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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Way up North
And, finally, here's the last of my items that were not published when the Western Standard went under. It's just a short one, and was to run as a "Whaddya Know?" feature in the Western Front section. The question was:
Will the establishment of a new Inuit government in northern Quebec disenfranchise non-Inuits?
It certainly seemed so, based on news reports in August that described how a landmark agreement had created a new Inuit body that would rule the northern third of Quebec. But a Quebec government spokesman says the impression left by the media was simply false. In truth, the new government will be based on geography, not race or ethnicity. Nevertheless, the new body bears some close scrutiny.
The agreement in principle, which has yet to be approved by the Quebec or federal governments, will establish the Nunavik Regional Government (as opposed to the already existing Nunavut Territory), which initially will consolidate social, school and health services into one large regional government. Local councils will continue to exist in the 14 member communities which are home to about 10,000 people.
The government spokesman, who talked on the condition of anonymity, says the NRG will encompass all the area in Quebec north of the 55th parallel. The body will have only those powers which are delegated to it by the Quebec National Assembly, powers which at this stage do not include the collection of income or sales taxes. All residents of northern Quebec, regardless of ethnicity or race, will be eligible to sit in the NRG’s 21-seat assembly, he says.
This should make the new body democratic. However, the 900-strong Naskapi aboriginal group, which lives on the southern edge of Nunavik, is worried its interests will be steamrollered by the Inuit majority. Also of concern is the fact that the NRG may yet get more powers, which would create a province-like government that, although largely funded by southern Quebeckers, would be unaccountable to southern voters.
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--TERRY O’NEILL
Posted by Terry O'Neill on October 16, 2007 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink
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Comments
...what no postings on Calgary's election?
Posted by: tomax7 | 2007-10-16 12:34:14 PM
Let's have a special country for every god dammed tribe in Canada. Why are we wasting so much time effort and money on these evolutionary losers?
Posted by: John | 2007-10-16 4:27:42 PM
...which ones, the Inuit or Calgary voters?
;-)
Posted by: tomax7 | 2007-10-16 5:04:52 PM
Terry -
Thing one. If I ran a newspaper/magazine, you'd already have gotten my phone call.
Thing two. Ten thousand people with a TON of land. If they don't all get rich as Croesus (must I check the spelling?) in this situation it is just criminal.
There are, what I call "huge" family-corporate farms in America (I've dealt with a few of them in California and Arizona) which make a TON of money and employ at good wages-salaries a LOT of people. They hire-assemble real smart go getter professional management and they "exploit" those wonderful assets to produce boutifully from the earth.
I almost feel like putting together a business plan-proposal and pitching it to the Tribal Council or whatever they call those guys.
This hand to mouth sad sack poor folks crap is just CRAZY!!!!! Everybody who is a member of the tribe should get shares that they can sell (only to other "original people-whatever" with oversight) or pass down to children, and everybody should be able to "apply" for a job at market wages on the land and have rights to farm or hunt etc. individually, under some reasonable homestead-lease arrangement but they must pay market land rents for big land parcels, with the management reinvesting the profits and building infrastructure and borrowing (UNSECURED - don't pledge and chance losing the land!!!) and developing for the LONG long term future.
They should all GET RICH!!!!
Everybody "hates" rich people, but they don't care! It's only being hated when you are some poor "stupid" indian (or whatever) that hurts. ; - )
Posted by: Conrad-USA | 2007-10-16 5:13:33 PM
Conrad,
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm glad you appreciate my stories. I don't know where I'm going work next, but if and when something develops, I'll put out the word on the Shotgun. For the time being, I'm going to concentrate on getting my weekly Face to Face debate column syndicated throughout the David Black chain of community papers. At present, it runs in only one, the Tri-City News. As well, I'm doing some communications work for a family member's business.
Posted by: Terry O'Neill | 2007-10-16 5:33:10 PM
glad to see this piece of crap publication finally leave print. It was an eyesore and propaganda tool for the fascist movement.
Posted by: Corruption is Alberta | 2007-10-16 11:12:03 PM
cia ~
Thanks for confirming the theory that Leftoids are mentally challenged and in need of medication.
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-17 7:45:14 AM
Hey Corrupted- did you think up those BIG words like "crap" all by yourself? How witty you liberals are.
Posted by: Larry | 2007-10-17 1:43:05 PM
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