Another nothing burger and a pile of dough

What in Gawd's name could anyone learn from Leblanc?

Before I get started on the Indigenous, again, I just had to let you know that you can hear Dominic Leblanc impart his vast wisdom and expertise at a 'Globe and Mail' sponsored series of round tables and it'll only cost you $995!  What a bargain!

Frankly, I wouldn't pay a nickel to hear anything that over-refreshed shill has to say about anything.  But I bet a whole bunch of people will.  He's the same guy who was going to get Canada a tariff-free deal with the U.S., no problem.  That was a year ago and guess what?  Crickets.  Just another Carney barker, in my view.

Speaking of Carney, he just gave the most bizarre and unnecessary speech I have heard him deliver since his Davos dream speech.  I thought it was on re-wind because it was exactly the same drivel he spouted when he hoodwinked Canadians into voting for him.  Since he has taken office?  A lot of sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing.  He's racked up a lot of air miles and tucked into some very pricey and fancy in-flight catering, but what has come of it?  Rhetorical.  

Now he's handing out millions to Sudan.  Sudan??!!  A completely corrupt and failed state.  He's also throwing another pile at Cuba, a "shith-le of a country," according to Trump and he's right on that one.  As for Ukraine, billions have lined the personal coffers of Zelensky with no end game in sight.  It's all outrageous, while vets and seniors live on Canadian streets and eat cat food.  

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'The Aristotle Foundation' has just released a report on the outrageous money the Cowichan Indigenous gang has bilked the Canadian taxpayer.  Here are the key findings:

"In light of the 2025 B.C. Supreme Court Cowichan decision recognizing Aboriginal title over certain lands, we at the Aristotle Foundation believe it is reasonable to ask how financial transfers factor into the public debate on reconciliation.

"In our new report released today—$1.3 billion in taxpayer funds to the Cowichan Tribes: Federal and provincial funding over 24 years—authors Mark Milke and Ven Venkatachalam examine the scale, growth, and per-member impact of federal and provincial transfers to the Cowichan Tribes since 2001.

"Analyzing publicly available financial data, the short study finds funding accelerating sharply in recent years.

"Key Findings

• Since 2001, the Cowichan Tribes have received nearly $1.3 billion in federal and provincial funding. 

• Funding rose from $37.4 million in 2001–02 to $103.3 million in 2024–25—up 176 percent.  

• Cowichan has 5,627 members, with the on-reserve population at 2,651.  

• In other words, since 2001, the Cowichan Tribes have received $227,223 per member, or $9,468 per member annually. 

"The report notes that taxpayer-funded transfers support important services, such as education, health care, infrastructure, housing, and social programs. However, the cumulative scale of transfers raises broader questions considering ongoing litigation and negotiations that have extended for more than three decades."

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So, that's where the bucks go and you can bet the chiefs are enjoying the majority of the riches.  We need more Charmaine Stick's on the case.  

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor

Cochrane mayor, Morgan Nagel.

Walking into the Royal Bank here today, I spotted our mayor, Morgan Nagel, sitting waiting for an appointment.

Naturally, I walked over.  "Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor," I said.  He greeted me warmly back.  There he was, alone, no entourage, no driver, no nothing.  He was simply approachable.  Naturally, I started chatting and told him how to run Cochrane.  Hahahaha!  Of course I did.  

He briefed me on what was happening on the issues I raised and actually told me mine were very good suggestions.  That's how Cochrane still runs.  A mayor you can talk to and a mayor who listens.

Can you imagine Olivia Chow being that accessible?  Can you imagine that clown Mark Sutcliffe chatting to the great unwashed?  My advice to Sutcliffe would have been to take a walk down the once-glorious and vibrant Rideau Street -- an avenue now ridden with vagrants, tents, drug addicts, beggars and people taking dumps outside stores, two hundred yards from Parliament Hill!

It's a disgrace and I'm sick of seeing posts of Sutcliffe glad handing at parties in Rockcliffe and Ottawa, while letting the city sink into rack and ruin.  The nerve of the man!

He should have stuck to radio and reading the news.  Ottawa has become unrecognizable.  Shame on you, Mayor Sutcliffe.  Shame, shame.

  

 

What's he doing there?

That's what I said to B when I saw a picture of Carney welcoming Marilyn Gladu into the fold.  I was referring to Evan Soloman, minister of AI or something, who was grinning beside them like the cat who had just swallowed a big, Conservative canary.

Solomon, the MP whisperer.

