Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

A slow-moving trainwreck

by Aaron Wherry on Monday, December 5, 2011 10:45am - 33 Comments

Chuck Strahl further complicates John Duncan’s complicated explanation of who knew what about Attawapiskat and when.

In an interview with CBC Radio’s The House, Strahl tells host Evan Solomon the crisis at Attawapiskat “has been a slow moving train-wreck for a long time … Attawapiskat “was always a problem,” said Strahl. ”It was not good when I was there, and I don’t think it’s appreciably, or any better now. That was well known, everybody knew it was a very difficult community for a bunch of reasons.”

Tags: Attawapiskat, Chuck Strahl, John Duncan

More by Aaron Wherry

OriginalEmily1

Of all the things Harper-Duncan could have said, the ‘Sgt Schultz’ defence was the worst choice possible.

Of course they know about it….have done for years.

They just don’t DO anything about it.
wilson

Canadians are not stupid.
They know this is nothing new.

Layton and Angus were there 5 years ago, what did they do?
Sent sporting equiptment.
Paul Martin’s answer was to throw billions more at First Nations, with no accountability.
The majority coalition has stopped any legislation to help First Nations, excluded out of the FAA, women’s rights…….etc

I think you LibDippers live in fear that PMSH will actually get the job done.

OriginalEmily1

Harper threw out the Kelowna Accord 5 minutes after he got the keys to 24 Sussex

The assumption was that Harper had a different plan to put in it’s place

He didn’t

Don’t whine to us now.
kcm2

“Paul Martin’s answer was to throw billions more at First Nations, with no accountability.”

Do you ever bother to fact check Wilson? The KA contained a provision for a FN’s Auditor General.

Calvin

Wilson may have missed that provision —-it was probably on the back of the napkin.

kcm2

Sure. The one that took 18mnths to negotiate. Why don’t you consider the possibility SH plays politics too? In fact he does little else, whether in minority or majority. The guy’s great on politics; lousy on policy.
Watch and see if he doesn’t resurrect the KA put a bit of Tory lipstick on it and sell to the gullable and credulous, cons like you.

Calvin

There may be some worthwhile parts of KA—let`s hope they saved those napkins.

Calvin

In Strahl`s interview he says that many Native communities are in a constant crisis for a variety of reasons. That has been the case for Attawapiskat for years and that is the main message Strahl puts forth.

CBC and Wherry along with other Harper-haters attempt to imply that Strahl is being critical of Duncan—he`s just telling you there is lots of problems in a lot of Reserves for a lot of years and nothing the governments have done has helped to reduce those problems.

So instead of having this constant bitch-fest from Harper-haters, it would be helpful for them to just get out of the way–don`t be lurking in back stair-ways–just shut-up if you cannot be helpful.

If the Natives have the courage to tell their leaders to get out of the way and if Harper has the courage to make wholesale changes in a tired old Dep`t like Indian Affairs, then maybe there will be a chance of improvement. Those like the CBC and others that see this most recent crisis as simply an opportunity to bash Harper will be left behind.

gtrplyr055

Calvin — I will (mostly) stop bitching about Steve when Our Glorious Leader man’s up and learns how to take responsibility (for something, anything). That’s what an adult does. I’m not holding my breath. This is a man incapable of just standing up and saying “I’m sorry. The Harper Government was wrong. Peter McKay should not be using the resources of the DND for his personal benefit — he will pay the price.” or how about, “Yes, this situation has been going on for far too long, but I will personally take responsibility for this file and make it right.” What was Dear Leader’s first public reflex? For better of worse it was to play the blame game. Is there anyone the CPC that has an emotional IQ that exceeds 14 year old male in the midst of puberty? As much as you people in the Harper Pom Pom Brigade hate to admit it, when the Liberals were caught being bad, they ultimately accepted responsibility for their actions. Pride goes before the fall.

OriginalEmily1

Nobody is ‘in the way’ of a solution except Harper….and he’s tripping over his own feet.
Calvin

The first step when you have any problem is to identify the problem.
The main problem in past policies has been to throw money at Natives ( 7 Billion plus annually ). That invites corruption and non-accountability.

