While Senators rushed to adjourn for the holidays, a buried provision in the 2025 budget bill quietly extended Canada’s LNG export timeline to nearly half a century—past its net-zero deadline.
A very good article showing how some committees can “expedite” goals yet fail to act on others. Hansard, is there any data which shows the types of crimes Indigenous people have committed and a means of justification categorizing such crimes as major? Further, regardless of the crime, why aren’t healing lodges applicable in our cases?
StatsCan data shows high rates of mischief, common assault, and disturbing the peace in Indigenous communities. These often stem from substance use or mental health issues, not always "major" crimes like homicide or major assault, which are elevated but less common at 5% of incidents. No Hansard records a full breakdown of Indigenous crime types by "major" category, as CSC reports focus on overrepresentation. Healing lodges require minimum security classification and commitment to Indigenous spirituality; they suit many cases but exclude higher-security offenders regardless of background.
The data is likely skewed by a couple of factors. First, indigenous culture is deeply distrusting of non-aboriginal authority figures, especially law enforcement. As a result, many offenses are never reported ergo no stats. Second, when charges are forwarded for prosecution, it is very common for the Crown lawyers to defer prosecution to "alternative resolutions" like healing circles, tribal commissions etc which ends up not showing on StatsCan data either (unless they've started tracking such.
Although it's easy and somewhat accurate to say these crimes stem from substance abuse and/or mental health issues, the bitter reality is reserves are communism incarnate. The residents have no property rights; land title is held by the Crown in reserve for indigenous use. They subsist rather than thriving as there is no incentive structure; nothing to gain. As such, many people have no sense of purpose, no hope.
Massive amounts of money get thrown at reserves and yet no-one gets ahead. Even the elected chiefs who pay themselves like kings don't really have much to show for it. So where does the money go? The Aboriginal Grievance Industry, for the most part.
It is interesting how much colonial mythology is in this reply. I know where these ideas come from, and I believed them in my youth before I started to learn past the Dominion of Canada's marketing material. I was also part of the Canadian settler-colonial propaganda Grievance Industry, not knowing there were any other options.
You may want to start with a recognition that the Canadian Crown lies, and has been trying to assimilate people into the Canadian body politic since those foreign institutions were imposed on this land.
I also believe people need to move past trying to impose their values and culture on others. While the Western European "Enlightenment" (fixation on individualism, and a form of property which grants exclusivity without responsibility, etc) might have been a useful incremental step away from European feudalism, that does not make it a superior set of systems above everything else that humanity has come up with.
The same with other Eurocentric economic theories, including Capitalism, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, or Leninism - which are more similar to each other than any of those European theories have to economic theories that originated outside of Europe. White Marx might have received some inspiration from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (participatory democratic since the late 1100’s), that does not mean that this still existing league of nations is “following” Marxism/Communism which continues to be interpreted only from a Eurocentric perspective by loyalists to the Canadian Crown.
There is considerable diversity in the pre-existing Nations on this continent. Even if we take the northern regions that Canada claims title to, there would be as many if not more different Westphalian nation states if there had been any interest in that Eurocentric system, and if this part of the continent was allowed to form naturally. When comparing the diversity of peoples on this northern part of the continent, it is greater than what we see in Europe (meaning, for example, UK, France, Germany and Russia are far more similar to each other than the diversity on this continent – and Europe remains at war with itself).
Indian Act band councils are not responsible governments (responsible to citizens), but federal corporations created by the Canadian Crown that are responsible to the Canadian Crown. While there are “elections”, that doesn’t make them any more “democratic” than the last remaining Absolute Monarchy (The Vatican) which also has “elections”. These are corporations that manage Canadian government services in these communities, and were never created to “succeed” as Canada has continued its assimilation policies. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) remains part of Canada's colonial Whitewashing to perpetuate myths that Canada wishes to use in relations with other UN members.
I believe it is also useful to remind people that there is a huge difference between the Greek word “genos” and the Latin word “homo”. Loyalists to the Canadian Crown have been indoctrinated to generally confuse the two, including the huge differences between the concept of Genocide and Homocide.
Note: I’m a settler of Scottish, Irish and French descent that has lived on lands that are claimed to be Southern Ontario (but was “Northern Ontario” in 1867 before all of Canada’s colonial expansion building its empire northward and westward).
But apparently I am not a True Scotsman (or a “True Canadian”)
I was reading recent committee transcripts about this. Band councils operate strictly as federal corporations. The Indian Act (the 1876 law governing reserves) forces communities to report to the Crown. Hansard records show Ottawa spends millions simply administrating this heavy bureaucracy. It frustrates me to watch the government try to fix local problems using outdated paperwork. The data clearly shows this system actively blocks traditional governance.
