...they need a little help, just to bite the hands that feed them.
"The Beaver Lake First Nation filed a lawsuit against the Alberta Energy Regulator ... hoping to use a crowdsourcing site supported by environmental groups, which include Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, to raise $100,000 to fund the action."
"The feds spend more than $10.5 billion annually on Canadian aboriginal communities,...$9,056 per aboriginal person in 2011...Provincial governments, spend another $711 million every year on their own aboriginal programs."
I worked just north of Lac Labiche 30 years ago slashing access roads for exploratory drilling sites and I know quite a bit about the background of this band. The companies made no effort to get the members onside at an early stage by offering them what was at that time really good jobs. Which is too bad, because this reserve was well run and did not have a lot of the problems that others have. There arte some really interesting stats here http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/aprof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=BAND&Code1=630460&Data=Count&SearchText=Beaver%20Lake%20Cree%20Nation&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=630460&TABID=1
ReplyDeleteWhat is sad is the mortality: a population of 410 and no women alive over the age of 55. The labour and employment stats (about half way down this long document) paint a sad picture too. About half of the working population is employed doing stuff like administration and social services.
British enviro groups and media really helped stir the pot and rallied a lot of support for court actions. Although I don't agree with what the band is doing, this all could have and should have been prevented a long time ago.
Thanks for that background TJ. I guess we can't paint them all with the same brush. But how I wish their Chiefs had the courage and character to lead them out of this mess.
DeleteYeah, that may all be true enough TJ, but as you pointed out, it's no excuse for this obstruction. Albert's oil accounts for a big chunk of that 9 grand that is doled out by Ottawa for every Indian. They're being just as stupid as the idiots in the GTA who apparently think their entitlements will go on forever with or without a vibrant private sector. I'm making a prediction: going to be a long, hard hunger moon coming.
Delete