Monday, 16 May 2022
The royals are nearly here, but over half of Canadians want them gone for good. Here's how that could work
No doubt Robert Tay-Burroughs is busy lately
"Systemic racism commissioner Manju Varma said she and others from her office will attend the inquest.
The commission is also wrapping up meetings with a few people as part of its public consultations, said Varma. So far, she has met with about 50 organizations, done 55 one-on-one interviews and spoken on about 20 panels about her work. She's expected to issue a report in the fall.
Moore's death contributed to galvanizing public opinion that action had to be taken on systemic racism, she acknowledged."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-chantel-moore-police-shooting-1.6451952
Chantel Moore family lawyer announces lawsuit as coroner's inquest begins
Moore was fatally shot by police officer conducting a wellness check
Aboriginal affairs minister disputes interference allegation by adviser to commissioner
'I really don't know what he's talking about,' Arlene Dunn says
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn says she doesn't understand why an adviser to the commissioner on systemic racism would suggest there's been political interference in her work.
"I really don't know what he's talking about," Dunn said Tuesday, the day after the adviser to commissioner Manju Varma announced he was resigning.
In his resignation letter to Varma, Robert Tay-Burroughs questioned the government's committment to Varma's independence and expressed doubt her recommendations would be received in good faith.
Varma had been set to release a mid-term report in April into systemic racism in the province. That report included a recommendation for a special inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples.
Varma cancelled plans to release the report after she met with Dunn and Premier Blaine Higgs.
Robert Tay-Burroughs announced his resignation from the systemic racism
commissioner's office on Tuesday. (Submitted by Robert Tay-Burroughs)
She had shared the report with Indigenous groups, and on Monday Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., or MTI, a non-profit made up of the nine Mi'kmaw communities, released a copy to the media.
The next day, Tay-Burroughs posted his letter of resignation.
"It remains unclear to me that the leadership of this government can respect your independence, which raises my doubts that it will — if it ever intended to — receive your recommendations in good faith and with an open mind," Tay-Burroughs wrote to Varma.
Province denies pressure
Dunn said that while there was nothing in Varma's mandate that called for a mid-term report, the province did not try to stop it from being published.
"At no time did anyone try to say to the commissioner that she had to shelve the report or restrict her capacity in any way, shape or form," said Dunn.
Manju Varma, commissioner on systemic racism, won't say what she, Dunn
and Premier Blaine Higgs talked about at their meeting. (Pierre
Fournier/CBC)
Dunn did not say why the report was not published, but said she'd been concerned about "so many gaps" in it.
"I'm not blaming the commissioner for any of this," Dunn said.
"I think people were hesitant to come forward. I think people are reluctant to talk about some of these experiences."
Lack of consultation
Dunn said the commissioner complained that some provincial departments were not being co-operative while she did her work.
"That's one of the reasons actually we had the discussion with the premier because I was impacting upon him that this is really, really crucial work and we need your help," said Dunn.
Varma told CBC News she wouldn't comment on what was talked about at the meeting with Dunn and Higgs that preceded the decision to shelve the report.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racism-commissioner-advisor-resigns-1.6496419
Senior adviser to systemic racism commissioner resigns, questioning independence
Commissioner's recommendation for an immediate public inquiry was shelved after meeting with premier
A senior policy adviser to Manju Varma, the New Brunswick commissioner of systemic racism, has announced his resignation, saying he questions whether government leadership respects Varma's independence.
That comes after Varma's mid-term report, and a recommendation for the government to call a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples in the policing and criminal justice sector, were shelved.
Her plan to make the report public changed just hours following a meeting between Varma, Premier Blaine Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn. Higgs and Dunn have steadfastly refused to call a public inquiry.
Robert Tay-Burroughs is one of two staff working with Varma. He'll stay in his position until July 4.
In a resignation letter made public on Tuesday, Tay-Burroughs said he's been troubled by "the false pretences under which we are expected to do our work."
"The limits placed by external forces on what we can and cannot say in your final report has compromised our already fragile independence," Tay-Burroughs wrote in his letter to Varma.
"It remains unclear to me that the leadership of this government can respect your independence, which raises my doubts that it will — if it ever intended to — receive your recommendations in good faith and with an open mind."
Tay-Burroughs declined an interview request. His letter describes how he's no longer convinced the work from the commissioner's office will meet the needs of the First Nations in the province "as they have articulated them to us."
The letter was posted to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, and Varma has not responded to a request for comment. The premier has also not responded to an interview request.
The chiefs of nine Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick announced Monday that they'll no longer participate in the commissioner's process, alleging her report was "suppressed."
They join the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation, who had previously declined to participate in the systemic racism commissioner's work, describing it as an "ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry."
In his resignation letter, Tay-Burroughs said he wants "to live with integrity in peace and friendship with the people of these nations" and his obligation to those treaties "as a scholar, as the son of an immigrant, as a New Brunswicker, are paramount."
"My continued work with this commission does not allow me to meet these obligations in an ethical or morally acceptable way."
'Everything is on the table'
In an interview with CBC News on Tuesday, Varma said she shared a mid-term report with several stakeholders and had two weeks of feedback "before I decided I need to look at even more information."
Manju
Varma, commissioner of systemic racism, says a meeting she had with
Premier Blaine Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn is
confidential. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
"I need to reach out to more people, because there are some things here that are surprising me, that based on my own assumptions and also my own biases — I am human — and I need to go and look at more information," Varma said.
That mid-term report was supposed to be made public on April 19, but it remained under wraps, until Mi'kmaw leadership shared a copy with the public on Monday.
Varma wouldn't say what happened at an April 13 meeting with Higgs and Dunn, describing it as confidential.
"What happened in that meeting is confidential in the same way I would hope that no one would ask me, 'Well, what happened in that meeting with the 12-year-old who sat down and shared with you their trauma?" Varma said.
"Or what happened in that meeting with that Indigenous chief that you met with?"
Varma was appointed last fall for a one-year term, with a promise to present a final report this coming fall.
She said "everything is on the table" for that report and she'll stand by her recommendations, which will come from information she's gathered, including personal stories she's heard along the way.
"It will be a collection of the voices that have been silenced thus far," Varma said.
A call for an inquiry
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Dunn said she was concerned Varma's report didn't include input from various government departments.
"I guess it was alarming from my perspective when I asked the question about some of the work that's being done within the respective departments around policing, and she wasn't aware of those things," Dunn said.
Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick have been calling for a public inquiry for the last two years, following the police shooting deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi. Separate coroner's inquest juries found their deaths were homicides.
They say it's the only forum to properly investigate systemic racism against Indigenous peoples because it could provide the power to compel government bodies to provide information.
"Unless you have that process, we're never going to get those answers," Natoaganeg First Nation Chief George Ginnish said earlier this week.
Do you have a tip about this story? Please email us at nbinvestigates@cbc.ca.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racism-commissioner-midterm-report-1.6495262
Call for immediate public inquiry shelved after systemic racism commissioner met with Higgs
Report shows commissioner planned to endorse public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples
For the last two years, Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick have steadfastly called on the provincial government to launch a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous peoples in criminal justice and policing.
Premier Blaine Higgs has just as steadfastly refused to do so, saying there are recommendations from other reviews that could address some issues.
Manju Varma, New Brunswick's commissioner on systemic racism, was poised to publicly call on the government to launch an inquiry this past spring.
But Varma's plan to release a mid-term report, which urged the government to call a public inquiry, came to a halt after an April 13 meeting with Higgs and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn.
Chiefs say commissioner isn't independent
That has prompted the chiefs of nine Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick to say they will no longer participate in the commissioner's process.
On Monday, the chiefs released a statement saying the process isn't independent from the provincial government and alleging the government suppressed Varma's report.
"We need that inquiry," Natoaganeg First Nation Chief George Ginnish, who also co-chairs Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., or MTI, a non-profit made up of the nine Mi'kmaw communities, said in an interview with CBC.
"That's got to happen. Regardless of what government thinks, it has to happen or we're not going to be satisfied that our reality is being given the attention that it deserves, and that there will be change that will give us that hope."
They join the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation, who had declined to participate in the systemic racism commissioner's work, describing it as an "ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry."
In a statement, Varma said the report was meant to be a draft and only begins to reflect observations from some meetings she's had with organizations and individuals.
"As I continue with my consultations, I expect that my findings will continue to evolve until my final report is prepared and released upon completion of my mandate," the statement says.
"That final report will contain my final recommendations, and any suggestion that any of the proposals contained in any update released prior to that are my final recommendations, is pure speculation."
Natoaganeg
First Nation Chief George Ginnish doesn't believe Varma's final report
will include a recommendation for government to call a public inquiry. (Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC)
The statement doesn't say whether Varma supports a public inquiry or explain why her recommendation changed after meeting with Higgs and Dunn.