Thanks for participating in extending this conversation!
I know non-indigenous people who work at Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and it is far worse than most people would be willing to admit.
There is so much waste and seemingly deliberate mismanagement within this settler bureaucracy. If Canada were following its own constitution (Where Section 35 sets out separate jurisdiction much like section 91), much of this would be handled through funding capacity building and then transfers much as happens with transfer payments to Provincial Crowns.
Section 91 from 1867 granted the Federal government jurisdiction over "24.Indians, and lands reserved for the Indians", and even though Section 35 was added in 1992, that subsection 91(24) from 1867 remains intact.
Learning about the "Constitutional Express", and the dishonesty of the Canadian Crowns during the Canada Act 1982 section 37 conference, the fact that this abuse is ongoing is not surprising.
From everything I've read it seems clear that part of the ongoing purpose of the ISC bureaucracy is to suck up funding, and then allow the Dominion to claim in marketing that it is "doing its best" and that flaws are "elsewhere", rather than it being obvious the systemic problems are deliberate on the part of the Canadian Crown.
Given where I and recent ancestors have lived, I focus on nations around St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. I regularly listen to a radio show where one host is Haudenosaune (Specifically, Oneida) and the other Anishinaabe, and I follow many other Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe authors/journalists/etc.
The disconnect between how people live and govern themselves (within reservations and urban/etc) is extremely disconnected with these Canadian Federal corporations that manage Federal Government services (which, because of section 92, includes what would otherwise be provincial jurisdiction like healthcare and education).
Much of what I hear from ISC these days relate to beureaucratic nonsense to try to get around Jordan's Principle.
While only one voice, this article expresses a sentiment that is common within the Haudenosaunee who continue to try to honour the Two Row Wampum treaty (even though Canada violates treaties and its own laws constantly).
So much interesting history out there to be seen, with the only barrier being interest and a willingness to read past the marketing materials from Canada.
Again, thanks for your great blog and engaging with comments.
So if "Net Zero" is the goal the Liberals are playing chicken with, they just blinked?
A very good article showing how some committees can “expedite” goals yet fail to act on others. Hansard, is there any data which shows the types of crimes Indigenous people have committed and a means of justification categorizing such crimes as major? Further, regardless of the crime, why aren’t healing lodges applicable in our cases?
StatsCan data shows high rates of mischief, common assault, and disturbing the peace in Indigenous communities. These often stem from substance use or mental health issues, not always "major" crimes like homicide or major assault, which are elevated but less common at 5% of incidents. No Hansard records a full breakdown of Indigenous crime types by "major" category, as CSC reports focus on overrepresentation. Healing lodges require minimum security classification and commitment to Indigenous spirituality; they suit many cases but exclude higher-security offenders regardless of background.
The data is likely skewed by a couple of factors. First, indigenous culture is deeply distrusting of non-aboriginal authority figures, especially law enforcement. As a result, many offenses are never reported ergo no stats. Second, when charges are forwarded for prosecution, it is very common for the Crown lawyers to defer prosecution to "alternative resolutions" like healing circles, tribal commissions etc which ends up not showing on StatsCan data either (unless they've started tracking such.
Although it's easy and somewhat accurate to say these crimes stem from substance abuse and/or mental health issues, the bitter reality is reserves are communism incarnate. The residents have no property rights; land title is held by the Crown in reserve for indigenous use. They subsist rather than thriving as there is no incentive structure; nothing to gain. As such, many people have no sense of purpose, no hope.
Massive amounts of money get thrown at reserves and yet no-one gets ahead. Even the elected chiefs who pay themselves like kings don't really have much to show for it. So where does the money go? The Aboriginal Grievance Industry, for the most part.
It is interesting how much colonial mythology is in this reply. I know where these ideas come from, and I believed them in my youth before I started to learn past the Dominion of Canada's marketing material. I was also part of the Canadian settler-colonial propaganda Grievance Industry, not knowing there were any other options.
You may want to start with a recognition that the Canadian Crown lies, and has been trying to assimilate people into the Canadian body politic since those foreign institutions were imposed on this land.
I also believe people need to move past trying to impose their values and culture on others. While the Western European "Enlightenment" (fixation on individualism, and a form of property which grants exclusivity without responsibility, etc) might have been a useful incremental step away from European feudalism, that does not make it a superior set of systems above everything else that humanity has come up with.
