Ed Shaske
Article No. 254 (February 25, 2013)
Whispering
in the Wind
CANADA, ONE NATION FOR ALL!
The inflamed
discord between Assembly of First Nations chiefs and the prime minister has seemingly
calmed from the goings-on just weeks ago.
The fighting words and rowdy demonstrations; all captured under the
“Idle No More” banner in December and January, has shifted to tamer discussions
behind closed doors. Many Canadians were
and still are outraged by the two months of chaos with most of the confusion
being caused, if not engineered by a few of the more radical aboriginal leaders. The “Idle no More” movement, initiated by
four women in Saskatchewan,
did have merit when it was focused on the omnibus legislation passed by Prime
Minister Harper’s majority government. When the Assembly of First Nations
chiefs embraced the sentiments of “Idle no More” and then took “political” ownership
of the slogan, things changed big time. As
well the Assembly of First Nation chiefs expanded the “Idle no More” agenda dramatically
to include “nation to nation” negotiations, with at least one chief advocating
“sovereignty” of the Indian nations. The
response from the Canadian public on the politicization of “IDLE NO MORE” has been mixed with some Canadians indicating; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and asking that Prime
Minister Harper undertake appropriate action to deal with the “Indian Question”
once and for all time – and do it with a firm hand. I am not a particular fan of Prime Minister
Harper and his autocratic approach to governance, but he might be the man to
carry the country through this mess – and he needs to do it through definition
rather than accommodation. If he needs a
slogan, how about a more positive approach with: Canada, ONE NATION FOR ALL.
