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[source: NativeNews; Thu, 24 Feb 2000 23:25:24]
 

From: Ann Pohl <annpohl@interlog.com>
Coalition for a Public Inquiry into Ipperwash

Newsletter # 29~February 24, 2000
Website: http://www.web.net/~inquiry

************************************************************
Commemorate Dudley George's Birthdate with the Coalition for
a Public Inquiry March 18, 2000, 2:30 - 5 PM
Council Chambers, City Hall, Bay St. & Queen West, Toronto, Ontario

PUBLIC FORUM: Listen Up, Canada!
Aboriginal Rights are Human Rights

 >> Traditional Opening, with the KANENHI:IO SINGERS

 >>>>  MARTIN SCHEININ, Member, United Nations Human Rights Committee  <<<<
Mr. Scheinin, one of the most knowledgeable members of the
UNHRC on the topic of Aboriginal Rights issues,  is a
Professor of Constitutional and International Law, and
Director of the Institute for Human Rights, at Åbo Akademi
University in Finland. Mr. Scheinin will give the keynote
address at this Public Forum.  Also speaking at this Forum
are:

 >> Marilyn Buffalo, National President, Native Women's Association of Canada

 >> Sam George - brother of Dudley George
                Sam is the plaintiff in the
civil suit against the government & police for the Wrongful
Death of Dudley George.

 >> Carlos Chen Osorio, Mayan-Achi (on tour from Guatemala)
                Carlos, a survivor of the 1982 Rio Negro
massacre, is co-founder of the Rabinal Widows & Orphans
Human Rights  Ctte.

************************************************************

Following the Panel Discussion, join us at the Native Canadian Centre, 16
Spadina Road, (at Bloor), from 6 - 8 pm, for a

 >>>> POTLUCK SOCIAL TO HONOUR ALL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. <<<<

Donations of food for the social are very welcome. Leave a message for Donny
Tabobandung at the Centre: 964-9087.

************************************************************

COALITION ASKS PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN TO CALL AN IPPERWASH INQUIRY

Check our website for the full text & press release. Here are some extracts
from our February 23rd letter to the Prime Minister:

"For more than a year, the Coalition for a Public Inquiry into Ipperwash has
been attempting to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Minister of
Indian and Northern Affairs. We are now so frustrated by the current
Minister of Indian Affairs' neglect of our concerns that we are writing to you.

"As the Prime Minister of Canada, a nation that is internationally respected
for its promotion of human rights, we ask you to take immediate action to
bring about a federal public inquiry into September 6, 1995 events at
Ipperwash Park…

"Recent events in Saskatoon, Regina, Ipperwash, Burnt Church and elsewhere
across Canada exacerbate the international view of Canada as a human rights
violator. We are increasingly perceived as a nation that is plagued with
civil disruption because we cannot or will not deal effectively with our
historically racist and abusive relationship with the First Peoples of this
land…

"The Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, has ignored the information
set before him by our broad-based and diverse Coalition…By ignoring us,
Minister Nault is demonstrating his contempt for international human rights
law and process. He is also defaulting on his responsibility, as an elected
Member of Parliament, to respond to the justifiable concerns of Canadian
citizens who care about human rights here at home. Furthermore, and most
fundamentally, he is neglecting his constitutionally mandated responsibility
to protect "Indians".

"Minister Nault has been similarly criticized by Aboriginal news media,
First Nation leaders and Canadians for his lack of attention to important
matters - most notably, his failure to deal with the release of the Marshall
Decision... In our February 2, 2000 letter to Minister Nault, we draw a
connection between the Ipperwash [and Burnt Church, advocating] a "thorough
investigation of the circumstances surrounding Ipperwash…  would enable your
staff to devise a set of protocols or policies governing response to
protests and other assertions of Aboriginal Rights."

"On March 17, 2000, Dudley George would have been 43 years old, if he had
not been fatally shot at night by government authorities during a
non-violent Aboriginal land and treaty rights protest.

