October 7, 2008 - No. 136
Oppose Colonial Justice -- Support the
Just Struggle of the First Nations!
MLPC Condemns Harper and Charest
Governments for Treatment of Barriere Lake Algonquin
 
Police attack
peaceful blockade of Highway 117, October 6, 2008.
Oppose Colonial Justice -- Support the
Just Struggle of the First Nations!
• MLPC Condemns Harper and Charest Governments
for Treatment of Barriere Lake Algonquin -- Vicious Attack by Quebec
Police
• Barriere Lake Algonquins Peacefully Blockade
Highway 117 in Northern Quebec - Barriere Lake Solidarity
Collective
Economic Crisis
• The Economy
Is Not Sound Mr. Harper
Vancouver
• Protest
Political Censorship at Britannia Candidates' Forum!
SUPPLEMENT
• For Your Information: Notes on the Deepening
Economic Crisis
Oppose Colonial Justice -- Support the
Just Struggle of the First Nations!
MLPC Condemns Harper and Charest Governments for
Treatment of Barriere Lake Algonquin --
Vicious Attack by Quebec Police
The MLPC condemns the vicious attack by Quebec police on
the Barriere Lake Algonquin on the afternoon of Monday, October 6. The
Conservative and Quebec governments showed the substance of the federal
apology to the First Nations when they used riot police, tear gas, and
"pain compliance" techniques
to end the peaceful blockade erected at 6:00 am the same day by
Algonquin families from Barriere Lake. Rather than negotiate, as
requested by the community, the federal government has engaged in dirty
deeds and racial slurs in a criminal attempt to dismiss the community's
just demands.
The blockade on Highway 117 near Maniwaki, Quebec
began at
6:00 am with nearly a hundred community members of all ages and their
supporters promising to remain until Canada's Conservative government
and Quebec's Liberal government honoured signed agreements and Barriere
Lake's leadership
customs. Around 4:00 pm, nearly sixty Sûreté du
Québec (Quebec provincial police) officers and riot police
encircled families after a meal and without warning launched tear gas
canisters, one of which hit a child in the chest.
On October 7 it was reported that an Algonquin man was
hospitalized the morning after being shot in the chest with a tear-gas
canister by Quebec police. A disabled teenage girl was also treated
with oxygen in the local Health Clinic. Twenty two children under eight
and two babies were caught in
the tear gas shot by the police.
"Our demands are reasonable," said Norman Matchewan, a
spokesperson who was racially slurred by Minister Lawrence Cannon's
assistant earlier in the election. "We're only asking for the
government to uphold the agreements they've signed and to stop
illegally interfering in our customary governance.
The message we've received today is that Stephen Harper and Jean
Charest are unwilling to even play by their rules." "We will not
tolerate these brutal violations of our rights," added Matchewan.
"Forestry operations will not be allowed on our Trilateral agreement
territory, and we will be doing more non-violent
direct action."
Nine people, including an elderly women, a pregnant
woman, and two minors, were roughly arrested. While a line of police
obscured the view of human rights observers from Christian Peacemaker
Teams, officers used severe "pain compliance" techniques on protestors
who had secured themselves
to concrete-filled barrels, twisting arms, dislocating jaws, leaving
them with bruised faces and trouble swallowing.
"In this election alone, the Conservatives have labelled
us alcoholics and vilified our community's majority as 'dissidents,'"
said Michel Thusky, another community spokesperson, referring to an
op-ed published by Minister Lawrence Cannon in regional newspapers.
"Now they and Quebec have chosen
violence over meeting their most basic obligations to our community.
'Pain compliance' is the perfect description of the Conservative
government's aboriginal policies."
 
  
Top: Attempted
arrest of Algonquin elder. Barriere Lake community members had promised to
maintain the blockade until the Government of Canada honoured the 1991
Trilateral agreement, a landmark sustainable development and resource
co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal
Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples. To end federal interference in their leadership customs, they
wanted the Government of Canada to appoint observers to witness a
leadership reselection according to their codified customary selection
code, respect its outcome, and then cease interfering in their internal
governance.