"I have little to no confidence that there's actually going to be a call for a full inquiry," Ginnish said. "And that's troublesome.
"We're back to where we started."
Five recommendations
Varma was announced as commissioner in September 2021. She was given a one-year term and a deadline of this coming October to file a final report with recommendations.
A mid-term report from her office was provided to CBC News in April, under the condition CBC not publish its contents until it is made public.
The commissioner's office never published the report, but on Monday, Mi'kmaw chiefs released a copy they received during consultation with Varma's office.
The update, written at the halfway point of Varma's one-year mandate as commissioner, makes five recommendations to the provincial government.
The first recommendation is to "launch, without delay, an Indigenous-led, co-managed public inquiry."
"The overarching conclusion is that the relationship between Indigenous peoples and New Brunswick's justice system is broken," Varma's report says.
"Indigenous peoples not only mistrust the criminal justice system, they fear it and its agents. The communities and individuals we have heard from note that they are scared that if something happens to them, 'it won't matter because it hasn't.'
"The failed prosecution in the trial for Brady Francis's death, the murders of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi by police in the summer of 2020 underline this point, and the death of Skyler Sappier in a carceral institution this year underline this point."
A
banner with photos of Chantel Moore, with one of her favourite sayings,
Stay Golden, was displayed at the front of the room where the inquest
into her death was held. (Jennifer Sweet/CBC)
The report also calls for the province to change place names with racist terminology against Indigenous peoples to original or traditional Wabanaki names, or names recommended by First Nations.
It also recommends a racial analysis be part of a review into how the government handled the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the province's auditor general said his office will conduct that review.
When the recommendation for inquiry disappeared
In an interview with CBC on April 4, Varma said writing a mid-term report isn't part of her mandate, but she felt some findings or recommendations "need to start now."
"We need to start thinking about them now in order to implement them in the most efficient way," Varma said in the interview.
She said her decision to recommend a public inquiry was based on conversations with individuals and stakeholders, including leaders of the nine Mi'kmaw communities.
"There's a lot of fear among Indigenous nations regarding justice, regarding a lack of justice, regarding fear of the police, regarding fear of a fair process," Varma said in the April CBC interview.
"Those collective voices are what informed my recommendation that there be a public inquiry to do with criminalization, justice and policing."
The report, and CBC's interview with Varma, were scheduled to be published on April 19.
But before that happened, on April 13, Varma told a CBC reporter she planned to meet with Higgs about the report.
Later that afternoon, after Varma met with Higgs and Dunn, CBC was told a public inquiry would no longer be a recommendation in the report and later that the report wouldn't be made public after all.
In May, Varma provided CBC with a written statement designed to replace the mid-term report she previously planned to release. It doesn't mention any of her recommendations and includes no reference to a public inquiry.
CBC asked Higgs for an interview, but he wasn't made available.
When asked on Monday, Dunn said no one asked Varma "to shelve anything."
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said no one asked the commissioner to shelve anything. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Dunn said the government was "astonished" to see a mid-term report, and she was alarmed to see Varma didn't have input from some government departments.
"For her to produce a report and not actually speak to the departments or them not to engage with her with regards to the work that's being done, to me would be falling short on what the expectation was in her mandate, which is to look across all those departments and to determine is there opportunities to identify the gaps and improve on processes," Dunn said.
Indigenous leaders have called for an inquiry because it would compel government departments to provide information. Varma's mid-term report also says she encouraged government departments to provide formal submissions to her office.
"Unless you have that [inquiry] process, we're never going to get those answers," Ginnish said.
"And I think that suits government a whole lot more than it suits First Nations."
Rallies, calls for change
In spring 2020, Maurice Johnson was found not guilty of failing to stop at the scene of an accident that caused the death of Brady Francis, a 22-year-old Elsipogtog First Nation man.
That verdict, and the Crown's decision not to appeal it, prompted rallies at the legislature.
A couple of months later, the police shooting deaths of Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation woman, and Rodney Levi, a 48-year-old man from Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation, sparked calls for a public inquiry.
Several First Nation chiefs walked out on a meeting with Higgs in June 2020, after he refused to agree to a public inquiry. Higgs said it was a federal issue.
In December 2020, Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqiyik chiefs called for the resignation of Dunn, who amended a house motion in the legislature to remove reference to a call for a public inquiry.
A few months later, the government announced it would appoint a commissioner of systemic racism.
But that appointment hasn't stopped calls for an Indigenous-led public inquiry.
A renewed call for an inquiry
The six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation renewed their push for an inquiry in May, after a coroner's inquest jury found Moore's death was a homicide. A separate coroner's inquest jury also found Levi's death was a homicide.
In a news release, the chiefs said the Moore inquest jury's findings and recommendations "do not address the serious nature of the tragedy, or the systemic issues embedded in the justice system."
"This reflects a failure by the Blaine Higgs government to address the root cause of Chantel Moore's death, and tragedies like it."
While Ginnish said Mi'kmaw leaders weren't sold on the process of the commissioner's work, they agreed to participate to have their reality on the record. He said they saw it as an opportunity to right historic wrongs.
"We're looking for justice for Rodney, we're looking for justice for Chantel, and every other First Nation individual, every other youth that is trying to find themselves and is stuck in a system that is stacked against them," he said.
Now, Ginnish said he always has hope, but he also has a lot of doubt.
"How do you go forward with a government that absolutely refuses to see what is right in front of them? How do you work, how do you continue to pretend that there's any justice for Mi'kmaw, Wolastoqey and Passamaquoddy in New Brunswick?"
Do you have a tip about this story? Please email us at nbinvestigates@cbc.ca.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/systemic-racims-commission-new-brunswick-1.6260744
Wolastoqey chiefs will not participate in systemic-racism inquiry
Chiefs say commission announced this year is no replacement for Indigenous-focused inquiry
Six Wolastoqey chiefs of New Brunswick say they will not participate in the provincial commission on systemic racism because it does not address racism against Indigenous peoples specifically.
For more than a year, after two Indigenous people were killed at the hands of police within one week, the chiefs have been calling for an independent inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in the justice system.
Premier Blaine Higgs refused, saying there are many recommendations already made to address this issue and they just need to be implemented.
This year, the province announced the appointment of Manju Varma as an independent commissioner who is expected to report next year on systemic racism against Indigenous people, immigrants and people of colour in the province.
In a news release, the chiefs say they "stand firm" that a specific inquiry focusing on racism against Indigenous people needs to be held. They say the commission led by Varma is not a replacement for an Indigenous-focused inquiry.
"We have declined to participate in the Higgs government's ill-equipped and ineffective alternative to an inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in New Brunswick," the news release says. "Participating would make us complicit in this government's efforts to sweep this complex, essential issue under the rug."
When reached by phone, Varma said she has sent a letter to each First Nation chief in New Brunswick in the course of her research, but she's not ready to comment on this development as she had not had the chance to read their response.
Premier Blaine Higgs said this stance is "disappointing."
"I feel there's a very genuine exercise unfolding here," he said in a scrum Wednesday afternoon. "I don't think we should look for excuses why it won't work. I think we we should look for opportunities to test it."
Ross Perley, chief of Neqotkuk First Nation, also known as Tobique, said he's not confident this commission will address the issues facing Indigenous people.
"We're going to continue to advocate [for] proposals that are Indigenous-led with the hopes that someday, maybe it isn't the Higgs government, but maybe there's a government that will want to be nation-to-nation partners — want to really address our issues," Perley said.
"We're not going anywhere."
"Governments change, we stay the same," he said. "This is our territory, our unceded, un-surrendered territory. We will continue to be here and we will continue to voice our concerns."
Higgs said addressing systemic racism "isn't about any one group."
"Systemic racism comes in many forms and in many cultures," he said. "It's about any new group coming into our province or people that have lived here for a long time that continue to experience unfair practices that we don't want to continue."
The chiefs say they support addressing systemic racism for "other racialized groups," but their issues are "unique and complex."
They said assuming all the needs of all racialized people are the same is "an example of systemic racism."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-appoints-commissioner-systemic-racism-1.6188229
N.B. appoints independent commissioner to address systemic racism
Manju Varma is expected to produce a final report of recommendations in September of 2022
Five months after announcing the creation of a commissioner on systemic racism, the province has appointed Manju Varma to take up the position.
"Having been an immigrant and having experienced racism growing up in this province, I personally know there is systemic racism here that must be addressed," said Varma in a news release. "As I embark on this journey, I do so with an open mind and no preconceptions."
Varma will be conducting public consultations with various groups representing people who are Indigenous, immigrants or people of colour.