"As we approach the anniversary of Mr. George's birth date, our Coalition is
developing a targeted political strategy to push for action on this matter.
We want the federal government to act. Only those who seek to protect
themselves by concealing facts can support a continued cover-up of the
events that occurred at Ipperwash in September 1995. We await your response
to the issues we raise in this letter and its attachments."

************************************************************

*** Keep those cards and letters going to Nault and Chretien!! ***

The current Coalition strategy is based on the federal government's
admission that they COULD call a "limited" inquiry into the Ipperwash
events. This is the first real opportunity we have had to bring about an
inquiry - if you have even considered writing Ottawa before, now is the time
to do it! We have a lot more strategy we will be unwinding in the coming
weeks, and public pressure AT THIS TIME could be very effective.

**************************************

WHAT DOES RACISM IN CANADA LOOK LIKE?

As we have learned once again this week, the face of the victim of racism
Canadian-style is, more often than not, Aboriginal. The face of the
perpetrator may be that of a cop in Saskatoon or at Ipperwash Park, or a
farmer in Blenhein (Ontario), or a fisherman at Burnt Church. But the colour
of the perpetrator's face is almost always white. For this reason, two of
the Coalition's non-Aboriginal Spokespeople addressed a press conference in
Toronto today.

We call on our own people and our representatives in public offices to be
accountable for the cop or two or three out west who have been dumping
Native men out of town to walk back or die of exposure. We call for public
accountability regarding the farmers, townspeople and local politicians who
launched a "Not For Sale" campaign when they learned that the Caldwell First
Nation, near Blenhein, Ontario, had finally settled a 200-year old land and
treaty rights dispute, and will be buying property in the neighbourhood. We
call for public accountability over the fishermen and Department of
Fisheries personnel who trashed and/or confiscated thousands of dollars of
fishing equipment belonging to Mi'kmaq fishermen after they asserted their
treaty right to a "moderate livelihood".

We might like to think of these as "isolated incidents", not characteristic
of our polite and comfortable view of ourselves as white Canadians. But how
many "isolated incidents" do there have to be before we can recognize a
pattern? It is clear that underneath the individual acts of racism by
hot-headed local authorities and community members, there is systemic racism
which breeds these acts of hatred and violence.  8Ottawa must take action on
these matters. 8 So can you:

 >>>> Join the MARCH AGAINST RACISM, initiated by the Caldwell First Nation.
Starting April 17, 2000, supporters will walk from Windsor to Chatham.
Contact us or 519-676-5499.

 >>>> Support the Stoney Point People (Dudley died defending this land) at
March 17th protests in front of OPP HQ in your town/city and at the Sarnia
OPP HQ on March 18th: ara@web.net or 416-650-1526

************************************************************

TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY, PLEASE JOIN US.
Donations & Information: Box 111, Station C, Toronto, On M6J 3M7 ~ Email:
annpohl@interlog.com ~ Tel: 416-537-3520 ~ Fax: 416-538-2559

**** Uphold Aboriginal Land and Treaty Rights ****

===

[source: NativeNews; Thu, 24 Feb 2000 23:26:20]
 

From: Ann Pohl <annpohl@interlog.com>

Feb 24 Coalition Press Conference TranscriptRACISM IN CANADA and FEDERAL NEGLECT
Ottawa Must Act Now

 >> A Transcript of Presentation from the February 24, 2000 Press Conference

 >> Coalition for a Public Inquiry into Ipperwash Presenters: Robin Buyers
and Ann Pohl, non-Aboriginal Coalition Spokespersons

As we have learned once again this week, the face of the victim of racism
Canadian-style is, more often than not, Aboriginal.

The face of the perpetrator may be that of a cop in Saskatoon or at
Ipperwash Park, or a farmer in Blenheim (Ontario), or a fisherman at Burnt
Church. But the colour of the perpetrator's face is almost always white. For
this reason, two of the Coalition's non-Aboriginal Spokespeople are
addressing this press conference in Toronto today. This is our work, to deal
with Canadian racism towards Native peoples.

