Is the article available anywhere online?

Sorry I couldn't find it online but it was in the Pembroke Daily Observer and probably in the Ottawa Sun. I think it was written in the last 4 days. I am out of town at the moment visiting the in-laws in St. Catherines so I don't have the paper with me. I think it can be found in Sun News also.

Hi dreamerman

I did post an article below on finances on  the UC thread about this topic. However, here is more.

There is a lot of suffering for some bands. Housing is badly needed. I was reading that brick houses cannot be built because of the cost of transportation for bricks  which is very expensive.  Prefabs are ready made wooden houses which are shipped in. Many were built in Canada after world war 2 and for the veterans families. They are fine except they don't stand up well to Canada's harsh winters. Some Natives do work in the mines which is one hellish dangerous job I wouldn't  wish on anyone and it lends itself to lung  illness, addictions  etc.

Here's a Sun Media video which is a mix of info. from 2011 and 2012 I think. I didn't research what they are saying.

Financial Statements:

Dreamerman: In the British journalistic tradition I trained in, by-lines were a way of either distancing a report from the editorial policies of the paper or acknoledging (rarely) exceptional work beyond the call of duity.

Copy was written to style, adjectives that were not in attributed quotes were banned as "opinion" and factual accuracywas absolutely imperative (getting a fact wrong was a firing offence). Grammatical and spelling errors were tolerated to a point if they looked like "typos" but habitual errors would also get you sacked. Subeditors kept notes on reporters' sins and would rip up a careless or slovenly reporter on the spot.

In those edays, though, staffing levels were high and you could work thoroughly on a story. You'd be expected to produce a routine 4-6 stories a shift, but if you hooked into something "big" and important, you'd be encouraged to investigate and given the time and support to do it. It led to what I (from my point of view) considered "good" journalism.

There is always "bias" in the news — it begins wityh choosing a language in which you're going yo publish — but at least it was moderate and consistent: a reader generally knew where a newspaper was coming from.

Now, reporters have immense freedom, editors are encouraged to sell papers (and use as much titillation, entertainment and celebrity pimping as it takes), staffing is down (dramatically), much of the "news" is sourced from press releases and public relations offices, subeditors are mostly concerned with design issues, there are no proof readers anymore, spelling and grammar are "relative" (to put it politely) and readers have seldom been equipped by their education to think critically or fairly. People tend to read sources they agree with and deem this "accuracy". This makes "professional" media a social menace. This is very largely thanks to the greed and cynicism of Rupert Murcdoch whose empire thurned front line staff members into criminals.

SUN Media is an examplar of modern journalistic standards: crap.

Thanks for the links stardust. It does seem rather complicated. You almost have to be an accountant to understand some of it. One of the links you provided had good old Ezra Levant spouting his same old same old racist nonesense. If it isn't nonsense that Ezra is talking about and you have to take this guy seriously then something just doesn't seem right. Ezra says the chief and band council should shoulder most of the blame for the conditions that Attawapiskat is in. He says more or less that the band coucil is corrupt and the people in the band should be living high on the hog because they get about $70,000 a year per person with a population of about 2000. He shows a big screen tv at one point and wonders why that money wasn't used for renovations. In another picture he shows an over turned truck that looks fairly new which he says probably cost about $50,000. So more or less he says the majority of residents are driving new four wheel drive vehicle and own big screen tv's and their housing conditions take a back seat to these goodies. so if this isn't accurate then I think Ezra Levant is a racist plain and simple but if what he has to say has an element of truth I will reconsider the label. Anyway what did you think of Ezra's rant stardust?

I have read a lot of Sun Media or Sun News. It is usually the same reporters saying the same old things I wonder if they are Stephen Harper's think tank. So who can you trust to tell you the truth in the media or at least have an element of integrity or honesty? Does it exist Mike?

dreamerman

Ezra must be showing the financial statement which is posted on the net. There are various parts to it.