Then I learned he had been the one who had recruited Gladu to cross the floor.  Recruited?  I thought Carney and gang were doing no such thing.  He claimed they had just been sitting innocently in their offices, while hoards of MPs lined up outside to declare their new allegiance to the King.  Who me?  Why, I would never actively encourage or bribe an MP to cross the floor!

But they gave that away by having the odious Solomon in the frame.  So, that's Solomon's main job now, sniffing around opposition benches to root out any MPs disgruntled enough to cross for bribes.

It' all so tawdry, shady and shoddy, but who better to do the dirty than Solomon?  And speaking of tawdry, it was absolutely shameless that Gladu crossed the floor.  She's done, but she gets her pension, so that's all done and dusted for her.

Were I advising Carney, I would tell him to not have any other MP in the show-and-tell photo op -- especially the loathsome Solomon, who always gives the impression he would sell his own mother for a couple of bob, or a few shekels.

Time to fire Carney's PR man.  But then, it would be next-to-impossible to keep the pushy Solomon away from a camera.

Pulling back the curtain...

...we see a whole new perspective on Indigenous versus non-Indigenous income.  This is from 'The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy':

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"Public discussions about income disparities often assume systemic barriers are the primary explanation.

"But new research suggests the reality is more nuanced.

"A new report released today by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy—What leads to indigenous success? Education, location, and a full-time career—examines key factors behind income differences between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.

"Using recent Census data, the analysis finds that when like-to-like comparisons are made—accounting for hours worked, education levels, and location—income differences largely disappear.

"Key findings:

• In Canada’s five largest Census Metropolitan Areas—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Calgary—the median employment income is roughly the same for Indigenous and non-indigenous people working full-time with the same level of education. 

• However, overall, Indigenous Canadians do earn less on average, with a median employment income of $36,400 annually, compared to $43,200 for non-indigenous Canadians. But once we account for education, geography, and how much someone works, the disparities disappear. 

• Of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, Indigenous Canadians actually earn more than their peers. But only 15 percent of Indigenous workers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 33 percent of non-indigenous workers. 

• The median after-tax income for Indigenous Canadians is 29 percent higher for those who live off a reserve as compared to those who live on a reserve. 

• Half of Indigenous workers are employed full-time throughout the year, compared to over 54 percent of non-indigenous workers. 

"The findings point to practical drivers of economic success—education, workforce participation, and access to opportunity—not systemic racism, as the federal government claims.

"The full report, What leads to indigenous success? Education, location, and a full-time career, is now available at aristotlefoundation.org."

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I don't know if these comparisons include the billions in funding given the Indigenous every year.  If they don't, then this examination is very skewed because Indigenous income would be much higher that non-Indigenous.

Nevertheless, the Indigenous will continue to claim it's systemic racism.  That's their hard-wired narrative and don't you forget it.

Indigenous incomes may actually be larger than non-Indigenous.

"Irregularities"

That's what Indigenous Services Canada is calling a $28 million dollar boondoggle swindle in how the Saskatchewan Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) spent federal money.

Gee, what a shocker!  I have been raving about this for years.  A forensic audit has found that this money was ineligible because records were missing, shipping and bills of lading not delivered, customs declarations and proof of delivery were non-existent.  So where'd the money end up?  No one knows -- or if they do, they're not telling.

Folks, we all know that fraud on this file has been occurring forever, but because Justin Trudeau cancelled accountability, it just continues to run rampant.  Not all Indigenous leaders are guilty of this.  Clarence Louie, chief of the Osoyoos Band in B.C., for example, is someone I have a lot of respect for.  Rob Louie, who I assume is related to Chief Louie and is president of the Band Members Advocacy and Alliance Association of Canada, is demanding the matter be investigated by police.

"The forensic audit appears to show a reclassification of cheques and other suspicious financial transactions that would suggest fraud under section 266 of the Criminal Code of Canada," Louie wrote to FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron.  "There is still time for you to make things right.

Chief Rob Louie is smelling a large rat.  Good for him!

"The federal government is not the problem; the accounting firm that carried out the forensic audit is not the problem and white people are not the problem," he continued.  "The problem is that somewhere along the way, a culture of entitlement was created that needs to be rooted out of the FSIN immediately."

Mr. Louie has demanded the resignation of the FSIN executive and a public apology, among other remedial actions.

Amen Chief Louie!  What do you think will happen?  Mandy Gull-Masty is the minister of Indigenous Services and she's a Cree, so I'd wager nothing.