She comes into the role with more than 30 years in facilitating workshops on diversity and inclusion, cultural competency and awareness training.
Varma has been the lead for the new office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism for the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA) since 2020, a federal government initiative aimed at fostering its internal corporate diversity and inclusiveness.
She has worked with First Nations and communities of colour, refugees, Indigenous women, youth, and various levels of government and has published both nationally and internationally on topics such as systemic racism, mental health and inclusive communities.
"I've been fortunate, for example, I taught elementary school in Elsipogtog....I'm currently on the Truth and Reconciliation Action Committee for the Law Society...and so I'm really looking forward to honouring those relationships and accessing their expertise, the expertise of their elders," Varma told media Friday.
A public report is due by September 2022, with recommendations to address systemic racism in areas such as health care, education, social development, housing, employment and criminal justice. A total of $500,000 has been set aside, and Varma will have staff to assist in her work.
When asked about her independence in conducting her work, Varma said, "I am taking this role as an independent body, so I'm not an employee of the provincial government. That part was very important to the province to have at arm's length. It was very important to me as well."
The selection of Varma as commissioner was made by cabinet following an interview process that was led by the Executive Council Office, which is chaired by Premier Blaine Higgs.
'She has quite the task at hand'
Wolastoqiyik and Mi'kmaw leaders had criticized appointing a commissioner, citing a lack of consultation by the province and accusing Premier Blaine Higgs of trying to circumvent calls for a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people in New Brunswick.
Demands for an inquiry followed two separate killings of Indigenous people last summer: Chantel Moore of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia was shot and killed by a police officer in Edmundston, and Rodney Levi of Metepenagiag First Nation was shot and killed by an officer near Miramichi.
Dean Vicaire is the Executive Director of Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc. (Contributed/Charlene LaBillois)
Dean Vicaire is the executive director of the Mi'kmaw organization Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn and says the organization will work with Varma to the best of its abilities but says the task ahead of her is monumental.
"She has quite the task at hand. It's next to impossible to really get a full grasp and come to terms with the idea of our plight, which is systemic racism within the justice system," said Vicaire in an interview.
"To get a true understanding of our experience and that's a big statement...It's an open-ended sentence because where do we begin? How far back do we go? And how much time does she have? We know it's not much," said Vicaire, referencing the one year timeline.
Ultimately Vicaire hopes that Varma will champion the call for a public inquiry into systemic racism faced by Indigenous communities in the province.
"This sort of process should be by us for us, not for us by them [government], but nonetheless, it is what it is. We'll do our best so in the end we hope that there can be a call on her part to echo what the Chiefs have been saying into that inquiry...So if she's to say that, maybe it'll carry some weight, since they put her there."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEAN VICAIRE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DELPHINE METALLIC
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION
delphinemetallic@migmawel.org
JENNIFER COLEMAN
DIRECTOR OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
CORA LEE DRYSDALE
FINANCE/COMPTROLLER
TANYA MCGRAW
ADMINISTRATION AND OFFICE ASSISTANT
GORDON LABILLOIS
ELDER
RAVEN BOYER
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
---------- Original message ----------
From: Gerald Bourque <kisspartyofnb@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2022 16:52:36 -0300
Subject: Re: Methinks the news today about Higgy's latest plan is
interesting N'esy Pas René Legacy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank You for the information.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2022 12:12:17 -0300
Subject: Methinks the news today about Higgy's latest plan is
interesting N'esy Pas René Legacy?
To: "Holland, Mike (LEG)" <mike.holland@gnb.ca>, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, Katherine.McBrearty@nbeub.ca,
media-medias@gnb.ca, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>,
"jake.stewart" <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>,
"Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, "Ian.Shugart"
<Ian.Shugart@pco-bcp.gc.ca>, "Furey, John" <jfurey@nbpower.com>,
"Petrie, Jamie" <JPetrie@nbpower.com>, "Robert. Jones"
<Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>, "John.Williamson" <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>,
"rob.moore" <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, "Ross.Wetmore"
<Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>, "steve.murphy"
<steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "robert.mckee" <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>,
"Roger.Brown" <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, briangallant10
<briangallant10@gmail.com>, chuck.chiasson@gnb.ca, "Roger.L.Melanson"
<roger.l.melanson@gnb.ca>, NBPRegulatory@nbpower.com,
Kathleen.Mitchell@nbeub.ca, louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.
david.sollows@gnb.ca, Gilles.volpe@libertyutilities.
Paul.Volpe@libertyutilities.
len.hoyt@mcinnescooper.com, jeffery.callaghan@
rzarumba@ceadvisors.com, gerald@kissnb.com,
cstewart@stewartmckelvey.com, hanrahan.dion@jdirving.com,
john.furey@mcinnescooper.com, General@nbeub.ca,
Michael.Dickie@nbeub.ca, John.Lawton@nbeub.ca, Dave.Young@nbeub.ca,
Ahmad.Faruqui@brattle.com, Cecile.Bourbonnais@brattle.com,
heather.black@gnb.ca, rdk@indecon.com, sussexsharingclub@nb.aibn.com,
jeff.garrett@sjenergy.com, dan.dionne@perth-andover.com,
pierreroy@edmundston.ca, ray.robinson@sjenergy.com,
sstoll@airdberlis.com, pzarnett@bdrenergy.com,
leducjr@nb.sympatico.ca, mletson@lawsoncreamer.com,
DaMurphy@nbpower.com, SWaycott@nbpower.com, George.Porter@nbpower.com,
BCrawford@nbpower.com, jean-claude.d'amours@gnb.ca,
francine.landry@gnb.ca, jacques.j.leblanc@gnb.ca,
benoit.bourque@gnb.ca, gilles.lepage@gnb.ca, "guy.arseneault"
<guy.arseneault@gnb.ca>, daniel.guitard@gnb.ca, rene.legacy@gnb.ca,
denis.landry2@gnb.ca, isabelle.theriault@gnb.ca, eric.mallet@gnb.ca,
keith.chiasson@gnb.ca, Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca, hugh.flemming@gnb.ca,
megan.mitton@gnb.ca, michelle.conroy@gnb.ca, kris.austin@gnb.ca,
kevin.a.arseneau@gnb.ca, nick.brown@gnb.ca, dan.murphy@umnb.ca,
bruce.fitch@gnb.ca, david.coon@gnb.ca, andre@jafaust.com,
michelle.conoy@gnb.ca, Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca,
infomorningfredericton@cbc.ca
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, gkfellow@ucalgary.ca,
policy@ucalgary.ca, GKFellows@gmail.com,
RCAANC.media.CIRNAC@canada.ca, jennifer@migmawel.org
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
Higgs talks shale gas revival, but global price spike may not last
Experts say investment is a gamble without long-term purchase agreement
CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2022 7:00 AM AT
Premier Blaine Higgs has been flirting with the notion of having more
shale gas extraction in the province, but the long road ahead could
hamstring those hopes. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Premier Blaine Higgs says he'll tread carefully with public opinion as
he encourages the revival of shale gas development in New Brunswick.
But his toughest opponent may be the uncertainties of the world market.
"The big question mark is, we've got a big price spike now, but is
that going to continue for the next couple of years or couple of
decades?" said Kent Fellows, an economist who studies the gas market
at the University of Calgary.
The premier has been talking for weeks about whether the war in
Ukraine, and the need for Europe to find new supplies of natural gas
to replace what it bought from Russia, warrants a new push for shale
gas extraction here.
Significant anti-shale gas protests occurred in Elsipogtog in 2014. (CBC)
It is a politically delicate subject, given the confrontations between
the RCMP and anti-fracking protestors near Elsipogtog First Nation in
2013.
"There's a lot to this. Believe me, I don't want to relive 2014, or
'12. I don't want to go through any of that," Higgs said recently.
"So we would need to work with communities, First Nations, and have a
general understanding of, 'Can we be of assistance here to ourselves
and others, and is the time right to do that?'"
Higgs said he's not planning to repeal a Liberal moratorium on
exploration, but wants to instead find a way to satisfy the five
criteria in that legislation, including public acceptance.
"We'd have to address those," he said.
Unstable view of gas
The bigger challenge, however, may be the hesitation of gas companies
to invest in development that may not be as lucrative in the long term
as it would be today.
Add to that the lengthy regulatory approval process and it's virtually
impossible to move quickly for short-term gain.
"There is a long lead time on getting this infrastructure in place and
it comes with a high capital cost, so you need long-term expectations
to make it pay off," says Fellows.
Should the war in Ukraine end quickly with a deal that allows Russian
gas back into Europe, prices would drop again and the business case
for a New Brunswick industry could evaporate.
That's the same question looming over another gas project Higgs is
touting: the conversion of Repsol's Saint John LNG import terminal to
allow the liquefaction and export of Canadian natural gas to Europe.
