If Justin Trudeau is faced with a choice between solving a problem or talking about solving the problem, Justin Trudeau will opt for useless chatter and virtue-signalling every time.
On December 3rd, 2020, that pattern continued when the Trudeau government tabled Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, into the House of Commons.
It’s Trudeau’s latest attempt to pretend he cares deeply for and respects First Nations people.
If that were true, Jodi Wilson-Raybould would still be a cabinet member.
Like all of Trudeau’s virtue-signalling Bill C-15 is all but meaningless beyond the photo ops and press conferences it generates for the prime minister.
If I were a member of one of the 41 First Nations communities still suffering under one of 59 boil water advisories that have lingered for decades, I would have a very hard time believing Justin Trudeau’s government had any respect at all for Indigenous Peoples.
I’m not a member of one of those 41 communities and I still don’t believe Trudeau has any respect for Indigenous Peoples.
Bill 15 stated purpose is to “affirm the Declaration as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law.”
Like all Trudeau affirmations it’s long on virtue and short on action.
In October 2015, Justin Trudeau also “affirmed” that ending boil water advisories on reserves was “a top priority because it’s not right in a country like Canada” for anyone to suffer without drinkable water.
Five years later we know this affirmation, like most of Trudeau’s affirmations, was utterly without merit.
On Wednesday, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller just fell on his sword to keep the heat off his boss.
“I want to state as clearly as possible that, ultimately, I bear the responsibility for this and I have the … duty to get this done,” Miller said.
Then Miller wandered off into Nonsense-Land.
“What communities want is not an Ottawa-imposed deadline. It’s a long-term commitment for access to clean water,” Miller said.
Minister Miller, that’s garbage.
Communities do not want commitments for access to clean water.
They want clean water.
If you cannot comprehend the difference, perhaps it’s time to resign and let someone else give it a shot. You are, after all, past your expiry date in a job that’s seen a new Minister every year since Trudeau was elected in 2015.
That said, the boil water advisory debacle is not purely a Liberal disaster.
Both governing parties are to blame for this ongoing failure to provide the basic necessities of life to tens of thousands of Canadians.
The only thing these communities have heard for decades are more government promises followed by more government commitments followed by more government failure.
Why?
Because no government, not the current Liberal one, not the Conservative one before that or the Liberal one before that, cares enough to actually solve the problem.
On December 3rd Trudeau showed his true colors again, although shockingly few Canadians seem interested that Justin Trudeau is using Bill 15 for yet another round of Prime Ministerial selfies while staring First Nations Peoples right in the eye and flat-out lying to them.
“Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental human right,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde. “It’s not right that in a rich country like Canada, you still can’t turn on the taps for potable water.”
Bellegarde’s comments are eerily reminiscent of Justin Trudeau’s words five years ago.
“A Canadian government led by me will address this as a top priority because it’s not right in a country like Canada,” Justin Trudeau said during the 2015 federal election campaign.
For the past five years, Justin Trudeau has utterly failed First Nations communities at the most basic level.
It’s a national disgrace that a lack of clean drinking water exists anywhere in Canada today.
The Liberal government claims it has spent $1.65 billion to build, repair and replace water-quality infrastructure on reserves over the past five years.
The Trudeau government assured us the additional $1.5 billion proclaimed in Monday’s “fiscal update” will end all boil water advisories on all reserves in Canada.
Perhaps someone from the Office of the Sock Puppet-in-Chief can explain to me how $1.65 billion can’t buy clean drinking water for 93 First Nations communities.
Or why we should believe another $1.5 billion and another six years will miraculously get the job done?
I agree that just throwing Billions more at this issue has not in the past and will not now solve the problem of clean drinking water for these 93 communities. In my opinion what needs to happen is government needs to find out how that $1.6 Billion has been spent and by whom and for what purpose exactly. Once you can determine that you may have a better understanding why those communities don’t have clean drinking water after all these years and Billions of dollars. Once you can track that money and know how it was spent you may find who else may be responsible for this disgrace not only Trudeau and the Liberals for not ensuring the money was spent for the purpose it was intended. It is easy and politically correct to say lets throw more money at an issue to make it appear as though we are helping and then I can wash my hands as I will have done my part but, that in itself does not necessarily resolve the issue, the money and the process of how it was/is used needs to be tracked to ensure it is being used properly to achieve the results it was intended to accomplish. That’s why on every construction site you see men wearing white hard hats walking around. They are there to make sure the work is being done properly and on schedule. Without them the end outcome may be disappointing to say the least.
And yet, Canada can give $billions in aid to countries that have large standing armies, space programs and in many cases poor human rights records. Why have we never lived by the term “charity begins at home”? I say cut all foreign aid untill such time as we have no homeless or hungry Canadians and there are no standing boil water advisories or other health concerns in any community.
Before it was killed off, Sun News Network did a series of reports on a number of First Nations reserves where there was clearly massive fraud being committed by band councils and/or Chiefs wherein they were funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal Funds given to their reserves into personal account and land purchases. Many are living in mansions with paved driveways and Lincoln Navigator SUV’s, while their own people languish in pressboard shacks without running water. The problem isn’t funding (First Nations budgeting from federal and provincial governments are in the billions of dollars annually), it’s theft and mismanagement. Until an honest look is taken at this, nothing will change no matter how much money is poured into the reserves.
A large part of why this corruption continues unabated is because Justin Trudeau refuses to enforce the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.
On December 18, 2015, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs issued a statement indicating that the department:
* has stopped all discretionary compliance measures related to the First Nations Financial Transparency Act
* is re-instating funding withheld from First Nations under these measures
* is suspending any court actions against First Nations who have not complied with the act
the indigenous [ Indian affairs] department must be an undesirable portfolio for anyone meaning to do well… so many issues and potholes exist.
Minister Marc Millar the other day proclaimed there must be Police reform measures after viewing the truck-door take down of a Nunavut male earlier this year in the ice. And the review board said there was no “wrongdoing by the officer”.Yet some provincial portfolio ministers of indigenous affairs are very quiet about similar issues, including the Police snipers aiming their rifles at unarmed pipeline protestors in BC and other human rights abusing situations that occurred there…. now being legally addressed by the Nations.
Water issues… 93 or so communities, there must be myriad reasons why fresh water and infrastructure/engineering and local climate, downstream pollutions, and fraud issues occur and how to address those.
And now a new reality is emerging that threatens fresh water access in the far north with climate change destabilizing tundra and permafrost.{ funny how people this year 2020 are willing to trust scientific opinion regarding viruses But still turn a blind denying eye towards scientist’s warnings of human induced climate change… both the virus and future viruses and climatic changes are very real existential threats to our species].
I wouldn’t want Marc Millar’s job for anything unless Justin gave me free reign and funding and a free vote for all M.P.s in H.O.C.