Richard Gwyn, author of Nation Maker—Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times, a biography of Canada’s first prime minister, reported that in the 1950s—the decade I grew up in—was a time “…when Canadians came to realize and believe that a ‘new nationality’ could be...
Indigenous housing—especially in remote and northern locations—represents one of the intractable problems facing First Nation communities. The high cost of housing in these locations and the never-ending cycle of backlogs plague reserve communities across Canada....
“Great leaders have great fellowship. Big Bear had, at some point, some three thousand followers on the books and four hundred ... Eventually, because he took a hard line position, and he understood the long-term ramifications of the policies of the government in...
“Indian society was essentially democratic in that people that were governed were led with their consent. The method by which this was exercised was different than in the, in the general society today in that rather than having elections for leaders, leaders were...
A litany of disastrous decisions have sometimes cost lives and definitely many billions of dollars. Effectively cancelling the Global Public Health Intelligence Network; the failure to implement the pandemic preparedness protocols developed by Ottawa’s public health...
Foreign influence or interference has become a mediatic topic. The fear and suspicion of interference in the elections and democratic process have been in news headlines. For the western countries, the suspicion bears on Russia and China. Revisionist powers have a...
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its report in 2015 saying that that Canada and the Churches that managed the majority of Indian Residential Schools treated Indigenous people as if they were sub-human. If this is true, then why did many...
It is quite distressing to hear that Indigenous activist Harrison Thunderchild of Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan has launched a court application with the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench to demand transparency from his own First Nation’s leaders....
First Nation leaders need to move beyond victimhood to resolve problems The ’60s Scoop was back in the news this month, and I expect we will hear more about it in the coming years. In fact, I am guessing there are plans in place to make it the subject of the next...
Who was Big Bear? He was the last Chief to cave in and sign the infamous numbered treaties that confined aboriginals to reservations. Big Bear held out because he accurately foresaw the consequences of that policy. His story is important because his own tribe, starved...
Day 21 - Advent is the season of preparing for Christmas. Here at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy we want to tell you about some of the things we would like to see under our tree. On Day 21 we wish for the repeal and replacement of the Indian Act and the...
It is getting close to Christmas. This makes it a good time to test our knowledge of Christianity and Christian charity. So, here is a question to ponder: When Christian churches founded schools in Canada, what names did they use? Perhaps you think that these schools...
In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of Canadians who are entitled to claim and receive benefits that go along with holding “Indian status”. All indications are that this trend will continue—and probably accelerate—in the next few years....
Many years ago, I learned an important lesson about the world of tourism while traveling on a VIA Rail passenger train. As a first-class passenger, I enjoyed sitting in the Dome Car where I could get a full view of the country side. At one point, I zoned out, and a...
Fifty-one years ago, he was a young boy who came to a tragic end. Today he's a symbol for all that was wrong with this country's treatment of Indigenous people. So why is the story of Chanie Wenjack so full of imaginative fabrication? At age nine, Chanie, from Ogoki...