The same with other Eurocentric economic theories, including Capitalism, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, or Leninism - which are more similar to each other than any of those European theories have to economic theories that originated outside of Europe. White Marx might have received some inspiration from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (participatory democratic since the late 1100’s), that does not mean that this still existing league of nations is “following” Marxism/Communism which continues to be interpreted only from a Eurocentric perspective by loyalists to the Canadian Crown.
There is considerable diversity in the pre-existing Nations on this continent. Even if we take the northern regions that Canada claims title to, there would be as many if not more different Westphalian nation states if there had been any interest in that Eurocentric system, and if this part of the continent was allowed to form naturally. When comparing the diversity of peoples on this northern part of the continent, it is greater than what we see in Europe (meaning, for example, UK, France, Germany and Russia are far more similar to each other than the diversity on this continent – and Europe remains at war with itself).
Indian Act band councils are not responsible governments (responsible to citizens), but federal corporations created by the Canadian Crown that are responsible to the Canadian Crown. While there are “elections”, that doesn’t make them any more “democratic” than the last remaining Absolute Monarchy (The Vatican) which also has “elections”. These are corporations that manage Canadian government services in these communities, and were never created to “succeed” as Canada has continued its assimilation policies. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) remains part of Canada's colonial Whitewashing to perpetuate myths that Canada wishes to use in relations with other UN members.
I believe it is also useful to remind people that there is a huge difference between the Greek word “genos” and the Latin word “homo”. Loyalists to the Canadian Crown have been indoctrinated to generally confuse the two, including the huge differences between the concept of Genocide and Homocide.
https://r.flora.ca/p/i-am-not-my-body
Note: I’m a settler of Scottish, Irish and French descent that has lived on lands that are claimed to be Southern Ontario (but was “Northern Ontario” in 1867 before all of Canada’s colonial expansion building its empire northward and westward).
But apparently I am not a True Scotsman (or a “True Canadian”)
https://r.flora.ca/p/i-am-not-a-true-scotsman
I was reading recent committee transcripts about this. Band councils operate strictly as federal corporations. The Indian Act (the 1876 law governing reserves) forces communities to report to the Crown. Hansard records show Ottawa spends millions simply administrating this heavy bureaucracy. It frustrates me to watch the government try to fix local problems using outdated paperwork. The data clearly shows this system actively blocks traditional governance.
Thanks for participating in extending this conversation!
I know non-indigenous people who work at Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and it is far worse than most people would be willing to admit.
There is so much waste and seemingly deliberate mismanagement within this settler bureaucracy. If Canada were following its own constitution (Where Section 35 sets out separate jurisdiction much like section 91), much of this would be handled through funding capacity building and then transfers much as happens with transfer payments to Provincial Crowns.
Section 91 from 1867 granted the Federal government jurisdiction over "24.Indians, and lands reserved for the Indians", and even though Section 35 was added in 1992, that subsection 91(24) from 1867 remains intact.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/30-31/3/section/91
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/11/schedule/B/paragraph/35
Learning about the "Constitutional Express", and the dishonesty of the Canadian Crowns during the Canada Act 1982 section 37 conference, the fact that this abuse is ongoing is not surprising.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/11/schedule/B/paragraph/37
https://www.nfb.ca/film/dancing_around_the_table_1/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/dancing_around_the_table_part_two/
From everything I've read it seems clear that part of the ongoing purpose of the ISC bureaucracy is to suck up funding, and then allow the Dominion to claim in marketing that it is "doing its best" and that flaws are "elsewhere", rather than it being obvious the systemic problems are deliberate on the part of the Canadian Crown.
Given where I and recent ancestors have lived, I focus on nations around St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. I regularly listen to a radio show where one host is Haudenosaune (Specifically, Oneida) and the other Anishinaabe, and I follow many other Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe authors/journalists/etc.
The disconnect between how people live and govern themselves (within reservations and urban/etc) is extremely disconnected with these Canadian Federal corporations that manage Federal Government services (which, because of section 92, includes what would otherwise be provincial jurisdiction like healthcare and education).
Much of what I hear from ISC these days relate to beureaucratic nonsense to try to get around Jordan's Principle.
While only one voice, this article expresses a sentiment that is common within the Haudenosaunee who continue to try to honour the Two Row Wampum treaty (even though Canada violates treaties and its own laws constantly).
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/the-meaning-of-elections-for-six-nations
Canada's sending in the RCMP to depose the participatory democratic Haudenosaunee Confederacy has ties to what became UNDRIP.
https://www.docip.org/en/oral-history-and-memory/historical-process/
So much interesting history out there to be seen, with the only barrier being interest and a willingness to read past the marketing materials from Canada.
Again, thanks for your great blog and engaging with comments.