Financial Statements:

I've no clue how the band runs its operation. The residents say there is favoritism regarding who gets decent housing and who doesn't. That's possible and its also possible that some residents may fear their own band authorities and so they don't speak up.  I mean there's no doubt that "playing nice" with them would be to one's advantage.  I don't believe those on social assistance receive their own personal  gov't  payments? I wonder if those  over 65 receive OAS?  So many questions and we know so little in general. There is problems with revenue received from the diamond mine according to articles I've read. One article says it cannot be used towards housing? I believe I read that  they may also receive some royalty or other from a hydro company in James Bay.

Whatever.....the present probems are more about  bill C45 having to do with water rights and protection of Canada's rivers and lakes or land  Chief Spence says. It will be discussed in court sometime in the future I presume.

I have Sun Media on Rogers cable. I don't watch it very often but they seem to be the only channel  giving extended coverage of  Idlenomore , be it truth or falsehood. There is a mention of it on others, more so as of today.

The Red Cross has contributed $300,000. and Emergency Services Ont. is involved. Also there is another elder on a hunger strike... Emil Bell:

http://idlenomore1.blogspot.ca/2012/12/emil-bell-to-also-go-on-hunger-strike.html

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2012/12/20121230-082818.html

Here's an article on the cost of housing which I believe. The community is only accessible  via  3 hr. (?)   air travel and then the goods are transported by truck on what they call the ice road. The cost of groceries is sky high for the same reasons.

Hi stardust did you not watch the video of Ezra that was in your link you posted? Surely you must have some comment on his rant. I mean if what Ezra says in that video is true then why would chief Theresa Spence be on a hunger strike if she and her band are primarily responsible for their condition? I for one believe very little of what Ezra says but I am sure there are quite a few Canadians who will take Ezra's words as gospel.

dreamerman

As you know there was a lot of this same publicity ( and problems)  the same time last year. I think the public in general may be somewhat burned out hearing about it which is why there isn't much interest or response on the WC. You asked for info. in your OP about Ezra's videos which is why I posted them. If you do some net research "some" of what Ezra says seems to be common knowledge and its no big deal when the finances are properly explained.

Most comments agree that the hockey  arena was/is  badly needed and it serves as a community center. Some say it had to be approved by Indian Affairs.....?..and someone else says private donations paid for it? The kids play hockey and compete in games  elsewhere as I understand it. Personally I'd say they need more sports like basketball, soccer etc. and fitness centers  for the youth..... and not less.

There are lots of contradictions regarding how the finances are spent and approved. I believe there are 600 and some bands in Canada  with some being more well off than others and there are different systems of band gov't. Mostly I read people's comments and various newspaper articles.

On the one hand I read that the feds have to approve expenditures and on the other hand I read that its the band's responsibility. I'm sorry to say that the bands appear to not always want or manage  the sought after responsibility after demanding it.  Can we call it a paradox or a catch 22 and place some blame for confusion and bad management  on both parties?  I've read so much that my head is spinning.

 See the link above  - note that its from  2009 .

Quote from Indian and Northern Affairs link:

Final Thoughts

There's a lot left to be said about INAC's inadequacies and perhaps even criminal activities when it comes to environmental protection, its negligence when dealing with crises and its refusal to adhere to existing regulations.

Most disturbingly of all, INAC's "woeful" exploitation of the lack of regulations when leasing lands to corporations. Most of the time, they can't even fulfill their most basic "constitutional obligation to consult" a community before telling a company they can have some of their traditional territory. Instead, they give the land to the company first---and then tell the community to talk to the company while they, INAC, acts out the role of "the noble mediator." The peace maker.

And who knows how many of these companies are being fueled by investments from the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)---something that few people are willing to talk about these days. Not to mention the fact that indigenous people are being routinely arrested, beaten and thrown in jail for trying to stop companies from destroying even more land and releasing even more toxins. There's plenty of regulations for that sort of thing.

Hopefully, in the weeks and months ahead people will start coming forward to discuss these matters in more detail.

As a final thought, let us instead turn to one of INAC's triumphs--possibly one of the 58 contaminated sites they took action on this year.

You may recall reading about an open "toxic wound" that was left in the middle of the Attawapiskat Cree Nation reserve this past March.