The MLPC calls on Canadians from all walks of life to
denounce this attack on the Barriere Lake Algonquin and demand that
their
just demands be fulfilled. Send messages of support to:
Barriere Lake Spokespersons:
Marylynn Poucachiche:
819-435-2171
Michel Thusky: 819-435-2171
Norman Matchewan:
514-831-6902
Collectif de Solidarité Lac Barrière
www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com
barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com
514-398-7432
To view more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31135244@N07/sets/72157607795831835
Barriere Lake Algonquins Peacefully Blockade Highway
117 in Northern Quebec
- Barriere Lake Solidarity Collective,
October 6, 2008 -
Community loses
patience with broken agreements
and federal interference in leadership selection
Kitiganik/Rapid Lake,
Algonquin Territory -- At 6:00 am
today, Barriere Lake community members of all ages peacefully blockaded
highway 117 outside their reserve, promising to maintain the blockade
until Canada and Quebec commit in writing to honour their agreements
and Canada appoints an
observer to witness and respect the outcome of a new leadership
selection in Barriere Lake in accordance with their Customary
Governance Code.
 "The Conservative government, like
the Liberal
government before it, has treated us with contempt, refusing to respect
the agreements they've signed with us," says Norman Matchewan, a
community teacher and part-time police officer who was racially slurred
two weeks ago by the assistant of Conservative
Minister Lawrence Cannon, the representative in Barriere Lake's riding
of Pontiac. "We've exhausted all our political options, but they've
ignored or dismissed our community, leaving us with no choice but to
peacefully blockade the highway to force the government to deal fairly
with us."
Barriere Lake wants Canada and Quebec to uphold signed
agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a landmark
sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by
the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Canada has been in breach
of the agreement since 2001. Quebec signed a complementary Bilateral
agreement in 1998, but has stalled since two former Quebec Cabinet
Ministers, Quebec special representative John Ciaccia and Barriere Lake
special representative Clifford Lincoln, made recommendations for the
agreement's implementation in
2006.
"To avoid their obligations, the federal government has
deliberately violated our leadership customs by ousting our Customary
Chief and Council," says Michel Thusky, a Barriere Lake spokesperson.
"In what amounts to a coup d'état, they are
recognizing a Chief and Council rejected by
a community majority. The Quebec government is cooperating with the
federal government too because they are using the leadership issue as
an excuse to bury the 1991 and 1998 Agreements they signed with our
First Nation."
On March 10th, 2008, for the third time in 12 years, the
Government of Canada interfered in Barriere Lake's internal customary
governance. They rescinded recognition of the Customary Chief and
Council and recognized individuals whom the Barriere Lake Elder's
Council says were not selected in
accordance with their Customary Governance Code.
"The federal government pretends this is simply an
internal issue," says Marylynn Poucachiche, another Barriere Lake
spokesperson, on-site at the peaceful blockade. "But we can only
resolve the situation if the federal government appoints an observer to
witness a new leadership selection that is truly
in accordance with our Customary Governance Code, promises to respect
the outcome, and then stops interfering in our internal affairs."
In 2007, Quebec Superior Court Judge Rejean Paul issued
a report that concluded that the current faction recognized by the
federal government was a "small minority" that "didn't respect the
Customary Governance Code" in an alleged leadership selection in 2006.[1]
The federal government recognized
this minority faction after they conducted another alleged leadership
selection in January 2008, even though an observer's report the
government relied on stated there was no "guarantee" that the Customary
Governance Code was respected.[2]
The Algonquin Nation Secretariat, the Tribal Council
representing three Algonquin communities including Barriere Lake,
continues to recognize and work with Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway
and his Council.
Media Contacts: Michel Thusky, Barriere Lake
spokesperson: 819-435-2171;
Norman Matchewan, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 647-227-6699; Marylynn
Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 438-868-3957
Notes
1.
http://web.resist.ca/~barrierelakesolidarity/resources/Rapport_du
_Juge_Paul-versionANGLAISEcomplete.doc, pg 26-27
2.
http://web.resist.ca/~barrierelakesolidarity/resources/Riel_Trans
lation_Letter_2.doc , pg 2
Collectif de
Solidarité Lac Barrière
www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com
barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com
514-398-7432
Economic Crisis
The Economy Is Not Sound Mr. Harper
 The leader of the Conservative
Party keeps insisting the economy is fine and Canadians should not
worry. The world has a message for Harper: the global capitalist system
is in crisis and people have every reason to be concerned and to demand
the government take action to guarantee the rights and security of
the people.