My blogs tell you that I am a Maclean-Hunter journalist, trained to pull back the curtain to find out who's involved and what's the agenda.  That's what I still do.  What I have found on this file was, that as usual, we're being had.

    

Ludicrous

I watched part of the NDP leadership convention, but only part of it because I could bear it no longer.  People were getting up on points of privilege and points of order, but not on substance.  No, they were complaining about incorrect gender identification and who missed his-her-they-their turn at the mic.  They were even complaining about the colour of the card they had been issued!  

When Lewis gave his victory speech, the only flag flying on the stage was the Palestinian one!  How could that be allowed?!  It was to weep, but they're irrelevant and will never gain power, so it doesn't matter a whit.

How do they expect to be taken seriously when all they whine about is gender and other related nonsense?!  So, they elected Avi Lewis as leader.  No surprise there, but I'm sorry to break it to you, Canada is not ready for a Jewish prime minister.

Canada is also not ready for a prime minister who promises to faze out all fossil fuels and find new jobs for sector workers.  What?!  There are no other jobs, buddy.  Get ahold of yourself!

Current NDP leader Lewis, on his way to defeat.

This is in no way a racist comment, but Canadians are basically small-c conservative; they don't want a member of a closed sect, cult or religion running the country and the Jewish community is a closed one, as are the Mormon, Muslim and Jehovah Witnesses sects, i.e., cults.  JFK almost lost the Democratic Party leadership because he was Catholic, another perceived cult back then.  So, it's not gonna work for Canada.

Then again, neither do they want a woman.  Remember Kim Campbell's disastrous tenure?  How long did it last, five months?  Then she was thrown out on her a-s in an election, which saw the Conservatives reduced to two seats.  Let's face it, she was no Margaret Thatcher.

Same thing happened to Larry Grossman, when he tried to become premier of Ontario.  Ontario is -- or was then -- a very conservative province à la John Robarts.  And just ask Bernie Saunders in the U.S. how his religion figured into his defeat.  Just ask Elizabeth Warren what happened to her hysterical and strident campaign.  

So, now the NDP are facing complete destruction.  Good riddance, is all I can say.  Government-run grocery stores, are you kidding!?  But all radical leftists, like Lewis, are personally rich, so they can afford to be idealogues.  Must be nice.

  

Ruining lives and livliehoods

That's what is going on in Lytton, or in what used to be Lytton.  Five years ago, wildfires raged through the town, effectively destroying it, but the re-building has been an almost bigger fiasco.

Lytton, still in ruins.

In fact, there is barely any re-building happening because the whole thing had to align with the 2019 Declaration Act, which protects native rights under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) -- a disasterous approach which is ruining lives and destroying livliehoods because the local indigenous people are standing in the way of construction in case someone unearths a bow and arrow or a feather.

The B.C. government is also to blame because it put the whole process in the hands of Lytton's manager and meagre staff, instead of under the guidance of professional engineers and planners.  No, premier John Horgan, in his infinite "wisdom", decided it would be better to have the traumatized manager and six other inexperienced staff run the operation.  The fact that none had any expertise in such matters was of no consequence whatsoever.

That's when it all fell to pieces.  Horgan walked away in 2022 and David Eby -- an NDP lunatic, in my opinion -- took over.  He merely replaced Horgan without an election and has ensured the town remains stuck in the mess five years on.  I mean, G-d forbid someone finds a peace pipe or part of a wigwam!

The ineptitude of the town burghers and the local indigenous, under the protection of UNDRIP, are the main stumbling blocks because during the site preparation process, a few artifacts were unearthed, which gave the Nlaka'pamux people the authority to order an archeological examination of the entire area.  

They stopped the entire process.  Nothing is being done.

What has all this cost?  Well, initial estimates were that it would cost $5.1 million for debris removal and soil remediation.  But, true to form, that ballooned to $16.7 million within months.  Now?  B.C. has handed Lytton more than $60 million -- with absolutely no accounting for the funds doled out.

What artifacts have been unearthed?  Well, no one knows because, well......no one knows because, well......no one is accountable.  I mean, archeologists have to take their time.  Just ask those still unearthing tombs in Egypt, which Howard Carter started in 1922.  It's still going on!

The fault lies with with a government that couldn't be bothered to put people and expertise on the ground right after the fire who could truly help Lytton re-build.  

What a crime for the people who lived there.  It didn't have to be this way, but with Eby in charge, it will be.