We call on our own people and our representatives in public offices to be
accountable for the cop or two or three out west who have been dumping
Native men out of town to walk back or die of exposure. We call for public
accountability regarding the farmers, townspeople and local politicians who
launched a "Not For Sale" campaign when they learned that the Caldwell First
Nation, near Blenhein, Ontario, had finally settled a 200-year old land and
treaty rights dispute, and will be buying property in the neighbourhood. We
call for public accountability over the fishermen and Department of
Fisheries personnel who trashed and/or confiscated thousands of dollars of
fishing equipment belonging to Mi'kmaq fishermen after they asserted their
treaty right to a "moderate livelihood".

We might like to think of these as "isolated incidents", not characteristic
of our polite and comfortable view of ourselves as white Canadians. But how
many "isolated incidents" do there have to be before we can recognize a
pattern? It is clear that underneath the individual acts of racism by
hot-headed local authorities and community members, there is systemic racism
which breeds these acts of hatred and violence.

When Dudley George was shot and killed by the Ontario Provincial police
almost five years ago, he became the first and only Native man to die in a
land claims dispute in Canada in the 20th century.

Yet, neither the provincial nor the federal government has called a public
inquiry into what happened, an inquiry that would recommend protocols to
lessen the likelihood of this kind of tragedy repeating itself. Through
government negligence, a climate has been created in which police and others
believe they can mistreat people with impunity.

Why has government failed to act? Government is part of the problem.

Here in Ontario, documents obtained under Freedom of Information show that
the decision to "confront the Indians in the park" (at Ipperwash), with the
permission to use force if necessary) can be traced directly to the
Premier's Office. Yet, the only finding of wrong-doing so far is that an OPP
officer has been convicted of criminal negligence causing death. Deane fired
the gun, but Ontario officials much higher up the chain of command
apparently gave him permission to do so.

No wonder the provincial government has refused to call an inquiry and is
stonewalling the case for "Wrongful Death", brought against Premier Harris
and members of his 1995 Cabinet by the George family.

And, no wonder the Chiefs of Ontario noted almost three years ago, with
reference to Ipperwash and other cases left unaddressed (Resolution #98/17),
that "a pattern has emerged under the current provincial government where
First Nations citizens are at risk of being injured or killed by the OPP in
their own communities."

Recent events show that the situation is no better elsewhere in Canada.

Earlier this week, Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First
Nations, called the allegations that Saskatoon police officers had left two
Aboriginal men to freeze to death the "tip of the iceberg". Quoted in the
Saskatoon Star Pheonix on February 19th, Fontaine drew this comparison: "No
one believed our people about the residential school abuse, and now we have
7,000 claims before the courts. We know the justice system has had great
difficulty being fair to our people." Fontaine also commented on the
Ipperwash case an another example in which Aboriginal have suffered from
police injustice.

The federal government, which has a constitutionally mandated fiduciary
responsibility for "Indians and lands reserved for Indians", has done very
little to stop the escalating violence against Aboriginal people and
communities.

In last year's report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the
federal government acknowledged that the situation of Aboriginal Peoples is
Canada's "most pressing human rights issue". But Ottawa has, as yet, failed
to act on the UNHRC's recommendation, urging the "State party [Canada] to
establish a public inquiry into all aspects" of the Ipperwash case,
"including the role and responsibility of public officials".

Instead of acting on Ipperwash, as obliged through international human
rights covenants, it seems that Ministers of the federal Cabinet are maiking
every effort to conceal the fact that they can, constitutionally, call an
inquiry into Ipperwash. We recently obtained some information through the
Access to Information process which, while a considerable amount was held
back, indicates that federal lawyers agree with the Coalition expert legal
counsel: Ottawa can call an inquiry into Ipperwash.

On March 17, 1999,  then-Minister of Indian Affairs, Jane Stewart, took our
legal opinion and promised to get back to us with the federal legal
response.  We heard nothing from her until she was moved to HRDC in August.
Since August, when Nault became Minister, we have written him three letters,
forwarded to him a transcript of the UNHRC's comments about the need for an
Ipperwash inquiry, asked for the federal opinion on their mandate to call
such an inquiry, and made two lengthy telephone calls to his assistants.

