Attawapiskat a Canadian First Nation in trouble

[dead0man]

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Seems there is a very serious housing shortage up on the Reservation.  The Canadian govt has sent them $90mil in the last 5 years, for a village of less than 2000 people.  The govt sent an accountant up to see where the money is going, the locals kicked him out.  They don't want help, they just want more money.  It costs an ass ton of money to live in the middle of nowhere.  The Canadians and recently the oil companies clearly haven't always been fair and have been dicking these people around since they met.

What I'd like to discuss is what should the long term plan be here.  Status quo aint going to work.  You can't stop paying them, you can't force them to move, you can't stop them procreating as much they are (very young population).  There is no work, but they won't go elsewhere for work for the usual reasons, culture being the big one I guess.  This is just one group in one country, there are a hundred other situations in dozens of other countries that are along the same lines.  As the father of two Lakota girls, this type of discussion happens a lot at my house.  It's a very touchy subject, obviously, but its one the human race needs to have.  Does every culture need to be saved and persevered in amber, never to change?  Like I said, we can't force these people to move or assimilate, clearly that's wrong...but should we encourage it?

(this might should go in the individual politics board or something, I'm not sure, mods feel free to move if you think that's right)

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

The former minister for indian affairs says that the government has known about this for years and years. The Current minister however - still bound by his party oaths I suppose - claims the opposite.

[Holmes]

This is actually in my riding, and it's not just Attawapiskat. But I can say, the locals mostly do not care. A few reserve communities up north get flooded every spring, and so they migrate to Timmins for a month or two, and it's the bane of the city. Yes, there's sympathy, but the attitude is that the government gives them all this money, then it magically disappears, and there's no accountability. Which is true. But that's the problem.

Solution? I dunno. Can anything be done? Is the government capable of spending their money for them? There'd be more accountability that way, but I have a feeling that's not legal.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

We need to find out where all the money is going, and, we need to give them more money for the RIGHT things with proper strings attached.

[Holmes]

All that money, and no infrastructure to show for it. Gee, I wonder where the money went.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

Considering only 4M was for housing...

[minionofmidas]

Solution? I dunno. Can anything be done? Is the government capable of spending their money for them? There'd be more accountability that way, but I have a feeling that's not legal.

That approach was tried. For a century or so. There was even less accountability then.

[Hatman 🍁]

Most band councils make an absurd amount of money. However, in Attawapiskat, the chief was only making $60,000 which isn't that much considering the price of living up there.

Where is the money going? Substance abuse may have something to do with it. Yes, there needs to be federal oversight but not what the Tories are proposing. The 3rd party manager being sent there has to be paid $1000 a day, and it has to come from band funds! Ridiculous!

The solution is of course to start building infrastructure. The province needs to step in and provide community housing, build schools, community centres, more law enforcement to deal with smuggling, but also set up a drug treatment program there. Maybe a road link if it's possible.

[2952-0-0]

But the government has been providing infrastructure and treatment programs year after year, for decades. Clearly the status quo isn't sustainable. I don't think it's fair to blame the native residents for the problem. The blame goes to the federal government which keeps throwing money at the problem, and a system which doesn't encourage the residents to take pride in themselves.

A good first step would be allowing residents to buy their plot of land at a below market price, give them a one-off home renovation grant, and allow them to sell or use their homes as collateral. If nothing else it would make residents take pride in their own homes. I'd also encourage isolated reserves to source as many raw materials from the surrounding area as possible, though details will be thrashed out later. The reserves will still be poorer than "white" towns, but the residents will at least have pride in something.

[Hatman 🍁]

Throwing money at the problem has been the problem. Reserves are a big toilet for money. It's not the Aboriginal's fault though. They have been getting a raw deal from Whites for centuries. Despair and hopelessness breed social problems, and the one's that get money out of it don't know how to manage it properly.