Economist Kent Fellows says while the war in Ukraine has spiked fuel
prices, there's no guarantee the prices will stay that high. (CBC)
Todd McDonald, president of Halifax-based gas trading firm Energy
Atlantica, said Repsol is unlikely to spend the money required without
a 10 or 20-year agreement to lock in a fixed price on natural gas.
And that's a commitment European politicians may hesitate to give, he adds.
An end to the war, and a return of cheaper Russian gas, might anger
consumers stuck with a locked-in higher price for Canadian gas.
"If you're in office and you say 'I've got an election in two years,
do I want to be the guy who signs up for 20 years right now?'"
McDonald said. "It's a tough call."
Higgs has linked the two gas scenarios, suggesting shale gas from New
Brunswick could be shipped via Repsol to help Europe reduce its
reliance on Russia.
"I talk about it because it's another possible solution right now,"
the premier said last week.
But McDonald said while a supply of New Brunswick-produced gas could
help clinch Respol's decision, it's unlikely to come online fast
enough.
Gas extracted in New Brunswick would be cheaper for Repsol to export
because it would travel a much shorter distance than gas coming to
Saint John from Alberta or the U.S. and be subject to much lower
pipeline tolls.
But New Brunswick's regulatory regime moves much slower than its
Alberta counterpart, said McDonald.
And Repsol's been stung before by abrupt changes in the global market.
The company opened its import terminal, known as Canaport LNG, in
2009, in partnership with Irving Oil.
Commissioned in 2008, the Canaport LNG terminal, Canada’s first
liquefied natural gas terminal, is on the north shore of the Bay of
Fundy at Saint John. (Nick Hawkins)
At the time, importing foreign gas looked like a solid bet. But the
shale boom in the United States led to a glut of cheap North American
gas on the market, making imports unattractive.
"So that facility largely sits unused for 80 to 90 per cent of the
year because of that exact equation," McDonald said.
Repsol, which bought out Irving Oil's stake in the terminal last year
and renamed it Saint John LNG, would not comment in detail.
"The company will look at any/all business that enhances or creates
value at Saint John LNG, including the potential to add liquefaction
capabilities [for gas exports] to the existing facility," spokesperson
Mike Blackier said in an email.
Buy-in
Higgs emphasized repeatedly last week that he doesn't want to take a
hard line and will be sensitive to public opinion.
"It isn't a matter of enforcing options, it's a matter of discussing
options," he said.
The Opposition Liberals say Higgs has yet to meet the five conditions
they attached to lifting the moratorium while in power:
A "social licence," or public acceptance, through consultations.
Clear information on potential impacts on air, public health and
water so that proper regulations can be in place.
A plan to lessen impacts on public infrastructure and deal with
issues such as disposal of waste water from fracking.
A consultation process with Indigenous people.
A "proper" royalty structure to ensure New Brunswick benefits from
development.
"There's nothing suggesting we have social acceptance," said Liberal
natural resources critic René Legacy.
"The premier seems to think that because of the geopolitical situation
in the world, we can toss aside environmental needs."
Jennifer Coleman, spokesperson for Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., which
represents Mi'kmaq chiefs, said the organization "has not received any
recent outreach from the provincial government on shale gas."
The Higgs government carved out a small exemption to the Liberal
moratorium in 2019 for the area in Penobsquis where Corridor Resources
was already extracting gas.
Liberal natural resources critic René Legacy says it doesn't appear
the province is close to getting "social acceptance," something
thought to be necessary before a fracking moratorium can be lifted.
(Jacques Poitras/CBC)
But so far, the company, now known as Headwater Exploration, has not
taken advantage of that exemption to explore for more gas.
Even so, McDonald said Higgs is right to relaunch a conversation on
shale gas. He says it's hypocritical that voters want quality health
care and education, but oppose the gas development that would help pay
for them.
McDonald says he believes there's a better-than-50-percent chance
European nations will eventually sign deals for North American gas.
"Yeah, I think they'll sign on the dotted line, if I were a gambling
man, for a long-term contract," he said, whether it's with Repsol or
another supplier.
"Whether Higgs can rally the public to say 'hey there is social
licence,' I just don't know. That's a tough one. That, I don't think
I'd bet on, because I've been in the business 20 years and I used to
be an optimist about that, but I've just been wrong too many times."
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.canadiancorridor.
The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary
906 8th Avenue S.W., 5th Flr
Calgary, Alberta T2P 1H9
Phone: 403-210-3802
Email: policy@ucalgary.ca
Leadership Team
Dr. Jennifer Winter
Program Director
Associate Professor of Economics and Scientific Director, Energy and
Environmental Policy Research Division, The School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary
jwinter@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Robert Mansell
Senior Scientific Advisor
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Calgary
rmansell@ucalgary.ca
Dr. G. Kent Fellows
Associate Program Director
Assistant Professor of Economics, The School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary
gkfellow@ucalgary.ca
https://gkfellows.github.io/
http://www.energyatlantica.
Energy Atlantica
1521 Grafton St., Suite 203
Halifax, NS
B3J 2B9
Phone: 902-422-6331
After Hours:
Todd McDonald at (902) 233-8576
Paul MacQueen at (902) 402-1145
On 12/30/21, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY AND UTILITIES BOARD
>
> IN THE MATTER of New Brunswick
> Power Corporation and Sections
> 113(2) and 113(3) of the Electricity
> Act, SNB 2013 c.7.
>
> NOTICE OF APPLICATION
>
> TO: New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board
>
> AND TO: All persons identified in Appendix “A” to this Notice of
> Application
>
> WHEREAS
>
> (1) New Brunswick Power Corporation (“NB Power”) is required, pursuant
> to Section 113(3) of the Electricity Act, SNB 2013, c. E-7, as
> amended, (the “Act”), to make application to the New Brunswick Energy
> and Utilities Board (the “Board”) at least once
> every three years for approval of its Transmission Revenue Requirements;
>
> (2) NB Power may, pursuant to Section 113(2) of the Act, apply to the
> Board for approval of changes to the provisions of the approved New
> Brunswick Open Access Transmission Tariff (the “NB OATT”);
>
> (3) NB Power has filed evidence with the Board in support of this
> Application.
>
> NOW THEREFORE NB Power applies to the Board for the following:
>
> (1) An Order approving NB Power’s Transmission Revenue Requirement of
> $125.2 million for Transmission Service.
>
> (2) An Order approving rates for Transmission Service contained in
> Schedules 7, 8, and Attachment H of the NB OATT and as set out in
> Table 5.0.2 below.
>
> (3) An Order approving the revenue requirement of $15.6 million for
> Schedule 1 of the NB OATT at rates set out in Table 5.0.2 below.
>
> (4) An Order approving the non-Capital Support Charge Rate of 5.03 per
> cent as contained in Schedule 9 of the NB OATT and set out in Table
> 5.0.2 below.
>
> (5) An Order approving the revenue requirement of $5.9 million for
> Schedule 2 of the OATT at rates set out in Table 8.1.1 below.
>
> (6) An Order approving the rates contained in Schedules 3, 5, and 6 of
> the NB OATT as set out in Table 9.1.1 below.
>
> (7) An Order approving changes to the NB OATT as set out in Attachment
> 1 of the accompanying evidence (“List of Proposed Changes to the NB
> OATT”).
>
> (8) An Order approving the Transmission Real Power Loss Factor
> (“TRPL”) value of 3.3 per cent, as well as a change in the calculation
> methodology for the TRPL.
>
> (9) Directions with respect to the schedule for the full hearing of
> this Application, and any other preliminary or procedural matters; and
>
> (10) Such other Orders and/or directions with respect to any other
> matters as the Board sees fit.
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
> Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2021 13:19:42 +0000
> Subject: RE: Methinks folks should study Bill 77 ASAP N'esy Pas?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> Hello,
>
> Thank you for taking the time to write.
>
> Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response
> to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed
> at the earliest opportunity.
>
> If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a
> Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for
> review and consideration.
>
> Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.
>
> En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous
> informe que votre courriel a été reçu et sera examiné dans les
> meilleurs délais.
>
> Si votre demande relève plutôt du mandat d'un ministère ou d'un autre
> secteur du gouvernement, le personnel vous renverra votre courriel
> pour examen et considération.
>
> If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
> (506) 453-2144 or by email
> media-medias@gnb.ca<mailto:med
>
> S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le
> Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144.
>
>
> Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre
> P.O Box/C. P. 6000 Fredericton New-Brunswick/Nouveau-
> Canada
> Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
> Email/Courriel:
> premier@gnb.ca/premier.
