It’s well known that in politics, statements and stories should be checked and verified by the general public so as to ensure our opinions are formed on truthful facts and not generalizations and misinformation. This is especially true when it comes to the coverage of the state of emergency on the Attawapiskat First Nations Reserve in Northern Ontario.
On October 28, 2011 Chief Theresa Spence called a state of emergency.This is the third time in three years that this has happened.The response of the Canadian government was a disappointing “we didn’t know about the housing crisis and general poverty of the reserve”, a statement which on closer inspection is difficult to believe.
The difficulty in this statement stems most quickly from the fact that the Aboriginal Affairs minister John Duncan had in fact visited the community on a number of occasions.
The government's memory of Attawapiskat’s troubles should go back father than that however. The reserve spent a little over 30 years, 1980 until 2011, demanding a school be built. Their school, built in 1976, had been demolished after large oil leaks had contaminated the schools foundation, and children and teachers became ill from the carcinogen-carrying fumes. The children of this reserve even travelled to Parliament to make their request in person.
That being said, it is difficult to accept the government's ignorance of the impoverished situation at Attawapiskat, having been pleaded with for so long just to build a basic school.
Statements to the press from Parliament proceeded to defend themselves, making claims about how much funding had already been given to Attawapiskat and implying that the crisis was due to poor management, not poor support.
The government claimed to have given Attawapiskat about $90 million for housing since 2006.However Attawapiskat’s financial records indicate that they have only received $4.3 million in funding for housing since 2006.
The solution Parliament provided was to put Attawapiskat and its finances under third party management. This solution was fiercely opposed by the reserves Chief, but has been imposed anyway. Even more unsettling than the forced imposition of third-party management is that the cost of $1300 a day is left to the community to pay.
Acknowledgement has been made that this is not an economical system, but efforts to revise the system and alleviate the heavy cost from the community have not surfaced.
The three press releases published on the Attawapiskat reserves website provide a shocking number of corrections to information provided to the public by the government.
These corrections correspond to government and media tendencies to criticize any spending done by the community.For example, the purchase of a Zamboni was questioned.Attawapiskat answered the criticism on this particular note with an explanation that their former Zamboni had met the end of it’s useful life and had become hazardous to its operators.It is criticisms like this, directed at spending which would go uncommented on in other communities, which Attawapiskat has had to answer time and time again.They have also been clear each and every time about where each penny associated with the purchase in question comes from.They even make public the relevant financial records to demonstrate that recreational and community improvement items are not purchased with funds given to them for housing or education, but from funds raised by the community.
Again and again the Chief must explain exaggerations and misstatements which cast an unfavorable light on them self, the various leadership organs of the reserve and the community as a whole.
An outcry has arisen from the declaration of a state of emergency at Attawapiskat and the subsequent lack of action.Other reserves across Canada have publicized their ownpredicaments to demonstrate that Attawapiskat is, sadly, not particularly unique.Furthermore, reserves with the luxury to be able to do so have offered support to Attawapiskat.
On December 1, 2011 the Canadian Red Cross also mobilized to aid the situation.
The devastating living conditions faced by the residents of many reserves in our country speaks volumes beyond what I could write about the priorities of our current and recent governments.
