickly if the first batch dries up; money with too few strings attached and too little accountability; that leaves the impression the solution to Attawapiskat’s woes are someone else’s responsibility.
....and where does the $$ go, anyways.....?
But let’s be equally clear: a legion of government social workers flown in from down south, visits by consoling cabinet ministers, emergency Parliamentary debates and a few barge loads more of taxpayer dollars aren’t going to make an ounce of difference.
Because the problem is neither lack of government nor lack of other people’s money.
When we see images of the squalid homes in Attawapiskat (or scores of other northern reserves) and hear about how residents use buckets as toilets because their towns lack water and sewers, we wonder how such Third World conditions can occur in a First World country such as Canada.
It’s only natural, then, to conclude First Nations are being starved for funds by Ottawa or the provinces.
Then you hear someone such as Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day say “What if even just 25% of the profits from the diamond mine [90km from Attawapiskat] went to the First Nation, do you think they’d have a new school? They might have two or three. Do you think they’d maybe have a swimming pool for the kids? I think so.”
And that sounds pretty reasonable to you.
But consider this: Diamond company DeBeers already pays the Attawapiskat council nearly $3 million a year for a town of under 2,000 people.
Five years ago, DeBeers gave the community 22 housing units after former Chief Theresa Spence declared a housing emergency. Spence (whose Idle No More hunger strike made her famous) was only too happy to tour southern reporters around the walled tents and uninsulated shacks some residents were living in during the winter. But what most newscasts missed were the empty DeBeers units that Spence and council couldn’t figure out how to distribute.
The mining company has also done over $350 million in business with companies at Attawapiskat since 2006 to supply DeBeers with helicopters, camp catering, fuel, dynamite and other supplies. Many of those businesses are owned by the band.
The proceeds are supposed to go towards new housing, sanitation and recreation. But by the looks of Attawapiskat, the money isn’t making it to where it’s supposed to go.
Moreover, one in seven adults at Attawapiskat is employed by DeBeers – 20% of the mine’s workforce.
Ottawa sends the community another $18 million or more a year, plus more for new houses. Then there is the million or more from the Ontario government and a similar amount from a revenue-sharing agreement for proceeds from aboriginal casinos in southern Ontario.
It’s not uncommon for the Attawapiskat council to receive $30 million annually, or somewhere around $18,000 per resident.
A typical non-aboriginal community in Northern Ontario would have revenues of about $3,500, mostly from its own taxes. It wouldn’t have to pay for its residents’ clinics or housing, the way the First Nation does, but it would have to pay some of its own infrastructure, plus sewage, snow clearing, garbage collection, policing, rec centers and so on.
Now recall that an audit of Attawapiskat’s books in 2013 found over 80% of the band’s transactions lacked sufficient paperwork to determine where or how the money was spent.
The problem is not too little money. If anything, it’s too much money – money that comes too easily and is replaced too quickly if the first batch dries up; money with too few strings attached and too little accountability; that leaves the impression the solution to Attawapiskat’s woes are someone else’s responsibility.
....and where does the $$ go, anyways.....?