>
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/csr-crs/en.html
Mandate of the Commissioner
The commissioner, who will operate independently from government, will focus on the following objectives:
- Carry out a public consultation to gather views and information
about the nature and impact of systemic racism on racialized immigrants,
Wolastoqiyik, Mi’gmaq, Peskotomuhkatiyik, other Indigenous populations,
Black, and people of colour as well as other minority populations in
New Brunswick. The Commissioner will equally engage with government
institutions, in particular, the education, health, social development
and justice sectors.
- Conduct a comprehensive review about the extent and scope of systemic racism in New Brunswick, including the government’s role in eliminating systemic racism both within provincial institutions and agencies and in the province generally.
About the Commissioner
Manju Varma, Ph.D. moved to Canada with her family at the age of two and grew up in Moncton, NB. She obtained her doctorate in anti-racist education from the Ontario Institute in Education/University of Toronto. For the past 30 years she has focused on issues around diversity and anti-racism in New Brunswick and has published both national and internationally on the topics of mental health, diversity & youth and anti-racist education.
From 2001-2008, she was an Assistant Professor with the University of New Brunswick. Later she joined the Federal government and has worked at Canadian Heritage, Correctional Services Canada, and currently, is the lead for the Office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. She is also a certified Conflict Mediator (Harvard Law School) and Negotiator (Dalhousie University).
The team
Junior Kalala is the Executive Assistant for the Commission. He is an active member of several committees focussed on social issues such as mental health, poverty and homelessness. He was also recently named one of Moncton's top 40 under 40.
Robert Tay-Burroughs is the senior policy advisor to the Commissioner and is a doctoral researcher at the University of New Brunswick (Saint John) studying viceregal officers and settler colonialism. A graduate of Mount Allison University, University of Ottawa, and Middlebury College, he is a former executive director of the New Brunswick Student Alliance and previously research associate with Higher Education Strategy Associates in Toronto. With more than 20 years experience living and working overseas, he now shares his time between Fredericton and the Restigouche.
How you can participate
Sending a written submission
Interested individuals or stakeholders are invited to send their written submission to the commissioner by mail or email.
Send by email
Written submissions can be emailed to: CSR-CRS@gnb.ca
Send by mail
Suggestions, recommendations and written submissions can be mailed to:
Commissioner of Systemic Racism
Beaverbrook Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Canada
Phone: (506) 230-0908
Sussex ceremony honours the stolen Indigenous children who never came home [updated]
![Sussex ceremony honours the stolen Indigenous children who never came home [updated]](https://nbmediacoop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Alma-Brooks-and-Ramona-Nicholas-6-July-1-2021-scaled.jpg)
“The ceremony we shared with local residents of Sussex along with our graceful allies was a seed we have planted in order for us to press reset and rebuild Peace and Friendship relations,” said Wolastoqewi Kci-Sakom spasaqsit possesom, also known as Ron Tremblay, Wolastoq Grand Chief morningstar burning.
Wearing orange shirts, some saying, “It’s ok now, they found us,” members of the Peace and Friendship Alliance, including the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and L’Nu, settlers, newcomers and children, spent the afternoon in a traditional ceremony around silver maples, one of which had a window from the Sussex Vale Indian School leaning against it.
While there were no residential schools in the province of New Brunswick, there were day/residential schools like the one in Chatham, now Miramichi, where Indigenous boys did stay and went to a school run by the Catholic Church. Day/residential schools were established near reserves in the province, the last of which closed in 1992 near Metepenagiag. The New England Company operated the first day/residential school in the province in Sussex.
The New England Company, also known as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, was created in England in 1649 with the purpose of converting people in the British colony to protestantism. According to W.S. McNutt’s New Brunswick, A History: 1784-1867, the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseets) were a problem for the settlers and the school offered a solution to their protests to the settler encroachment of their land.
In 1787, when Loyalists were arriving in New Brunswick following the American Revolution, the New England Company formed a board of commissioners tasked with buying land for Indian schools, first in Sussex Vale then later in Woodstock, Sheffield, St. Andrews, Miramichi and other locations. Board members included New Brunswick elite: Thomas Carleton, the province’s first lieutenant-governor; Rev. Jonathan Odell; Ward Chipman, New Brunswick’s solicitor general; and Chief Justice George Duncan Ludlow.
The day schools and day-residential schools had the same objective as the residential schools: to assimilate Indigenous people into settler society. In 1920, Duncan Campbell Scott, head of Indian Affairs and a chief architect of Canada’s Residential Schools, said, “I want to get rid of the Indian problem… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.”
Before Scott made residential schools mandatory for all Indigenous children, ages seven to fifteen, in 1920, there was the Sussex Vale Indian School that was supposed to school Indigenous children with the purpose of assimilating them and converting them to Protestantism. The Sussex Vale Indian School did house children, the likely result of funds provided by the London-based Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1792.
The New England Company was not happy that the Sussex Vale Indian School, run by Rev. Oliver Arnold, was failing to convert Indigenous children to Protestantism. Indigenous parents of the children had followed their children and settled along the Kennebacasis River, near the Sussex school, and sometimes they would get back their children. The New England Company blamed the failing conversion mission on the Indigenous children returning home to their families after school, so in 1807, the Sussex Vale Indian School introduced a new program that combined schooling with indentured servitude.
Nicole O’Byrne is an associate professor of law at the University of New Brunswick who has been conducting research on the Sussex Vale Indian School. According to documents uncovered by O’Byrne, settlers received money in the amounts of 20 pounds a year from the New England Company to train the Indigenous children in a trade, and take care of them, but many children became farm workers and domestic servants and not apprentices.
O’Byrne has noted that the program was beneficial for the settlers. With no limit to the number of children a family could have, Rev. Arnold, the head of the school, had five or six children stay with his family. Children as young as eight months old were taken to live with settlers and the children’s parents were paid a stipend to stay away. One contract uncovered by O’Byrne found that one child was contracted to work for a farmer until he was 21. The documents also point to numerous cases of sexual exploitation of girls.
Andrea Bear Nicholas, professor emeritus of native studies at St. Thomas University, likens the program to slavery. She said the children never learned to read or write while they were also being forced to abandon their Indigenous language. A historian and activist for the restoration of the Wolastoqiyik language, she is clear that her people did not lose their language, their language was stolen from them.
According to O’Byrne, “the Sussex Vale Indian School was designed to strip language and culture away from Indigenous students.”
While children were leaving the school illiterate and returning to the Catholic faith, the New England Company decided to close the school in 1826. O’Byrne further explains: “Sussex Vale was closed after two boards of inquiry reported on the serious financial irregularities and other wrongdoing at the school.”
Alma Brooks, a Wolastoqey clan mother, told those gathered at the Sussex ceremony on July 1st that the Sussex Vale Indian School promised that the children would receive a plot of land, a cow and seedlings upon completing school, but they never did.
Brooks came across the name of her grandfather’s brother in a news story about the Sussex Vale Indian School. She said he went to the school and never returned home to their community.
Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to look at the church-run schools for Indigenous children that operated in the province. Meanwhile, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn has said that the government will review the birth alert system that is still in place that takes newborns from their parents.
At the Sussex ceremony, Donna Augustine Thunderbird Turtle Woman, an L’nu traditional elder, spoke of her work with residential school survivors.
Lorraine Clair, a Mi’kmaq woman from Elsipogtog who experienced RCMP brutality during her two arrests at the 2013 shale gas protests, spoke of the impact that Isabelle Knockwood’s book, Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi’kmaw Children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, had on her.
Clair shared that she grew up in foster homes and like the children at the Shubenacadie Residential School, she experienced her caretakers scrubbing her skin to make it more white. She wrote an honour song for the children and sang it at the ceremony, bringing many to tears.
Let the statues and murals come down
Sussex, the mural capital of Atlantic Canada, has two murals that historians and Indigenous scholars and activists say whitewash history and are historically inaccurate.
Regarding the mural, “Education Humble Buildings,” by William Lazos, Russ Letica with the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick and the Wolastoq Tribal Council, shared on Facebook, “Are New Brunswickers ready to talk about the mural that represents the indigenous residential school @ Sussex NB. Because it needs to be gone.”
A romanticized depiction of early education in Sussex, the mural shows a teacher guiding a child into the light of knowledge. “The mural bears no resemblance to the horrific realities endured by the Indigenous children who attended the school,” said O’Byrne.
The other mural is located on the Sussex Regional Library is supposed to tell the Wolastoqey creation story, but according to Nicholas, is not the story of her people, rather a story created by the 19th century American writer and folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland.