I have no idea what the collective IQ of liberal supporters is nor do I care, however, I do know the policies of previous governments have failed the Native population. I think Harper wants to create new policies that will form a basis to significantly improve the lives of Native Canadians. Do you want him to succeed ?

OriginalEmily1

That has never been the solution, and audits have been going on for years.

Neither Con nor Lib govts have ever solved the problem, but the Kelowna Accord was the best shot at it.

Harper has no policies on it whatever.
Anonymous

Thr word throwing is a total misnomer. The bands are not just handed large amounts and free to spend any way they want. You really need to do a little research before you launch.

Calvin

And how would Jan describe the process that has led to today`s situation after years of billions of dollars flowing through the Native affairs ministry ?
OriginalEmily1

Random

Unplanned

Unfocused

Ignored

Crisis management
Anonymous

The Indian Act plus bureaucracy. Throw in some institutionalized racism and sexism. Made worse by decades of buck passing.
Calvin

” throwing “
Anonymous

To OE1′s list, I’d add:

“Based entirely on a flawed – likely fatally so – premise enthusiastically perpetuated by persons with self-interest and/or delusional ideologues who face no personal consequence from its perpetuation”
Anonymous

Perhaps you could take the time to read Sheila Fraser’s many AG Reports on the problems. What percentage of those “billions” you refer to actually go to reserves vs the bureaucrats at INAC?

neuroticdog

We’ll never know what the previous government would have done because Harper immediately killed the Kelowna Accord as soon as he took office. He’s had years to implement his own vision. He did nothing.

He wears this one, regardless of the finger-pointing.
Anonymous

Shut up. you’ll be left behind ? Get overyourself kid. You don’t help Harper’s case with this nonsense.

Calvin

And how has Jan`s wisdom helped out the Liberals in the past few elections ?

172 to 135 to 103 to 77 to 34.

Those numbers are the Liberal seat count since 2000. Now how would the Liberals have done without Jan`s help ?

Anonymous

Are you claiming personal responsibility for Harper’s success? Geez, the meglomania trickles right down to the bottom.

Calvin

It was Jan who insinuated there was some connection between my comment and Harper,s success.

It would follow that Jan must receive some blame for Liberal failure.
gtrplyr055

I didn’t get that at all. Where did Jan say that?
Calvin

It appears gtrplyr055 has a problem with reading comprehension.
Anonymous

You’re the one lacking the reading comprehension. My remark referred to Harper’s success going forward or has he snuck through some sort of Emperor-for-life legislation?
Calvin

Actually we live in a thriving Democracy. I expect the next general election will be sometime in 2015. The party with the most seats will then form the government. I`m confident it will be an increased CPC majority.
Anonymous

I would love to know how they program you guys.
gtrplyr055

No Calvin, I think you have a reading comprehension problem (among others). Read the thread, you’ll see that you twisted others words and mangled their meaning. I’m with Jan on this, you don’t get it.

Anonymous

I didn’t hear Strahl say that he agreed with Duncan’s course of action. It seemed to me listening to the interview that Strahl and Phil Fontaine were mainly in agreement with ways to solve the problems on reserves. Strahl may not have been openly critical of Duncan, but my sense was that Strahl would have done things differently.

Hester Eastman

What do they mean by slow moving train-wreck?

Canada has been operating an apartheid system for over a century and there is very little discussion about abolishing our racist system of governance. I have been listening to stories about how we must do better with Natives for 3 decades now and yet nothing changes. Nothing slow moving about this disaster, it is just same sh*t different pile, and this is how Canadians like it apparently.

Thomas Burger ~ “The history of the Indian people for the last century has been the history of the impingement of white civilization upon the Indian: the Indian was virtually powerless to resist the white civilization; the white community of B.C. adopted a policy of apartheid. This, of course, has already been done in eastern Canada and on the Prairies, but the apartheid policy adopted in B.C. was of a particularly cruel and degrading kind. They began by taking the Indians’ land without any surrender and without their consent. Then they herded the Indian people onto Indian reserves. This was nothing more nor less than apartheid, and that is what it still is today.”

CS Lewis ~ Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.
Guest

I truly hope that Harper is able to set Canada on a course that resolves these issues.

That would be a wonderful outcome, and would be worthy of a significant place in Canadian history.