ABORIGINALS IN CANADA

Canada's history is a story worth telling, the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations. However there is a misconception about Canadian history that needs to be rectified Canada was not originally populated by Europeans, and before the Europeans there was not one giant race of  supernatural, nature, magic people that talk to their grandmother the tree (sorry Disney) and no savage half intelligent race that will be defeated by the handsome singing cowboys. The truth is that before the Europeans took over and there still remains a diverse population of nations and tribes across Canada and the subsequent relationship is one that reads of broken treaties, forced relocation and attempted culturecide in the form of residential schools the last of which did not close until 1996.

However the current situation has not greatly improved in the fact that the government is still breaking treaty promises. On reserves the school system is strongly below the average set in public schools across Canada. With each aboriginal child receiving half the funding that any other Canadian child would receive. The government gets away with this by using big numbers to make the public believe they are spending the right amount of money.

However Aboriginal children have take matters into their own hands with such movements as Shannen's dream. Shannen was in grade 8 and wondered why she had to go to school in badly heated portables with snakes and rats and only longed for the same education every other Canadian child enjoys. She took her fight to the minister of aboriginal affairs and the Prime Minister. However when she realized the aboriginal affairs minister wasn't going to help her she turned to her fellow Canadian students and created a movement that gained national attention. Sadly her fight ended when she died in a car accident at the age of 15. However she did manage to get the government to build a new school on her reserve and her actions inspired the organization Shannen's Dream which fights for equitable education for aboriginal children.

Its time to start writing a better relationship.

Check out these websites:
http://www.fncaringsociety.ca/shannens-dream

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/native-school-conditions-in-canada-are-shocking-panel-chair/article557527/

THE ABORTION DEBATE AND HENRY MORGENTALER

Henry Morgentaler was one of the most controversial figures in Canadian society. However view other fundamental shifts in our thinking can be chalked up largely to one man either unless we are discussing Henry Morgentaler. Since he died recently I feel it can only be appropriate to talk about him and the social change he was able to engineer.

Through the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the increases in women's rights the abortion debate begins to surface, which is reflected in the relaxing of contraceptive and abortion laws in Canada. However the ball never really had much spin until Dr. Henry Morgentaler began opening what were at the time illegal abortion clinics in Toronto and Montreal. He began to rally for women's rights and was arrested and brought to trial multiple times for preforming abortions. Although what he was doing at the time was illegal under law he always selected trial by jury every time he went to court and he was so convincing and logical with his arguments and his demonstrations and explanations of how it was safer to preform abortions in a clinic with real doctors as opposed to women throwing themselves downstairs or using coat hangers that he was found innocent every time. His sentences were appealed several times and the minister of justice even ordered a retrial but to no avail. However when Morgentaler was so bold as to record himself preforming an abortion and airing it on national television his clinics were raided and this time his trial went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

However the difference this time was that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been made into law and his strong arguments convinced the Supreme Court to make preforming abortions legal in Canada. While abortion does remain a controversial topic in Canada and opposition to the Supreme Court ruling can still be seen even in the house of commons with some government MP's proposing criminalizing abortion the astonishing part of this story was Henry Morgentaler's ability to affect social change and alter Canadian history through determination and spirit and fighting for what he believed to be right and just.

HOMELESSNESS- THE SILENT EPIDEMIC

If someone walked down one of Canada's bustling downtown streets they would see that population that many Canadians tend to forget about -- the homeless. The fact that we tend to sideline them like this is worrisome as without public will to do anything the politicians will do nothing. Now many people find the homeless population to be an issue worth leaving alone but this creates a double and even triple standard if there is such a thing.

Canada's homeless number around 250 000 people but with no national statistic as none of them have addressees they remain a shifty, migratory group of people.  This helps feed into stereotypes as a large proportion of homeless people in Canada's main cities ten to have an over representation of aboriginal people. For example in Vancouver alone aboriginal people make up 2% of their total population and 30% of their homeless population. Aboriginal people over represent in homeless populations in cities because as they try to leave the reserves in search of jobs or a better situation they enter the cities with many of the main causes of homelessness ready to work against them. Lack of education, mental health issues, poverty, addictions, etc. and this helps to further alienate them from main stream society causing them to be identified by their stereotypes and become invisible as their voices are robbed from them.

This ostracising from Canadian society does not just happen with aboriginals but all homeless people and I believe stems from the belief that they are somehow less than human just a thing that could not function in regular society, to lazy to get a job, crazy or addicted. While some things are true and some are not of these are not the point is we ignore the fact that they are human. As such I believe they deserve what is called the Housing First principle. The idea is that we house people first and then help deal with their socio-economic issues after. As it is incredibly difficult to get a job if you look unprofessional or if you do not have basic necessities such as an address or telephone number. I end with a video of  Ronald Davis a homeless man in Chicago who explains why thing like the Housing First Principle would be helpful:

Also you should check out where I found some of my statistics and see a site in Vancouver that operates on the housing first principle
http://www.stmichaelshospital.com/pdf/crich/homelessness-canadian-cities.pdf

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/jungle-prescription.html

FAMILY TIES

Two little boys, brothers; one six years old, a well behaved, cuddly, trusting child that is easy to love. His brother is eight, already protective over his little brother and eager to be praised and loved himself. They make up their own little family as their older sister has been adopted and their parents were lost in their own lives. Each family member jumped off a sinking ship; the parents swam away, the sister grabbed by a lifeboat into the loving arms of new parents, while the two brothers clung to one another on a floating piece of the wreckage.

However along the journey in the ocean of Ontario's foster care system these two brothers fared differently the younger remained innocent, worried about his brother who while being as hyperactive as his brother grew angrier. He became difficult and his temper raised a tempest where ever they went whether it came in the form of words or fists it would leave an impression.

While his brother found love in the parents that adopted his sister the older brother struggled. You see the problem was while the younger brother drew people towards himself the older pushed them away except for his brother who he often protected with anger and violence. Eventually the younger brother was adopted leaving the elder to facing the idea that he was incapable of being loved, that he could never be good enough. Rejected by the people that are supposed to protect a child from all the hurt in the world-- his parents and the life raft that came to save him from the harsh cold ocean of life. The brother was left feeling alone and too bad to be loved or worthy of it.

The difficulty with this story although there are many is that the system failed, a child may have all the basic material necessities of live covered and may have a caring foster family but the hurt that lives on in knowing he is never good enough, that he is unlovable is where the true failure comes in. Families should never have to be split apart because the adoptive parents feel they can play God and destroy an already war ravaged family. Understandably children can be incredibly difficult but by merely judging them on their capacity to be bad and hard to handle we miss out on their incredible capacity to love, to hope and to grow into the best people they can be.  

SCANDALS DRESSED IN BLUE

It has been a terrible month for the conservative name with the senate scandal coming out of Ottawa and the Ford brothers circus coming out of Toronto. The allegation of drugs, unethical spending and the questionable $90 000 that seems to in someway have been given to stop an audit have created a war ravaged conservative brand with the Ford family and Duffy throwing insults as a last ditch attempt to cover their tracks and Stephen Harper firing chiefs of staff and trying to smooth talk the scandal away.

It seems things are only going to get worse as it seems that Rob Ford and Stephen Harper were political allies and friends going on fishing trips and bolstering each others campaigns. However foolish this seems now at the time it made perfect sense to try and gain the largest city in Canada and one of the largest voting areas for the Conservatives. Politics becomes easier if everyone is working from the same outlook.
The words from the infamous "hat trick" video (seen to the right) have come back to haunt Harper as he praises Rob Ford for "cleaning up the NDP mess here in Toronto" while stating that his government was cleaning up "the left wing mess federally". As everyone now knows he and his government along with Rob Ford and his family (whether or not they have solved the mess the left wing left) have created there own list of issues and scandals.

With the scandals piling up against the Conservative Party and distrust against Stephen Harper building the left has to merely stand back and watch as the current government attempts to salvage the pristine image it once held among the majority of Canadians. Even the attack ads that helped bring the Conservatives to power are now even making people within their own ranks grumble with displeasure it seems the best opposition to the Conservative Party is themselves.

CANADA'S ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN ADS... ARE THEY REALLY THAT ECONOMICAL?

Men in scrubs, women in hard hats and shots of Canada's breathtaking nature. The Canadian government's Economic Action Plan ads are beautifully and convincingly shot. All with the stated purpose to inform us that our government is doing its job and helping Canada out of a recession. It seems the Conservatives have accomplished their mission.

Seeing the ads has been unavoidable, if you would like to watch t.v., check the computer or listen to the radio. Even taking the bus isn't an escape because what do you know the government of Canada has plastered signs all over the bus walls reassuring you that the economic action plan is in place guiding us safely into the future.  Just in case you missed it the first 600 times.

You may ask what the problem with these ads is other than their constant bombardment. Many people like the Conservatives and shouldn't they be telling us what they're up to? While many people agree or disagree on the Conservative agenda for this country and the government does have the responsibility to tell us what they are doing. However these ads started in 2009 during the recession; but both recession as well as the economic stimulus program the government put in place at that time are now over. So why are these ads still running, this is old news and isn't explaining what the government is doing now. Its like advertising a sale only to discover when you get to the store that it finished a month ago.

The fact is these ads aren't telling us anything new, merely providing a fancy bit of entertainment or dare I say propaganda to keep the government in a positive light. Its an expensive light as well with  with $21 million being spent on the ads from 2011-2012. To put this in perspective the government spent $78.5 million in the same period for all their ads combined this includes everything from healthy eating to anti drugs. However the largest proportion of spending remains on the Economic Action Plan. For a government who claims to be focusing on balancing the budget and being known for spending on the essentials the only essential in this campaign seems to be a lack of self esteem.

An example of this can be seen in the latest ad which I have provided for you in case you missed it one of other thousands of times it has been aired. This ad is one of the latest and claims the government is for environment protection, an idea I find completely ridiculous. It's like the government is testing their limits like a small child before they are placed on a timeout. The fact is most of this ad is a string of white lies. The only reason I can think of the conservative government who maintains that climate change is something to be denied by sticking their fingers in their ears, squeezing their eyes shut and yelling lalalalalalala! is because their self - esteem has taken a bruising with international and internal criticism. This ad is their way of saying see! we do care, see! see! Justifying their pushing aside of environmental protection in favour of resource development. Whether or not you agree with their environmental policy-- or lack thereof you should still expect truth in what they tell you as well as standing behind their decisions.

The real irony of the Economic Action Plan ads I find can be found in the very signs themselves. For all of the ads trumpeting of the creation of jobs for hardworking Canadians the actual signs are painted in the United States.

Whether or not you support the conservatives or despise them, voted for them or protest them; everyone in Canada deserves to here about actual government policy to back up what the ads are selling and what we are paying for. To be treated like hardworking, intelligent people and finally be given the truth.