Sorry, it is

Despite protestations to the contrary, the natives' demand to create their own child-welfare legislation is all about money.  And they are looking for a minimum of $155 million on top of the $16 billion they already get handed annually to run that aspect of it.  "It isn't just about money," some spokesman said.  Well, sorry, but yes it is. 

StatsCan numbers tell you that while native children four and under comprise only eight percent of the total population, they account for 51.2 percent of preschoolers in care.  That's insane!  Why is that?  Why is it so many native parents can't adequately take care of their own offspring?  And don't blame "residential schools"; no one's been to one in two generations.  Currently, if a parent can't look after a native kid at home, the latter is placed in the 'kinder care' program whereby a close relative takes the abused/neglected/starved/beaten child in.  So they effectively have control of these kids now.  And what happens?  In all the cases given huge amounts of publicity, the kid is either killed by the relative -- such as the case of little Serenity here in Alberta -- or dies of neglect or starvation anyway. 

What needs to be corrected is what happens to a native baby from the time it's born to the age of two, when it's obvious abuse has been taking place.  That's where the intervention needs to happen.  That's where native leaders need to investigate -- not wait until the damage is done and step in.  It's too late by then.  During the "emergency" meeting in Ottawa this week to discuss the "crisis" in native care, not one person in, or covering, it dared even mention the disproportionate numbers.  Couldn't even whisper it!   

Why should parents be given millions to look after their own kids?  When I was a kid, my mother got a "baby bonus" of $5 a month.  It was up to her and my father to pay for my care -- not "the government".  Native leaders complain they get less money for child services on reserves than elsewhere, but this is because they also get handed billions over and above what's allocated for children.  They're supposed to take care of a lot of this with that money! 

The sense of entitlement and blame by natives is both outrageous and breathtaking.