After a press interview several years ago Tomson Highway, author of Permanent Astonishment (Doubleday Canada, 2021) found himself sidelined by Indigenous and media elites for his apostacy in saying that some good things came out of residential schools. He said: Nine...
An Interpretation of this Case The Restoule case raises novel, contentious, and potentially destabilizing issues of national importance which the people of Canada deserve to have settled by the Supreme Court. The trial judge, upheld by a narrow majority of the Court...
Background In 1850, the 21 Ontario Indian bands along the north shores of lakes Huron and Superior, by the terms of the Robinson Treaties, surrendered and ceded to the Crown all their claims to ownership of the treaties territories in exchange for monies paid and to...
The age-old expression that actions speak louder than words conveys an important insight: character is best judged through action. Anyone can say or promise anything but doing requires ability and skill, discipline and commitment. So, the simplest test of character is...
“Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity, where some people are held liable for things that happened before they were born, while others are not held responsible for things they are themselves doing today?” - Thomas Sowell Canadians reacted with horror to the...
How much poison would you willingly put on your skin or ingest? If the answer is zero, you might have to make some changes. We may assume our foods, drinks and cosmetics are safe because regulators allowed them. Unfortunately, that may not always be the case....
Explores empowering indigenous Canadians by bringing them into the economic mainstream, restoring property and commercial rights. Priority topics include funding aboriginals individually (instead of funding the reserve system) and a strategy to phase out the Indian...
Over the last several decades, indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians have become increasingly interested in issues relating to financial transparency and accountability on Canadian reserves. Indigenous and non-indigenous governments have responded with various...
When doing a cursory search of articles and commentaries about the current state of Arctic international relations, you would be forgiven if you were to think the Russians are preparing to launch a massive offensive against other Arctic states, particularly...
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled this week that federal financing of First Nations’ child-welfare services is inadequate and discriminatory, and thus violates the Human Rights Act. Recognizing that it lacks the expertise to reform child welfare, the...
The new Liberal government says it will implement the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It’s no surprise, as the Liberals campaigned on it. Nonetheless, there is great potential for mischief here because the sweeping language...
The federal government has recently shown its willingness to help First Nations education in Manitoba. Ottawa announced it is entering into a partnership with four northern Manitoba First Nations. The Indigenous communities are Bunibonibee Cree Nation (Oxford House),...
The Assembly of First Nations is proposing a national public inquiry to address the grave situation facing Aboriginal women in Canada. While many believe that a national inquiry is the answer, that may not in fact be the case. The issue is a serious one. Indeed,...
First Nations poverty may be Canada's most important moral issue in generations. Perry Bellegarde, the newly elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), cites United Nations statistics showing the tragic gap between First Nations and the rest of...
First Nations poverty may be Canada’s most important moral issue in generations. Perry Bellegarde, the newly elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), cites United Nations statistics showing the tragic gap between First Nations and the rest of...