An INAC-funded gas line burst in 1979, which allowed some 30,000 gallons of hydrocarbon oil to pool under the reserves one and only school.

It took INAC 30 years to finally give the go-ahead to tear down the school, which the community was forced to abandon years ago.

Soon after the school went down, in March 2009, the community of Attawapiskat was hit with an outbreak of headaches, nausea, skin rashes, nosebleeds, and chronic diarrhea.

In response to the crisis, the Band Council declared a "state of emergency" to evacuate their kids from the reserve. However, They needed INAC's help for the evacuation.

INAC refused to help. According to their own tests, there was no need for an evacuation.

Discussing the issue in Parliament at the time, INAC Minister Chuck Strahl said the whole thing was nothing more than a publicity stunt being propped up “on the backs of needy aboriginal people.”

My experience with Sun Media is that when they print an article on any of several subjects and it turns out to be true - it is viewed as a  happy accident.

I thik it does exist here and there, Dreamerman, but as great a problem as the vagueness, bias and superficiality of cheaply produced, partisan pseudo-news is a widespread incapacity to read news well.

People, for example, typically accept statistical infomation at face value, and apply "common sense" understandings of what various categories and labels mean. That's not always appropriate. "Crime rates", for example, necessarily refer to reported crime and police officers have the power to apply some discretion when it comes to listing and categorising many forms of "reported" crime. That leeway can be applied to promoting police priorities. 

Higher than "normative" numeracy and critical thinking skills are needed to evaluate most news stories of consequence but, even then, it's often the case that there's not enough hard information in a news story these days to support the sort of critical analysis that understanding it would require.

Reporters seldom seem to question the integrity, bias, vested interest, knowledge sources and personality of information providers who, these days, are far too often public relations practitioners, polticians or hardline advocates. Most claims and utterances from such sources CAN be checked and verified somewhere else. Few reporters these days are allowed the time or resources to do that.

Backgrounders and follow-ups, it seems to me, are far too acarce… meaning that incidents and opinions are presented without any filling in of the causes, continuities and  contexts that would make them intelligibie.

For readers who like news plain, simple and impressionistic, and chosen in ways that confirm their attitudes and stereotypes, contemporary news sources couldn't be better. 

Fanning prejudices, though, is the cost. And, in a democracy that wants to remain a democracy, it is a very high cost, a very dangerous one.

WHERE do you find reasonable responsible and reliable "news"? In Canada, the Globe  & Mail is probably as good as you'll get; CBC Radio does a great job given the resourcing it gets (or doesn't get). And there are a few (very few) little local newspapers that convey what some of the local issue seem to be. Internationally, I tend to juggle The Independent (U.K.), Al Jazeera and the NY Times… and, for old times' sake, I check out the New Zealand Herald. I subscribe to 'New Scientist' which gives the best coverage I've found of ideas across a wide variety of insights, issues and debates in science (including social sciences) and technology. It has been excellent on climate change issues, for example.

Wherever something interests me more deeply, I try to get as close to orginal sources as I can and the Internet is quite valuable here, if you're careful about the way to interpret what you find. Personal contact is best, but it's not always possible.

In fact, though, I don't bother.

I draw my most important , personally relevant guiding principles and information from paying attention to the flows of beauty and abundance all around, the love of my wife and family and the meanings that good friends and I share through our relationships.

I have a lot of impulsive curiosity and really have little time or energy for plunging too deeply into too many concerns at once.

To me, THE most important national issue facing Canada right now is to establish a relationship with indigenous cultures that embraces justice, freedom, compassion and democracy.  To flourish, these values need true and sustaing foundations. At the moment, these critical values are seated on a sham… on foundations that are riddled with racism, contempt, lies, denial and inhuman neglect, and this is a fatal constitutional flaw with consequences for us all.

This is far more important to me than the economy, crime, health issues, fighter jets or anything else because it underlies all of these other issue; it affects the integrity of all of our actions as Canadians in ways that these other "issues" do not.

Sadly our local paper is a SUNMEDIA intrument.  ANd even more sadly they have lost focus on their mission.  A local paper should be mainly about local news and events.  Here it is a good day when less than half of it is made up of syndicated junk (both SUN columnists and "celebrity news").

