There's only one

Trudeau naively talks about "nation-to-nation' in dealings with the natives.  Problem is, in their minds there is only one nation: theirs.  Canada doesn't exist.

This has been clear to me for several years, as native group after native group claims ownership of any and all land they deem traditionally theirs.  Treaties?  Forget them.  As I have said many times, they believe all of Canada to be native territory.  The latest obstacle to vital pipelines is Ron Tremblay, chief of the Wolastoq Grand Council, who represents bands along the St. John River in New Brunswick.  His plan is to show up at climate talks in Vancouver and insist the federal government provide him a "written acceptance of our traditional philosophy."

Tremblay's position is that the "capitalist (sic) system and all forms of devastation, exploitation, abuse and corruption have caused great ruin, damage and destruction of Mother Earth."  Frankly, last time I drove through a reserve here I was confronted with a rotting dump of falling-down houses, abandoned cars and wandering feral animals.  Hardly a pristine wilderness. 

Gee, thanks, Ron, for that positive step in helping a country earn the money through the international sale of oil and gas so essential to giving a mere 1,400,000 natives $8.5 billion a year.  Every year.  It's insane.  Ron and his merry band are but a microcosm of what is happening all across Canada, where projects are being blocked, delayed or denounced by aboriginal groups that either do not want any development, or insist that they own the land and must give consent before anything can happen to it. 

Natives have now seized upon something called "unceded land", a concept so vague it's enriching lawyers across the nation.  Who owns it?  No one knows.  However, in most cases "unceded land" has been owned by individuals and corporations for centuries.  Now, according to natives, these interlopers no longer own it.  A case in point is right under Justin's nose on the site of the islands on the old E.B. Eddy plant in the Ottawa River, just down from Parliament Hill.  Owned by Domtar for years, they sold it to a developer who drew up a set of plans to clean up the site and turn it into something useful.  But, never mind years of consultations with the Algonquins, who enthusiastically signed on in exchange for jobs, training and that old standby money, they are now having none of it -- regardless of the fact they had previously agreed that such private land was not part of their claim. Huh!!??!! 

What have the Algonquins now decided?  That the dump is "sacred territory".  So, that's the end of that.  Poor old Justin. He actually believed that consultations and an improved regulatory process would get at least a few projects approved.  How wrong he was when minutes after announcing changes to environmental assessments for pipelines, native leaders from across the country issued a joint statement denouncing them as "inadequate".  Frankly, I think it's just the money that's inadequate. 

My first letter to the editor about this reality appeared in The Herald at least four years ago and it's become much worse.  Native leaders oppose every development, regardless of the amount of consultation and regulatory hearings.  As I recently wrote, their motto is: "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's made up."