Minister Nault has not answered any of our letters. Our phone calls to him
fell on deaf ears. Jane Stewart never got back to us, although the Access to
Information material makes it clear that she had the Justice Department's
response to our legal opinion, on federal role and responsibility vis-à-vis
Ipperwash, by mid-April 1999.  few weeks ago, we demanded an answer by
mid-February.  A few days ago, we received a letter from Nault's Ontario
political assistant, Patti Skillen, saying he could "not accommodate" a
meeting with us.  Skillen's letter was a few sentences long and did  not
address any of the points made in our correspondence or in the March 1999
legal opinion.

Why this huge silence from Indian Affairs on Ipperwash?

It is clear what they are trying to hide from us: their legal opinion agrees
with ours. We know that their opinion agrees with ours because of the Access
to Information material as well as materials we have received from another
source.

Ottawa could call an inquiry into Ipperwash. It would perhaps be limited in
terms of its ability to subpoena witnesses by constitutional jurisdictions
and the protection offered to the "Crown", but it would get at many of the
outstanding facts. Important pieces of the puzzle could be fitted together.
There is always the possibility that those who couldn't be subpoenaed might
choose to voluntarily step forward and give evidence to a federal inquiry.

Our Coalition advocates a federal inquiry, even if it is limited. A limited
inquiry is better than no inquiry and the more truth that emerges, the
sooner we will come to know the full truth. Sam George, Dudley's older
brother and Administrator
for his Estate, concurs with Coalition on this matter.

As a latch ditch effort to begin a productive dialogue with Ottawa officials
around the need for a federal inquiry, we have written the Prime Minister of
Canada, the Honourable Jean Chretien, asking him to assist with this effort.
In this letter, we stressed our view that an Ipperwash inquiry must be
mandated to develop a template of protocols. These protective policies would
be used whenever tensions build as Aboriginal Peoples assert their treaty
and inherent rights, such as at Burnt Church. We don't want another tragedy
- like Ipperwash, or at Oka.

Now is the time for the Prime Minister of Canada to act because his Cabinet
Ministers have failed to uphold their duties to be accountable to the
Canadian electorate, by refusing to dialogue with us on this crucial matter.
They have also failed to protect Canada's reputation as a champion of human
rights by ignoring the UNHRC's instruction to call an inquiry. And most
importantly, his current Indian Affairs Minister is neglecting his fiduciary
and constitutional mandate to protect "Indians".
 
It's easy to dismiss the stories we hear, of racist violence against
Aboriginal persons, as "isolated incidents" but - to a Native person these
appear to be common occurrences, not extraordinary tragedies. To the
international community, these stories are developing a familiar
Canadian-style ring to them.

The Coalition has a number of other pieces of strategy which will unfold
over the coming weeks. Yet, for the next month or so we will be watching
closely for any movement in Ottawa, asessing the extent of political
commitment to a productive dialogue on an Ipperwash inquiry.  In the
meantime, our legal team is researching a number of legal strategies.

As non-Aboriginal Spokespersons for the Coalition we feel obliged to
advocate that the Coalition  use every means possible to hold Canadian
politicians  responsible for taking the action which is necessary at this
time.

Unfortunately, what we see, is that when Canadian authorities do act in
these crises, it has often been in the interests of non-Natives. Mi'kmaq
activist Noah Augustine wrote about this in the Toronto Star this week, in
relation to the violent response to the Marshall Decision. He pointed out
that even when Aboriginal People have their rights upheld by the courts, the
federal government is quick to begin to speak of "other compelling public
objectives" that relegate Native people, once again to the sidelines.

Instead of helping those who are the victims of racist policies and actions,
government interventions all too frequently seem to create an atmosphere of
permission, perpetuating racism and violence.

If Canadian authorities are not ready to protect civil rights, save lives
and strengthen the stability of Canada as a nation, then we will once again
appeal to the court of world opinion for justice.
 

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