After researching this whole subject I am disgusted with this whole situation, and the general treatment of First Nations members across this country. Life for the Attawapiskat people has always been hard in the rough terrain of northern Ontario, modern technology seems to offer no solace in a dwindling standard of living. The community was banded in 1950, by members that lived spread out on the barren landmass, and stands today on a 1.19 square kilometer plot. In 1951 the government introduced funding for social services such as education and healthcare, although the altruistic tradeoff didn't last for long. With a couple decades of minimal upkeep from the Canadian government in the past, the conditions of the secluded town started to crumble. The diesel spill mentioned above did not just spark the decline but resonated in the community for years to come. After the spill in 1979, little was done as far as site remediation or concern for the community's health. When I say little was done, I mean nothing was done, J.R. Nakogee Primary School stayed open to students until May 11 2000! That's twenty-one years where the majority of the band's youth were exposed to fumes for hours each day. When the school was closed, the government refused to remediate and rebuild the school. The other schools had deteriorated to the extent where it was impossible to hold class in said buildings. Portable units were purchased to temporarily house the classrooms and are still being used today. Healthcare hasn't improved either, to date there is not one single practicing resident doctor in the community. A few nurses administer treatment in the local hospital with limited supplies while expensive equipment and doctors are flown in when is convenient due to the isolation. This is no way to live for anyone who calls themselves Canadian!
The millennium passed along with the slowdown in government support, their stalemate economy is highly inflated with few jobs for the citizens. In 2005 the diamond giant De Beers showed some light by signing an Impact-Benefit Agreement with the Attawapiskat people on economic and environmental concerns. I can't find anything that shows a guarantee of a fixed number of jobs for the First Nation but it was estimated a total of 3,200 positions would be created in mining operations. The Attawapiskat foresaw an economic spur in a multinational corporation much like countless misled cultures around the globe. Today there are only 400 positions available in mining operations and only a quarter of those are occupied by the Attawapiskat people. The lack of prosperity generated from the 2005 IBA and the resulting housing crisis has caused numerous attempts for retribution such as government representation, blockades on De Beers, protests, etc. The people of the Attawapiskat Nation have tried to reach out for help but have been met with accusations. With the Harper Government claiming $90 million has been allocated towards the Attawapiskat community within the last 6 years and some accusing the Band Leaders of pissing the money away. No one knows where the money went including the government, that's a pretty big chunk of change to be unaccounted for.
Now like I said above, in my mind this mirrors other First Nations a little closer to home. Obviously not to the severity of Attawapiskat, but some probable candidates for the exact simulation. The question is how do you we help these people? But wait, why do we need these people? I think Canada needs these communities of native peoples to inhabit our land and stake claim to it. We are a country where 90% of the population lives within 100 kilometers from the American border with a large barren landmass to the north of us. The resources conjured by the north will afford Canada to prosper habitually in the future. We need to occupy these lands no matter how unforgiving, these native populations sacrifice the luxuries of an easier life to inhabit their father's land. With Russia, the United States and other countries including Scandinavian states adopting an aggressive, expansive doctrine regarding resources in the north, it is vital for Canada so show sovereignty. The first step would be supporting our First Nations population and supplying the essentials for life including shelter, food, entertainment and careers. Not just through monetary cash bombs, but through social and Native Affairs programs which utilize the country's assets and infrastructural responsibility. Providing these people with a purpose along with the essentials of life is something I expect from my government.
Diamonds are forever, but morality is temporary. With a multinational corporation opening it's second Canadian mine just 90 kilometers inland from Attawapiska, it claims to add $6.7 Billion to the GDP. Now surely the well being of less than two thousand people wouldn't burden a huge conglomerate such as De Beers, but the company doesn't care for much neighborly cooperation. Since signing the Impact-Benifit Agreement in 2005, De Beers abides to the minimum requirements of the agreement. Environmental standards and employment guarantees that run the minimum percentages while yielding large sums of money that don't improve the community. The agreement of 2005 basically is a lease to rape the land in trade for percentages based off over exaggerated employment and environmental estimates. With inflation of these initial estimates the employment figures could be translated to percentages while acquiring the facade of high employment numbers on the paper the Attawapiskat representatives signed. For example: if the company estimated 3,200 available mining operation positions at the Victor Mine Site, and if the 2005 IBA De Beers proposal stated that the company would maintain a 25% quota for positions devoted to Attawapiskat members, that would appear to be 800 positions (nearly 40% of the town, a multiple of that compared to the working population alone). Now when the diamond mine is fully functional the company finds out it presently only needs 400 workers fully employ it's Victor Mine operations. Coincidentally because the 2005 IBA promises a percentage on its estimates rather than a fixed number on environmental and employment standards, the mine only needs to employ 100 Attawapiskat tribe members. Whether it is preconceived or incidental, the 2005 Impact-Benifit Agreement has fallen out of balance and in favor for multinational giant De Beers.
With the odds stacked against people who's families have lived off this land far before the discovery of this continent by explorers, I wonder which group of people is next. Things look grim in local battles like the potential land annexation of the Calgary Southwest Ring Road planning fiasco brewing or the deterioration of any native population's land, housing and lives. The land and housing in which they were confined to live while they were robbed of their land and all it's encompassing resource bank. We have never given them a chance whether it be impeding education yesterday or letting unemployment and substance abuse run rampant tomorrow. People all over this country from every corner and of every color deserve to be treated like humans, that type of thought makes us Canadian.
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2011/12/201112282011186769.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/12/03/pol-attawapiskat-thehouse-strahl-fontaine.html?cmp=rss
http://www.attawapiskat.org/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-real-shame-of-attawapiskat/article2257262/
http://www.thedailypress.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3363844
http://www.debeerscanada.com/files_3/history.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attawapiskat_First_Nation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Diamond_Mine