Here is the article you mentioned in your OP dreamerman: http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/24/time-to-break-first-nations-cycle-of-misery

The thing that bothers me about this whole issue is the blanket statements painting all Native people as lazy, drinkers, stupid, etc. Of course, that is racist talk. One person who commented below this article mentioned Newfoundland and how they moved the outport communities. That did not turn out as well as they would have liked, and did not happen as smoothly. We cannot treat groups of people as pawns who can just be shuffled around.

From what I have read in the last while, communities like Attawapiskat cannot benefit from the resources around them. They cannot just go out and use the trees nearby to build houses. There is no need for brick houses, as wooden or non-brick (whatever that is) houses are perfectly solid and acceptable. I live in one, and there are no brick houses around me. People need to have the ability to fend for themselves and to be community. I'm not sure that is always available to FN groups. (I could go on and on with this topic......)

I had the great fortune to listen to Cindy Blackstock speak at GC41 this summer. (here's one interview of her http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire/2011/11/cindy-blackstock.html) The popular opinion is that FN people and children get way more funding than others in this country. She has done a lot of research and work, and can blow that myth wide apart. FN children (and families) actually get less funding for things like education and health care than people off reserve. Did you know too, that more FN children are in non-Native foster care than were ever in Residential Schools. The residential school phenomenon continues in child welfare.

I had a "discussion" with my MP Bob Zimmer on Twitter, and then in a blog, about some issue at the time. He pointed me to SunNews for information. I decided to watch it a bit to get his perspective. The first attempt lasted about five minutes. I held out for about 30 the second time. It was truly revolting and opinionated. The one program was promoting the death penalty. They had a priest on the show who opposed the penalty and who gave compelling, well thought out arguments against it. The host of the show brow-beat him and talked over him. It was clear what the agenda was for that program. In my opinion, the same thing is happening now with the Idle No More issues. From what I understand, Attawapiskat for one, has opened its books. They are far more accountable than the Federal Government from what I can see. (for what that is worth)

I think our local paper is also a SunMedia tool. I know the paper in my home town of London, Ontario, the London Free Press is now a Sun paper. I haven't subscribed to a paper in some time. There is no need to bring that junk into the house....

Yes thank you Northwind that is the article I was referring to.

"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.'

--GK Chesterton

Some Ezra Levant?

Ezra makes mely look like a light weight imo. Native chiefs making millions? Come on Ezra where is your proof?

(in Ricky Ricardo voice):  you're welcome for the research to do :3

This is factual. Several First Nations chiefs receive generous salaries.

I write a weekly column in a Sun Media newspaper. I am not paid for it. I often publicly disagree with the Sun Media editorial stance, other columnists and our local MP. Sun Media encourages such diversity of opinion.

i'll just have to take your word that they encourage it, dks.  based on what i've read in the ottawa sun or the winnipeg sun, that doesn't seem to come out all that much.

any time i've picked up a copy of the daily sun newspaper (they usually give them free to the waiting rooms i frequent) i can't make it two pages in without reading why i should be ANGRY about something... one day, i counted almost a dozen headlines with !!EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!  in them.  it feels to me like they are trying to manipulate me with fear... that if i don't keep reading, i will miss some earth shattering fact that i need to know if i want to survive intact.

i don't WANT to be told what i should or should not be angry about.  i want the facts, and i will make my own decision about whether i should or shouldn't be angry or happy.  

sun media just feels so ridiculously condescending to me.  i just want a news outlet to give me the news.  telling me how i should or shouldn't feel or react to it isn't what i feel a news agency should be doing.

and the half naked chick in the back pages??  pfft.  what kind of newspaper needs to have a half naked chick in it??

You are reading only one small part of Sun Media. The top of the pyramid are the city dailies, which you are reading. The columnists are syndicated nationally and are the content for the forty other smaller papers across Canada. My column isopublished in one of those. It is the editor who decides content. And there are no half-naked men or women in any of the secondary Sun Media newspapers.

