June 21 - Aboriginal Peoples Day

A statement from the Canadian Labour Congress

June 21 is more than just the beginning of summer and it is more than the longest day of the year. Yet these measurements of time are culturally significant as many Aboriginal groups mark this day to commemorate their unique heritage. The passing of time has marked this country's desire to set aside a national day to recognize and honour Aboriginal peoples and culture.

In 1982, the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) called for the creation of such a day. The province of Quebec recognized the day in 1990. The 1995 Royal Commission and the Sacred Assembly, a national conference of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, chaired by Elijah Harper, likewise called for a national day of recognition. Yet it was only a decade ago, in June 1996 that a National Aboriginal Day was formally declared by then Governor General, Roméo LeBlanc.

The passing of time continues to mark many Aboriginal issues.

This month the federal government finally honoured a long standing commitment of compensation to the oldest former students who suffered in the residential school system. For more than a century, the Canadian government removed more than 100,000 native children from their families and placed them in church-run boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their language, or honour their culture. Often beaten and sexually abused, many suffered life-long shame and withdrawal. For this longstanding period of human rights injustice, the first compensation cheques of $8,000 per Elder were mailed out early this month.

One of the most vocal advocates for justice for residential schools system survivors was Gabe Mentuck, a 77 year-old Winnipeg resident. As a youngster, Gabe endured five years of the residential school system abuses and as an Elder he witnessed years of government delays, litigation and sluggish negotiations in the settlement process. Gabe won't get his $8,000 compensation because he died the first week of June this year.

Today, nearly 80,000 Elders are waiting for their small measure of recompense as time quickly passes for each of them. Time has also been passing for the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Confederacy) communities in Caledonia, Ontario. Two hundred years ago, a British General named Haldimand pronounced that distinct lands on either side of the Grand River from its mouth to source would be respected as the land of the Haudenosaunee peoples, in recognition of their support with the British who were battling the United States.

Yet, successive governments did not honour these agreements and for the last 100 some days, the Haudenosaunee have been struggling for recognition of their land rights. Trade unionists have been standing in peaceful solidarity with them.

Today, provincial and federal governments are eager to extract and transport natural gas, water and crude oil as part of the tar sands project in Western/Northern Canada. Many of these projects are located on or will cross lands traditionally occupied by Aboriginal peoples. The rush to profit from non-renewable fuels is in full swing, despite the widespread absence of land use agreements with Aboriginal peoples.

This extractive industry is bringing deadly consequence to those living north of Fort McMurray, including the Dene (Athabasca) peoples. A high number of illnesses, including leukemia, lymphomas, lupus and auto-immune diseases have been diagnosed in Fort Chipewayan, a community of about 1,200 living north of Fort McMurray. Elders in the community say they didn’t see these kinds of diseases until the oil industry started production near their homes on the southwestern tip of Lake Athabasca. Recently, the Chief's medical examiner for the area called for an epidemiological investigation into the declining health of the people in Fort Chipewayan.

Last fall, after 18 months of meetings between the government of Canada and Aboriginal leadership, an important new agreement was reached known as the Kelowna Accord. This period of time culminated with a new and historic commitment to truly bridge the gap in living standards between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. The 19 page implementation plan accompanying the Kelowna Accord promised:

• $1.8 billion to close the education gap by 2016, which exists between native and non-native high school and post-secondary graduation rates;
• $1.6 billion for housing and infrastructure, including a new focus on native home ownership and $400 million to improve water quality on reserves; and
• $1.3 billion to help reduce infant mortality rates, youth suicide, childhood obesity and diabetes while doubling the number of health workers by 2016.

Once again with the passing of time, it appears the new federal government has had a change of heart. In this month of Aboriginal Peoples Day, the new federal minister responsible for Indian Affairs, Jim Prentice, suggested that there never was a signed deal nor were funds set aside to honour the Accord.

Oddly, Prentice is also on record with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) at the height of the recent federal election saying on January 10, "I am the party spokesman on the Kelowna Accord, and let's be perfectly clear for the viewers of your network. We are supportive of Kelowna. We are supportive of the targets and objectives that were set at Kelowna."

On this June 21, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) representing more than three million workers stands in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples and their right to fair and honourable treatment. On this day, it is time long overdue to truly honour the important contributions of Aboriginal peoples original and central place in this land, in our communities and in our workplaces.

On this day, the CLC calls upon the governments of Canada to reflect and learn from Indigenous peoples that all of our structures and values must come from the relationship with the land on which we all live.