The Sir John A. Macdonald statue was quickly removed after Charlottetown city council decided to remove the statue in late May. In 2020, the University of New Brunswick announced that they would remove George Duncan Ludlow’s name from their Law Building due to his involvement with residential schools and his support of slavery. In 2018, the statue of Edward Cornwallis who oversaw bounties on the scalps of Mi’kmaq people came down in Halifax. In 2011, the Cornwallis was stripped from a high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia after organizing by Mi’kmaq elder Dan Paul, author of We Were Not the Savages.
As statues and symbols that celebrate the perpetrators of genocide come down, the Wolastoq Grand Chief and others say that is not enough: the Canadian state in all its colonial, capitalist, patriarchal, racist and imperialist forms must be dismantled and replaced with a society that respects all life, including the seven generations.
The Peace and Friendship Alliance is one body of Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks from across the Wabanaki region working to protect the lands, waters, people and all creatures, and respect the Peace and Friendship treaties.
Later this summer, a new kind of memorial will be installed in Fredericton. The memorial will be devoted to Berta Cáceres, a Lenca woman from Honduras who was murdered for defending Indigenous Lenca territory from Canadian resource companies and for opposing the Canadian/American-backed coup in Honduras. A handcrafted bench will be installed between two apple trees at Hayes Farm to honour the woman.
Before she was shot to death in her home by hired assassins, Cáceres told a community facing unwanted development: “My companions, colonialism has not ended. That is why this fight is so tough for the Indigenous people, and there is a state apparatus at the service of that. But we also have power, companions, and that is why we continue to exist.”
Back in Sussex, Mary McKay Keith, a resident, invited people to her home after the ceremony to have a potluck feast. She said, “Standing with Indigenous peoples in their grief for the loss of these many, many children, and acknowledging the role of my ancestors in this genocide was important for me to do.”
Another Sussex area resident, Mary Ann Coleman, who attended the ceremony, said: “This is really the first step in a reconciliation process, coming together in ceremony for the children who went to the Sussex Vale Indian School and residential schools across Canada, recognizing the harm that was done and how we have benefited from it.”
“We all need to know the history of this place, in order to honour the pain and loss of the Indigenous communities, as well as the ideas of the Peace and Friendship Treaties on which their intentions first rested. I was honored that so many of them came to Sussex to give us those teachings, and I hope it helps us to do the work of reconciliation that we need to do. I also hope that we can continue to learn and grow together in that spirit of Peace and Friendship,” said Stephanie Coburn, a farmer from the Sussex region and former president of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick who also attended the ceremony.
The Wolastoq Grand Chief says the Peace and Friendship Alliance will return to Sussex and hold numerous talking circles with interested people to continue the dialogue and focus on truth and reparation: “We need to have these difficult conversations relating to genocide. This has nothing to do with guilt, although everything to do with responsibility, because once you know, you can’t say you don’t know!”
Residential School survivors and others needing support can call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.
Tracy Glynn is a writer with the NB Media Co-op and participates in the Peace and Friendship Alliance.
Mi'gmaq, Wolastoqiyik chiefs call for resignation of Aboriginal affairs minister
Arlene Dunn amended house motion, removing the word inquiry and 'gutting' it, chiefs say
Mi'gmaq and Wolastoqiyik chiefs in New Brunswick are calling for the resignation of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn after she amended a house motion and removed the call for a public inquiry into systemic racism.
The house debated a Liberal motion endorsing a call for an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system Thursday. Mi'gmaq, Wolastoqey and other Indigenous communities have been calling for such an inquiry since the deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi at the hands of police this summer.
During that debate Thursday, Dunn amended the motion to remove any reference to an inquiry, and reworded it to focus on tackling recommendations already made by previous studies. That motion later passed with the amendment.
"They gutted a motion calling for an inquiry, completely removing its purpose," said Chief Ross Perley of Neqotkuk, or Tobique First Nation.
Chief Bill Ward of Metepenagiag says chiefs have lost faith in Arlene
Dunn as the minister of aboriginal affairs. (Logan Perley/CBC)
As a response to a request for interview, Dunn emailed a statement through a spokesperson. In it, she does not say whether or not she will resign. She said it's "very unfortunate" that the First Nations Chiefs used the terms "gutted motion."
"It is the first time in the history of the New Brunswick Legislature that the government has gone on record publicly acknowledging the existence of systemic racism," she wrote. "The amendment I brought forward also binds us to undertaking the vital steps required to eliminate it in all its forms."
Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Chief Bill Ward said he doesn't understand why Dunn "would put out a statement like that."
"She knows that it was gutted," he said. "The intent of the entire motion was an inquiry. It wasn't to recognize systemic racism, we all know it exists already. We wanted action on it, and that's the appropriate action, and they took that away."
Task forces 'not equipped' to tackle systemic racism
In a speech before proposing her amendment, Dunn said the government must be cautious about starting an inquiry without implementing already-made recommendations by other bodies.
"I would respectfully suggest that there are very good reasons to be cautious about pursuing the public-inquiry route without seriously considering why the numerous recommendations from a plethora of previous inquiries have never been implemented," she said.
In her amendment she urged the government to continue consultation, and identify a plan to tackle systemic racism. She also urged the government to support the work of the All Nations/All Parties Working Group on Truth and Reconciliation.
We have lost confidence in the minister.
- Bill Ward, Metepenagiag chief
On Friday the chiefs wrote they met with Dunn last week, and asserted that the need for an inquiry is separate from the need for action on past recommendations, because no reports adequately and specifically tackle racism in New Brunswick.
The chiefs said the work of the All Nations/All Parties Working Group of Truth and Reconciliation is "long overdue," but the group "is not tasked with looking into systemic racism in New Brunswick, nor is it equipped to do so."
They said the Blaine Higgs government has also not given them a "valid reason" for opposing an inquiry, except "their own failure" to act on the findings of other commissions.
"We have been clear and firm in our position—we need an inquiry. A task force, or working group, is not enough," said Chief Shelley Sabbatis of Welamoktok or Oromocto First Nation.
In her statement, Dunn said the government is "going to take responsibility for analyzing and implementing recommendations from previous inquiries that are appropriate for New Brunswick."
Premier Blaine Higgs stood by the minister Friday, saying the government will "get action" in six months or a year, as opposed to the two years it would take to have a public inquiry.
"The decision has been made. I am not going forward with the public inquiry. The minister is not going forward with a public inquiry," he said.
He did not say what specific action the province plans to take, but said issues like inequitable housing "have to change."
Chief
Shelley Sabattis of Welamoktok, or Oromocto First Nation, says a
working group or task force is 'not enough' and that a public inquiry
into system racism is needed. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)
Ward said the relationship between the communities and the New Brunswick government has been "paternalistic," where governments "think that they know what's best for us."
In the news release, Ward is quoted saying he will not meet with Dunn again.
"We have lost confidence in the minister," Ward said. "As far as we are concerned, Dunn is done. ... She should do the right thing and tender her resignation."
In November, Dunn, who holds three other portfolios, called systemic racism a "cancer" during question period.
She also told reporters she was concerned that racism is "ingrained in a number of systems," and is something she will try to "eradicate."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Shift NB and Jacques Poitras
Chiefs walk out of meeting after Higgs doesn't agree on inquiry into systemic racism
First Nation chiefs says they're 'losing faith' in Premier Blaine Higgs
First Nation chiefs walked out of a meeting with Premier Blaine Higgs on Thursday afternoon after the premier refused to agree to an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system and policing in New Brunswick.
"As a collective, New Brunswick chiefs, we're losing faith in Premier Higgs," said Chief Ross Perley of Neqotkuk First Nation at a press conference held following the meeting.
"His inaction is unacceptable. We have waited over three weeks for this meeting and we still have no firm commitment for an inquiry."
The chiefs had hoped the second meeting on the matter would have actionable results after they presented terms of reference for an inquiry, which Higgs asked for in a previous meeting.
Perley said the premier "wouldn't answer direct and kept wiggling around the question" during Thursday's meeting.
"Five weeks since the tragic killing of, Chantel Moore, Rodney Levi and, of course, the decision with Brady Francis, the premier's message is still the same, that 'our plans are better than your plans.'"
Moore and Levi were both shot by police recently. The man charged in the hit-and-run death of Francis was found not guilty.
It's a federal issue, Higgs says
Higgs said the issue of system racism in the justice system is bigger than New Brunswick.
"This is a national issue, every province is dealing with these issues," Higgs said after the meeting. "And why don't we make it that?
"Many of the concerns that we're talking about here are federally, it's federal jurisdiction. Certainly in relation to the court system, in relation to policing, in relation to the requirements or activities on the First Nations."
The chiefs said their next step is to look to members of the legislative assembly when they continue meeting in September.
"We call on all opposition parties in the legislature to hold a vote on an inquiry and help us end systemic racism in the province of New Brunswick," Perley said.
