After years of inaction on critical Aboriginal land and resource matters and its refusal to protect the sacred burial sites of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation on Big Trout Lake, the Government of Ontario finally showed signs of conceding. In March 2012, the McGuinty Government relented to public pressure and issued a temporary stop to all mining activity on KI land, but the moratorium didn’t apply to Toronto-based God’s Lake Resources, which staked its claims early enough to get in under the wire. A month later, facing the negative publicity of the KI campaign, the government was forced to pay $3.5 million to the company to abandon its claims.
The victory rewarded a hard-fought campaign that saw KI leaders jailed for 68 days in 2008 but the battle left a bitter taste in the mouths of Ontario’s Aboriginal communities and social justice activists. It has also failed to translate into responsible action to live up to other treaty and humanitarian obligations in several other Aboriginal communities in Ontario.
“With the people of Grassy Narrows are facing the dire effects of fifty years of Mercury poisoning, developers threatening the Six Nations territory and many Aboriginal communities facing boil water alerts and dilapidated schools, the McGuinty government has no excuse for its failure to act,” said OFL President Sid Ryan. “Access to quality drinking water, healthcare, public services, education, training, and good jobs are basic rights that should be afforded to all people.”
June 21 was first proclaimed National Aboriginal Day by Canadian Parliament in 1996 but, today, First Nations, Inuit and Métis people throughout Canada continue to struggle for justice and human rights. Across Ontario, workers are joining Aboriginal people in celebrating their many cultures and recognizing their important contributions to our workplaces, our communities and the labour movement.
National Aboriginal Day is significant for the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) and the over one million organized Ontario workers it represents. Aboriginal communities play a major role in challenging our society and governments at all levels to take action on critical issues, such as ending violence against women, enshrining the right to education for all children and establishing climate justice.
Over the last two decades, the Aboriginal population has grown by 45 percent compared to an eight percent growth rate for non-Aboriginals. This population is, on average, 13 years younger than the non-Aboriginal population and will have a growing impact on the labour movement and the Canadian economy. Ontario is home to one in five of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. This growing demographic of young Aboriginal people will enter Canada’s workforce with a strong sense of their identity and their rights.
“The treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples have become a disgraceful series of broken promises,” said Joanne Webb, OFL Vice-President Representing Aboriginal People. “Through public pressure, we have managed to reverse the Harper government’s refusal to sign on to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but we have yet to see genuine action to defend the next generation of Aboriginal people.”
Ontario’s complicity in decimating the way of life of the Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabek on the Grassy Narrows’ English-Wabigoon River is evidenced by a shameful history of clear-cut logging, mining, residential schools, hydro damming, relocation, and mercury poisoning. Unfortunately, it is a story that is all too familiar across the province, but many communities are fighting back. The OFL and countless community organizations have proudly backed the FreeGrassy.org campaign, as well as the Haudenosaunee land reclamation efforts undertaken by the people of the Six Nations in Kanonhstaton, outside of Caledonia. The Federation also continues to support Shannen’s Dream campaign to bring “safe and comfy schools” to Attawapiskat First Nation and the many grossly underserved Aboriginal communities throughout the province.
“Ontario’s educational system guarantees every child the fundamental right to an education, but this right does not exist for First Nation’s children,” said OFL Executive Vice-President Irwin Nanda. “Shannen Koostachin became the face of a generation of forgotten First Nation school children but it is up to every conscientious person in the province to demand that our governments finally end the double-standard that exists between First Nation schools and provincially-funded schools.”
It is only through solidarity that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginals workers and community members will be able to ensure that Canada lives up to its treaty obligations and takes meaningful action towards implementing the tenets of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For More Information:
Joel Duff, Communications Director
p: 416-443-7665 | m: 416-707-0349 | f: 416-441-1893
Toll-free: 1-800-668-9138