The people are not empowered to take collective
defensive measures to protect themselves because the neo-liberals who
have caused the mess hold tight control over all economic and political
institutions that could make a positive difference. Only the government
has the resources and power to defend
the people in such a crisis and it should take action now and not wait
until the situation spins out of control.
Manufacturing continues to spiral downward and the
government has done nothing to reverse the decline and serve
nation-building and the creation of social wealth, which is badly
needed to increase investments in social programs.
Canada is not self-reliant and still depends on
exporting mainly basic commodities. The chief importing countries, the
U.S., Britain and European Union, are falling into deep recession and
the government has done nothing to deal with this problem and lead the
country to a self-reliant economy that
does not depend on exports.
The credit system is freezing up with banks holding
billions in bad debt but here as well the government has done nothing
to change the situation to serve the public good.
 The neo-liberal line is that
individuals should fend for themselves. But that is what they are doing
by withdrawing their savings from mutual funds and bank accounts but
that type of fending for oneself makes the overall situation worse.
Mutual fund withdrawals are at record heights and "silent" bank
runs are exacerbating the credit crisis. Ireland, Greece and now even
Germany have guaranteed all bank accounts to try to stop the bank runs
in their countries. The U.S. has increased the guaranteed amount to
$250,000. Canada has done nothing. Harper keeps saying our banks are in
great shape yet everyone knows
they hold lots of the toxic debt.
A proposal on the credit and banking front would be to
set up national and regional government public banks immediately, where
people could put their savings without worry because the accounts would
be fully guaranteed by government. The government banks could
immediately begin to lend money
to small and medium-sized business and individuals charging only an
administrative fee and no interest. The monopolies would have to be
dealt with separately based on restricting their rights in the public
interest.
If a private chartered bank fails, the government could
allow people to transfer their full savings to a government bank and
underwrite this by seizing the remaining assets of the bank as it is
wound up. The government banks would have as their basic consideration
to build the economic self-reliance
of the nation and regions and reverse this reliance on exporting,
especially basic commodities. Primary industry should as first
principle serve secondary industry and both should contribute to the
service industry, social programs and well-being and prosperity of all
Canadians.
 Something has to be done right now
to reverse the destruction of manufacturing, fix the credit freeze and
meet the immediate needs of the people. Government banks are one
proposal. Direct government funding to maintain and grow manufacturing
in all regions under the control of cooperatives or
public enterprises is another. Increasing investments in social
programs is yet another. The issue is to empower the people to take
action to rescue themselves and their communities. This is the opposite
to paying the rich. The people must not be left to suffer the
consequences of the parasitism of the neo-liberals and
the failure of global capitalism.
Something must and can be done! Stop Harper! Stop the
right in this election! Join in to build committees for democratic
renewal.
Vote
Marxist-Leninist!
Vancouver
Protest Political Censorship at
Britannia Candidates'
Forum!
 
Left:
Anne Jamieson; right: Betty Krawczyk.
|
The Director of Britannia Community Services Centre and
a few board members have decided to exclude two candidates from the
forum for East Vancouver federal candidates to be held on Tuesday,
October 7, 7:00 pm at Britannia Secondary School. The two candidates --
Anne Jamieson of the Marxist-Leninist
Party of Canada, and Betty Krawczyk of the Work Less Party -- should be
allowed to speak at the candidates' meeting.
Some members of the Board have decided to choose which
candidates they think are suitable for East Vancouver residents to
hear. They have decided the forum should be restricted to "candidates
whose parties have seats in Parliament." This action to block free
discussion among all candidates in the forum is
interference in the political process during an election. Citizens have
the right, even the onus, to hear all views, in order to be informed
participants in the political process. This obstruction to free
political discussion is all the more reprehensible in that Britannia
High School is not a businessmen's club, but a publicly
owned facility that belongs to all the citizens.
Write or phone your opposition to political censorship
to:
Enzo Guerriero
Director
Britannia Community Services Centre; 1661 Napier
604-718-5815
enzo.guerriero@vancouver.ca
Read The Marxist-Leninist
Daily
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