"It seems it's the same old 'they know what's best for us,' even though we have 15 of the chiefs standing here asking them for one simple thing and they still refuse," said Chief Bill Ward of Metepenagiag First Nation.
Ward said the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey and Peskotomuhkati chiefs all stand firm in wanting an inquiry.
Chiefs proposed policing alternatives and solutions
"We proposed tribal policing in some of our communities as a solution for some of our communities that don't have policing or are scared of the RCMP," Perley said was one of the actionable items.
Mi'gmawel Tplu'taqnn Inc., an organization representing nine Mi'kmaq communities in New Brunswick, said in a press release following the conference that the chiefs proposed the creation of unarmed peace officers in the communities who would be trained in de-escalation tactics and to address issues of mental health, addiction, poverty and trauma.
Other proposals include additional training for police officers on cultural competence and de-escalation techniques approved by Indigenous peoples, Indigenous representation on police commissions, and the creation of a New Brunswick-based independent investigation body with Indigenous representation.
"We've revisited many of these things with successive provincial governments, and we never seem to get to the point where the talk actually becomes action," Chief George Ginnish of Natoaganeg First Nation said.
We
still want an answer on the inquiry into systemic racism in the police
and justice system, for sure, in the province,' said Chief Bill Ward of
Metepenagiag First Nation. (Logan Perley/CBC)
"We have an understaffed RCMP trying to provide a multitude of services that need to happen for our communities," Ginnish said. "We need community peacekeeping, we need people that can interact with our members on the ground, work with our mental health teams, work with our health centres and have a comprehensive approach to what our issues are."
Ginnish said the chiefs are concerned about the state of the justice system, specifically within New Brunswick at the moment.
"We don't need to look at bringing other federal partners in to expand [the inquiry], which would only make it larger and more cumbersome and longer," Ginnish said. "So we said, 'Let's do a short, 90-day initial study of where things are."
He said the chiefs are looking for a glimmer of hope from the premier, but Higgs isn't giving them anything to work with.
"We've shared in our traditional territories; we need to be equal partners," Ginnish said. "That's the systemic racism, it's meant to belittle our people. We are equal partners, we need to be treated that way. It's overdue."
Premier explains hesitation
Higgs said he thought the meetings were going quite well until the chiefs walked out.
Higgs spoke with media after the meeting with the chiefs while wearing a T-shirt that read "End Systemic Racism," which was also worn by Perley.
The premier chalked up his reservations about an inquiry to his being an engineer and needing all the facts beforehand.
"You need to know what you're actually signing up for, what is going to be achieved, what are the questions we're going to be asking, what is it gonna entail, how does it reflect nationally on federal programs," Higgs said.
Premier
Higgs met with chiefs of First Nations in New Brunswick on Thursday to
discuss systemic racism in the New Brunswick Justice system. The chiefs
walked out of the meeting after discussions came to a standstill, they
said. (Logan Perley/CBC)
He said he only received the chiefs' letter of recommendations about the inquiry the night prior and hadn't had the time to evaluate how it would work.
The premier said he suggested a small group move on implementing recommendations from previous inquiries and push for a national inquiry into the systemic racism in the justice system and policing.
"We could do parallel paths," Higgs said. "We could do one to have a quick action on a number of issues that are affecting communities every day. And we could do an inquiry on a larger scale that the federal government actually have the biggest role to play in."
Higgs said federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller expressed interest in the discussions to New Brunswick's Aboriginal affairs minister, Jake Stewart.
He said he is focused on trying to build an organization that is "chief-to-cabinet" and that can have ongoing decision making processes on results-based actions.
"I was committed, and I was going to be part of it. It wasn't me just showing up and walking away.
"Unfortunately, and I don't know whether it was part of the plan or not, but I didn't walk out on them, they all walked out on us. I didn't end the meeting."
Higgs said his government plans to proceed on some of the recommendations on self-policing, crisis management and an Atlantic investigation agency.
The chiefs have no future meetings planned with the premier.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/higgs-first-nation-revenue-sharing-tax-agreement-1.5989344
No evidence Higgs will share forestry revenue after axing tax agreement, First Nations say
Premier Blaine Higgs has said province will pull out of gas-tax agreement with First Nations
First Nations leaders say they see little reason to have any faith in the Higgs government's suggestion of resource revenue agreements to replace tax-sharing deals.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said earlier this week that letting bands share in the profits from forestry and mining operations made more sense than the tax agreements being terminated.
"There are existing best practice models that exist across Canada that sadly and very unfortunately do not exist here in the province of New Brunswick," she said, mentioning deals in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
"These agreements have been created for modern times."
Dunn later acknowledged to CBC News she has yet to "scan" other provinces to see what works and has not spoken to anyone in the New Brunswick forestry industry about a new model.
Aboriginal
Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said sharing of forestry and mining
revenue made more sense than the tax agreements that are being
terminated, but First Nations leaders say they have no indication from
the province of any plans to increase or improve revenue sharing. (Jacques Poitras/CBC News)
And Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqey leaders say they've asked repeatedly to talk about improving existing forestry agreements, without the province giving any indication it's interested.
"We have zero evidence of that," Tobique First Nation Chief Ross Perley said.
Since 1998, five per cent of the province's annual allowable cut on Crown land has been set aside for Indigenous harvesting.
Dean Vicaire, the executive director of the Mi'kmaw organization Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn, said chiefs have raised resource revenue sharing "at almost every meeting" with the Higgs government since 2018.
"If the province is really sincere about coming to the table on this, they would have at least given the chiefs a heads up or previously discussed what's happening in other provinces," he said.
"What occurred [Tuesday] was the most disgraceful treatment of elected officials."
The tax deals let First Nations keep 95 per cent of the provincial tax they collect at on-reserve retail outlets, including gas stations and convenience stores. Some will expire in 90 days and others will end next year.
Last year bands brought in tax amounts ranging from $17.6 million at Madawaska Maliseet First Nation to $230,000 at Tobique.
Premier Blaine Higgs calls the system unfair to non-Indigenous businesses and even unjust between First Nations that make a lot of money and those that make less.
Dunn suggested Tuesday that "resource revenue-sharing agreements for forestry and mining" signed in Ontario in 2018 were one example of a better way to go.
'Get First Nations to the table'
But she acknowledged a day later that she has not spoken to any of New Brunswick's major forestry companies about the idea and still needed to look at what other provinces have done.
"What I would suggest we need to do at this point in time is get First Nations to the table to figure out what's important to them," she said.
Perley called the suggestion of forestry revenue sharing "a shiny object" being used to deflect attention from the cancellation of the tax-sharing agreements.
"Why would they attach that to this announcement? Why wouldn't they come up with this plan or idea or suggestion to the chiefs prior?"
Higgs said earlier this week the impending end of the tax agreements should create a "sense of urgency" to sort out new arrangements quickly.
But he said "we haven't proposed any solution" and it's up to Indigenous leaders themselves to come up with a proposal.
Tobique
First Nation Chief Ross Perley said he asked repeatedly to talk about
improving existing forestry agreements, but there was no interest from
the province. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Vicaire and lawyer Derek Simon, a lawyer working for Mi'kmaw communities, said their chiefs have written to the province nine times over the last five years, including four times since the Progressive Conservatives took office, to discuss tax-sharing and resource-sharing deals.
"There's never been a willingness to discuss this before," Vicaire said.
Perley said the forestry agreements that give First Nations only a small part of the total Crown wood allocation need to be updated.
"Five per cent of the cut, and 95 per cent goes to everybody else, " Perley said. "So is that real good equity? I don't think so."
Vicaire noted that all of New Brunswick is unceded Indigenous land. He said the five per cent wood allocation is divided between bands on a per capita basis and is too small to allow any viable Indigenous businesses to develop.
Perley said Indigenous loggers are not allowed to sell wood to the provincial marketing board system, a restriction he called racist.
"All the other mills and forestry companies have access to that, but because we're Indigenous, 'Sorry, Indigenous people.' … We've been trying to work with the government for many years to improve the agreement.
"But there hasn't been a willingness by the government to change the agreements."
Premier
Blaine Higgs said the system is unfair to non-Indigenous businesses and
unjust between First Nations communities that make a lot of money and
those that make less. (Ed Hunter/CBC )
Forest NB, the association representing industry players in New Brunswick, said no one was able to comment on Dunn's suggestion. The province's largest forestry company J.D. Irving Ltd. did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development said marketing boards exist to buy wood from private woodlots, and since Indigenous harvesters are cutting on Crown land they are not eligible to sell to the boards.
The forestry agreements were worth $3.9 million in 2019-20.
The department "continues to work with First Nations communities," said spokesperson Nick Brown.
He pointed to an accommodation agreement on the proposed Sisson mine signed by the previous Liberal government. It saw bands receive $3 million along with a promise of a share of the royalties and replacement land if the project goes ahead.
Brown said the department has had "no official discussions" about bringing back special permits that allowed non-Indigenous buyers to purchase moose meat from Indigenous hunters.
In 2017 the New Brunswick Court of Appeal said the elimination of the permits was an "unfair and oppressive" way to interfere with the Indigenous right to earn a moderate livelihood from hunting.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
First Nations chiefs and N.B. premier meet to discuss systemic racism
Met Wednesday to talk about an overhaul of the justice and policing systems.
Representatives of the New Brunswick provincial government met with First Nations chiefs Wednesday morning to discuss the issue of systemic racism in the province's justice system and the need for broad structural change.
The meeting comes on the heels of the deaths of Rodney Levi and Chantel Moore at the hands of police officers, as well as the Crown's decision to not appeal the not guilty verdict in the hit and run death of Brady Francis.
First Nations leaders in New Brunswick are calling for an independent inquiry into systemic racism in New Brunswick's justice system.
Following the video-conference with the premier and his cabinet ministers, the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick released a statement on behalf of the six Wolastoqey chiefs to express their disappointment in the discussions.
"We were very disappointed with Premier Higgs' response."
"The Chiefs raised our concerns about systemic bias and racism against Indigenous people in our police and justice systems. We reiterated our call for an independent inquiry into these problems that would be Indigenous-led and have tight timelines to ensure prompt action," the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick statement said.
"Our people have participated in national inquiries and we have heard words spoken by governments, and still we come back to the same point we reached these past weeks. We need action now."
Wolastoqey chiefs said they were disappointed with the premier this morning. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
"Despite the fact that his minister of aboriginal affairs has recognized that bias and racism exists, Premier Higgs is not prepared to recognize that. And even though his minister believes an inquiry should be called, Premier Higgs refuses to support it," the statement said.
Tobique First Nation Chief Ross Perley said that the chiefs felt they had a "pretty strong case" for an inquiry today.
"Unfortunately, today the Premier wasn't ready to make a decision on whether or not he was going to support an inquiry" Perley said.
Perley said the province proposed a task force to review past inquiries and try to implement some recommendations, but the Wolastoqey chiefs felt it wasn't enough.
The Chiefs felt that that was too weak, it didn't have enough teeth," Perley said. "We would like something with more strength to it with a stronger mandate and that would be an inquiry."
"For once, listen to the leadership of our nations" Perley told the premier. "Not doing that is a prime example of the systemic problems that exist and unfortunately that seems to be the road that we're going on."
Perley acknowledged that Higgs had not completely shut the door on an inquiry and remained hopeful that things would change in the next meeting in two weeks
Perley said the Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaw and Peskotomuhkati chiefs, as well as the Green and Liberal leaders, support an inquiry.
Status quo is not an option
Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc. also released a statement on behalf of the Mi'kmaw chiefs following the meeting with the provincial government.
"Over the past fifty years, there have been inquiries, research papers and reports that have examined what is wrong with the justice system in this province and country, and particularly the way in which the justice system has failed Indigenous peoples," the Mi'kmaw chiefs' statement said.
"Indigenous people are overrepresented in the jails; underrepresented as policy and change makers; and more likely to [be] victims of homicide and violent crimes."
Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn said they developed a discussion paper to present to the province which includes options to explore relating to Indigenous justice.
Those options include the need for Indigenous-led alternatives to policing in communities, and improving supports for those struggling with mental health, addiction, and generational violence.
They plan to present the discussion paper when the First Nations leaders reconvene with the premier and his cabinet in two weeks.
The Mi'kmaw chiefs also acknowledged that immediate action is needed and an independent inquiry would enhance the process.
"It is our feeling moving ahead with implementing the calls and recommendations from past reports and having a New Brunswick focused inquiry are not mutually exclusive."
"There are systemic issues that are specific to New Brunswick that cannot be addressed until an independent party reviews the system in this province. Otherwise, we risk departments, governments and citizens denying the discrimination."
“It
is our feeling moving ahead with implementing the calls and
recommendations from past reports and having a New Brunswick focused
inquiry are not mutually exclusive,” Mi'kmaw leaders said in a statement
this afternoon, following their meeting with the premier. (Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc / Facebook)
"We know the Marshall Inquiry in Nova Scotia led to the implementation of actions that have resulted in significant changes in how the justice system in that Province deals with Indigenous people."
"The status quo is not an option. This is a government-to-government relationship and we have to work together in partnership to address the systematic discrimination that currently exists."
"Today was a stepping stone"
Premier Higgs acknowledged that he doesn't support an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system at this time.
"The reason I said that is because I'm referencing over the last 24 years about just around 800 recommendations that have been made through various inquiries, public inquiries and commissions," Higgs said. "I asked the question like, how many of those recommendations have actually been followed through?"
Higgs
said he wouldn't support an inquiry into systemic racism at this time
but would look into implementing past recommendations. (CBC)
Higgs said he didn't know the exact number, but was told that less than 15 per cent of the 800 recommendations have been implemented.
Higgs said while BEI conducts the independent investigations into the deaths of Moore and Levi, that First Nations and provincial leaders could look at what action they can do now to implement past recommendations.
"We want a full investigation, which is happening now," Higgs said of the two police shootings.
"Why don't we look at all of the things that have been done in the past and how many can we implement, how many can we actually make a change and move the bar," Higgs said.
Higgs said the provincial and First Nations leaders decided to meet again in two weeks.
In the meantime, he said the province will flesh out what previous recommendations can be implemented, and First Nations leaders can think about what a public inquiry looks like to them.
Higgs said he disagreed with the Wolastoqey chiefs' statement saying he doesn't recognize that systemic racism exists.
"I do not agree with that statement that I don't recognize that racism exists or we have a systemic problem here that needs to be addressed because I absolutely do agree we have a systemic problem that needs to be addressed," Higgs said.
"I believe in it and I believe we must have change, but I'm not one to just keep studying something. I'd like to get something accomplished," Higgs said.
Jake
Stewart, New Brunswick's minister of Aboriginal affairs, says today was
a stepping stone to bigger discussions and was optimistic about the
outcome of this mornings meetings. (Gary Moore/CBC)
"We can measure performance by how much we say or we can measure performance by how much we do, and I am more inclined to be measured on what we actually do." Higgs said.
Higgs said he is looking at pilot programs like having social workers accompany police officers to domestic calls.
New Brunswick Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Jake Stewart was optimistic about the outcome of the meetings with the First Nations chiefs this morning.
"Today was a stepping stone. It was a meeting where as a
government we did a lot of listening to try to understand the issues
faced by Indigenous peoples with respect to the justice system and the
public safety systems of New Brunswick," Stewart said. "I actually think
it was a positive first step."
Stewart said not all the chiefs
on the call were hoping for an inquiry, contrary to the statements
released by the chiefs organizations.
"One thing that's important is that there are variations from both the province and from the chiefs on what should happen," Stewart said. "Some chiefs are exclusively hoping for an inquiry, but there is variation and that's important."
Stewart said that both sides were able to come to agreements on some of the topics discussed.
"We agreed that there's systemic bias and racism in our provincial systems. We agreed that we understand how Indigenous peoples don't feel the trust in both the justice and public safety systems. We also agreed that we need action and we need to implement items that actually work," Stewart said.
Stewart echoed the premier's statement in saying that he wants action.
Other parties support First Nations' inquiry request
Green Party Leader David Coon was critical of the premier not supporting an inquiry, though he wasn't invited to the meeting.
"I think there's a total disconnect here because I agree we need action and yet he has failed to say what his plan of action is. I don't hear it," Coon said. "I, and my party, completely support the chief's call for the inquiry."
David
Coon, Green Party leader, said his party fully supports an inquiry into
systemic racism in the New Brunswick justice system. (Logan Perley/CBC)
Coon said that an inquiry would be the mirror New Brunswick needs to reflect upon it's own biases, stereotypes and prejudices.
"For the most part across this province we do not see the racism that exists, those of us who are non-Indigenous."
Liberal Party MLA Lisa Harris said First Nations are still not being listened to.
"The meeting today obviously didn't go well according to the chiefs. However, it seems in the minds of Premier Higgs and Minister Stewart that it was successful and that just stems right back to proof that they're not being listened to and what they're asking for is not a priority of this government," Harris said. "And it's a sure sign of systemic bias, systemic racism, happening right here before our eyes, and it's very disappointing and it's very unfortunate."
Liberal
MLA Lisa Harris said the premier and his government are not respecting
First Nations leaders by not supporting an inquiry into systemic racism. (Joe McDonald/CBC)
Harris said that the Liberal Party would be raising the issue of an inquiry.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
No comments:
Post a Comment