For a real treat, check out the reader comments. If that doesn't scare the bejesus out of you, nothing will. These are fellow Canadians & voters.
It's a race to the bottom. The only upside is that there aren't usually many comments, possibly indicating a vocal few @ lack of engagement.
Check it out online if you're curious.

What's your column about, DKS?

Can you give us a link that will redeem the views against Sun Media Corpthat seem to predominate here ?

Personally, I write for a small independent:

And for this Scottish-based international magazine:

I have posted a couple here over the last while. When it is published on Monday, I will post my thoughts on Chief Spence's hunger strike. It's embargoed until then.

Sun Media doesn't publish my column on the web. There are others like that. Only corporate, salaried columnists, apparently.

They did put one on the web when our MP said some really inappropriate things.

http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2012/02/13/larry-miller-should-also-apologize-to-his-constituents

Great! Look forward to it DKS.

Posted in the Chief Spence thread.

Thanks, DKS.

Now you know exactly how I feel about CBC.  At least you don't have to pay for SUN with your taxes.  

As a leftist/centrist, I find the CBC has become somewhat right-wing the past few years.  For the most part, CBC usually provides basic information and comments from a variety of perspectives.  Most of the time when it goes sensationalist is when it is going the Sun Media route in reacting to emotional situations.

i'm glad you pointed that out

i hear ya -- i notice that that statement (not that exact statement, of course) by people with differing BS...so there are people who can listen to, say, Greenpeace and feel the above way, people who hear aboot a news source speaking something aboot the economy in the above way, people who hear aboot a tomato plant growing in a road median (true local story) and feel the above way, etc etc

with the internet, i find, it gives me access to so many different BS and spiritual views it's amazing and coolies

I have also noticed the CBC news site moving toward a more conservative slant Jim, and that it's using more tabloid-style headlines.
I've wonder if they are desperate to retain their gov't funding & so they may be pandering.
I'm a news junkie so I can't seem to drag myself away from the comments forum there however. It's fascinating & horrifying. People can be so hateful when anonymous, but the thoughtful, informed posts are worth wading through the muck for. I find myself looking for thumbs up/down here!
I have to say that I've learned from the more informed comments, regardless of their political identity.
My favourite news site these days is The Tyee. Good articles - Green leaning, I'd say.

"Green leaning, I'd say"

--an Entwife

Hooooooom!

LOL!! 

i dunno, i've never seen mansbridge finish the show with a half naked woman...

unless i've been out of the loop for longer than i thought...

Update: Jan. 9/12

Sun Media reports that Chief Spence will not be meeting with Harper on Fri, more news to follow....??? She has run the media out of Atthawap. they also report.

Too bad...this is turning into a real circus of sorts for all of those invovled. It isn't going to help anything.

Stardust: this is the current NEWS:

Theresa Spence says she won't attend Friday's "working meeting" between First Nations chiefs and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, because the presence of Gov. Gen. David Johnston is "integral" and he won't be there.

"We have sent a letter to Buckingham Palace and requesting that Queen Elizabeth II send forth her representative which is the Governor General of Canada," Spence said in a release. "I will not be attending Friday's meeting with the prime minister, as the Governor General's attendance is integral when discussing inherent and treaty rights."

Johnston's spokesperson characterized the Friday session as "a working meeting with government on public policy issues," differentiating it from the nature of the 2012 Crown-First Nations gathering in which Johnston did participate as the Queen's representative in Canada.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has been declining solid food since Dec.11 and has demanded a meeting between the Crown and First Nations. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

I think Theresa Spence's assessment of the soyuation is fair and reasonable.

As for kicking some of the media out of Attawapiskat… what took so long? Many of the media have been treatung this whole issue with voyeuristic, racist delight.

Sorry Mike....I don't share your optimism. I think the waters are muddy and will continue to get worse before they get better. Sun Media......?....says it cost Spence $21,000. for the hotel she sleeps in and where she  has a shower since her hunger strike.  Does that sound right?

Update Jan.9 at  1:44 p.m....meeting at 2 p.m. with....?....Atleo - sp. perhaps?

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/09/chief-theresa-spence-changes-her-mi...

personally, i'm finding waaaay too much cynicism and mistrust being bandied aboot like it was a good thing in these affairs...

EDIT:  one of the cool side-effects of these discussions will be the whole notion of identity -- what makes someone an 'indian'.  is it some inner essence?  a legal thing?  bueller?  who gets to decide?  if there is a conflict, is there room for arbitration?  etc?

Finally... this isn't Sun Media but ......here's good news for the Metis and non-status Indians ( those not linked to  specific reserves)

.

Jan.9/13 - Harper won't like this.....!

It throws another fly in the ointment!

OTTAWA—

Canada’s 600,000 Métis and non-status Indians are indeed “Indians” under the 1867 Constitution Act, and the direct responsibility of Ottawa, the Federal court of Canada ruled Tuesday.

The decision, a huge victory for natives, was a blow to a government trying to contain nationwide aboriginal protests and facing a high-stakes Friday meeting with First Nations leaders.

Aboriginal leaders hope the judgment will lead to better access to health care, education, hunting, fishing and trapping rights on public lands, and the right to directly negotiate or enter treaties with the federal government for many off-reserve aboriginals.

“It’s huge. To me, it’s a game-changer,” said Ron Swain, vice-chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. “It’s an absolutely joyful day for all of us.”

Yet the 175-page ruling — a complex look at Canada’s historical legal relationship with native people — is almost certain to be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1311936--federal-court-ruling-metis-and-non-status-indians-are-indians

when did you start feeling that way aboot the CBC?

do you think of any part of the CBC as part of The Canadian Identity?  that's one of the things that i'm still mulling over -- competition vs. Canadian 'Identity'.  Heck, if we really had free markets, wouldn't that mean that China & India would take over right now?  Quandries...

more musings:  does SUN media represent american-style individualism and constitutionalism, trying to terraform Canadian society into something more akin to that as opposed to 'peace, order, good governance', where freedom of speech isn't a g_d-given right but good manners? ;3 hmm, more quandries...

Some Van. Sun. Info. for us:

First, some misinformation about one supposed reason for the protests, that reserves will be broken up by Bill C-45, should be debunked.

That recent federal legislation allows First Nations to lease some of their land to others if they so choose.

In British Columbia, the Westbank and Osoyoos First Nations have prospered using such lease arrangements to create housing subdivisions and commercial complexes. The money flows back to the reserves' owners.

All Bill C-45 would do is to allow even more reserves to imitate those successful models. But the bill does not mandate that path and nor does it allow for reserve land to be sold (as has been incorrectly claimed).

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Idle+More+protests+choose+wrong+targets...

Already tagged

Mike.....Yes, Ezra is slightly off the wall but I do check  and often research what he's going on about. Yesterday he was raving about oil shares and stocks that Attawapiskat owns. Other sources on the net  agree with him. I'm sure he would be sued 10 times over if it was all falsehoods or lies.

I see Sun News Media on Rogers cable 142. Are these the same people as the Sun newspaper? If so, I see the Sun newspaper  being read  at mall food courts and on the buses,subways etc. all the time. Its because its a small format paper making it convenient and easy to read on crowded transportation. The Toronto Star, Globe, Nat. Post has to be folded a few times to read on transit. I also know people whose first language isn't English so they find it less difficult to read  and translate the Sun rather than the other newspapers. I get the Toronto Star. The New York Times weekly comes with it on Sunday for $1.

Here's an article (next post)  on the Attawapiskat  oil and mineral (gold) shares.

http://www.genuinewitty.com/2013/01/06/attawapiskats-problematic-investm...

Rally against Sun Media this Sat.Jan. 19

Putting Racism to Rest: A Rally against the Toronto Sun media! - Saturday

The Deets:

Saturday January 19, 2013

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The Toronto Sun

1-333 King Street East

http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/krystalline-kraus/2013/01/activist-c...

P.S. Lavant is mild compared to comments from various sources against First Nations
I read on the net. Out of a large number of comments I may read there are very few in favour or in support of First Nations.
By the way I do support First Nations and I wish them much love and success.