I contacted this lawyer and the Métis people again because of what she
said. Methinks nobody should be surprised that I was ignored as usual
N'esy Pas?
Louis Riel's great-great niece proudly defends her uncle's legacy ー but doesn't think he should be exonerated
28 Comments
David Amos Hmmm
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos:
I contacted this lawyer and the Métis people again because of what she
said. Methinks nobody should be surprised that I was ignored as usual
N'esy Pas?
When Zoe Todd, a
Metis woman from Edmonton, was studying in Scotland, she had a
realization. The anger she felt at colonial systems and the damage
they've wreaked on Indigenous people in Canada had to be expressed, not
pushed down.
Zoe went from being a docile people-pleaser to
speaking out with anger about the inequalities and injustice she saw all
around her. And it didn't always make her friends and colleagues feel
comfortable.
"When you really hone in on something that you can see is
unfair or unjust, and you speak it clearly and with power in your voice,
it disturbs people, it unsettles them, it provokes discomfort."
Zoe spoke to Piya about how she changed the way she felt about using anger as part of a range of emotions in her life and work.
Louis Riel's great-great niece proudly defends her uncle's legacy ー but doesn't think he should be exonerated
People have called for the political leader of the Métis people to be posthumously absolved of his past
Out in the Open ·
Jean Teillet is the great-great niece of Louis Riel, the founder of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. (Ed Henderson)
In one narrative, Louis Riel was a traitor who was hanged for
treason after mounting a rebellion against Canada. In another, he's a
brave defender of the Métis people and founding father of Manitoba...
which has led some to call for his posthumous exoneration.
Piya
speaks with Jean Teillet, great-great niece of Riel, about her pride in
his legacy, why she thinks exoneration's not the answer... and what she
makes of those in her own family who disagree with her. This story appears in the Out in the Open episode, "Legacy Projects".
Supreme Court refuses to hear New Brunswick illegal fishing appeal
Jackie Vautour's fight for Indigenous rights continues with class-action over Kouchibouguac expropriation
CBC News ·
Jackie
Vautour, pictured here with his wife Yvonne, is disappointed by the
Supreme Court's decision not to hear his illegal fishing appeal, but
remains resolved about the class-action lawsuit, his lawyer said. (Amélie Gosselin/Radio-Canada)
The
Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the appeal of a New
Brunswick man and his son, convicted of illegally harvesting clams
in Kouchibouguac National Park nearly 20 years ago — but Jackie
Vautour's legal fight for Indigenous rights is far from over, says his
lawyer.
"It's unfortunate. However, the struggle continues and we
will redouble our efforts in the [class-action lawsuit] we have in the
[New Brunswick] Court of Queen's Bench, which deals with Aboriginal
title," and the expropriation of Kouchibouguac National Park, said
Michael Swinwood.
On Thursday, Canada's top court dismissed the
application by Vautour and his son Roy for leave to appeal, bringing an
end to their criminal proceedings.
The
case began in 1998 when they were charged for contravening the National
Parks of Canada Fishing Regulations and the Canada National Parks Act.
As is customary, the Supreme Court gave no reasons for its decision.
The Vautours,
who admitted harvesting the clams in the park but argued they are of
Métis descent and had a constitutional right to do so, are disappointed
but not deterred, said Swinwood.
"It's not the end, it's just
really the beginning for us because we have this parallel case and it is
a little bit more deep and profound than the fishing charge and so
that's what we have to go forward with."
Vautour, who is in his
late 80s, is one of the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit
against the federal and provincial governments over the expropriation of
land in 1969-70 to create Kouchibouguac National Park in Kent County.
Michael
Swinwood expects the class-action lawsuit over the expropriation of
Kouchibouguac National Park will be heard by the New Brunswick Court of
Appeal within the next year. (Micki Cowan/CBC)
An
estimated 1,200 people of Mi'kmaq and Métis Acadian origin saw their
homes bulldozed to the ground, as 10 Acadian villages were destroyed to
create the park, north of Moncton.
Vautour still lives in the park with his wife and and continues to fight for the right to live off the land.
The
class-action, which involves 110 families, is "extremely important,"
according to Swinwood, because it is the first title case for Indigenous
people in New Brunswick.
He anticipates it will be heard within the next year and feels confident.
Although
the Vautours were convicted after the provincial court ruled they
failed to establish the presence of a historic Métis community in the
area, Swinwood will argue that requirement is "an absurdity," given what
he described as "acts of genocide."
The expulsion of the
Acadians in 1755, also known as the Great Upheaval, "was in fact a
complete destruction of community and there was fear thereafter to
establish oneself within the territory, although this was their
traditional territory," he said.
"And I say the expropriation that occurred in 1969 was just a repetition of the grand dérangement."
Vautour was given an absolute discharge for the illegal fishing charge. His son was fined $800.
The
New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench dismissed their appeal in 2015 and
the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick refused to hear their appeal in
2017, prompting the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court
of Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment