First Nations meeting with PM thrown into disarray

If the chiefs were really interested in change, they should be willing to meet with the Government of Canada
anytime, anywhere.


Another example of this being all just a load of BS.

So, some of them are gonna go to the wall with Saint Theresa the founder of the Victoria Island Diet rather than try and end this whole sordid mess in an adult manner.

Things like this just show the huge disconnect some of the chiefs have with reality while revealing the huge cracks in the unified native movement of Grand Chief Shawn Atleo.

If they don't want to show up for the meeting fine, their choice but, now that the NHL strike is over the Government should hire Gary Bettman to conduct negotiations on their part. It'd be a win win situation for everyone but the natives. Bettman would just lock the natives out of anything including funding till they acquiesced to his demands and we hockey fans wouldn't have to put up with his less than sincere tv apologies.

It's not BS, it's about showing them the money.

I'm assuming the RCMP has more to say about location than Stevo. This will be a Gong Show at best. Too many mouths and not enough ears will attend and nothing will get worked out at all. There is no clear agenda and no clear representation on behalf of FN. It also seems the chiefs have been caught off guard with the timing of the meeting, so have been more militant in their tone. You'd think that would be the tone in order to get the meeting or after the meetings..........not just before. Just more disconnect between the chiefs and the people they supposedly represent.

What the hell is the Governor General attending suppose to accomplish? The position is purely ceremonial and has no real influence or power. This is just little people trying to pretend they have some sort of power by making asinine demands. I say the PM should just show up to the meeting. Those that don't want to go can go back to their little fiefdom and explain to their townsfolk why nothing is getting done.

They should lock Spence and the GG in a room, Spence with an eagle feather and the GG with a pepperoni pizza, and see if they can negotiate a trade.

Then maybe everybody goes away happy.

As the govenor general is unelected and is supposed to act on the advice of the PM, he doesn't have the legal or moral authority to negotiate anything on our behalf. He's a "rubber stamper".

Seems this reality is lost on some.

It was the Crown who originally negotiated treaties with the FN, so I can understand why they want the GG there. But many things have changed since then, and the GG position has little to no relevance to them now.

Aw, that's too bad. And here I was thinking I'd found the perfect solution.

BTW, do you have a sense of humour? (Poke poke)

It was the Crown who originally negotiated treaties with the FN, so I can understand why they want the GG there. But many things have changed since then, and the GG position has little to no relevance to them now.

after 1867 the crown passed on the treaties to the govt of Canada. The crown is no longer involved directly.

It was the Crown who originally negotiated treaties with the FN, so I can understand why they want the GG there. But many things have changed since then, and the GG position has little to no relevance to them now.


It has no relevance to them, if they had any brains.

All responsibilities passed to the Government of Canada.


The chiefs just want to use the GG so they can tell the folks back
on the res that they met 'nation to nation'.... idiots.

If they can't understand the simple fact that things changed 150 years ago,
how can we trust them with spending money ?


I guess they are so used to it they don't even look at who is the sender on
the damn cheques.

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. But wait... as of yesterday we have 600,000 more. That should fix things.

It was the Crown who originally negotiated treaties with the FN, so I can understand why they want the GG there. But many things have changed since then, and the GG position has little to no relevance to them now.


It has no relevance to them, if they had any brains.

All responsibilities passed to the Government of Canada.


The chiefs just want to use the GG so they can tell the folks back
on the res that they met 'nation to nation'.... idiots.

If they can't understand the simple fact that things changed 150 years ago,
how can we trust them with spending money ?


I guess they are so used to it they don't even look at who is the sender on
the damn cheques.

Like Chief Spence, I wonder if they include absurd conditions just to see if they can. If they aren't met, then they can point to that as a failure on the part of Canada, and save themselves some 'face' to their tribes.

That why I (secretly, till now) considered Chief Spence a terrorist. Bear with me here - the definition of Terrorist being "someone who used violence or the threat of violence for political purposes". Chief Spence was using her possible death, and being seen as a martyr to the First Nations for generations to come and the possible violence it would cause, to get a meeting with Harper and the GG. I admire Harper for calling her bluff and calling the meeting, but with all Chiefs, not just her.

It was the Crown who originally negotiated treaties with the FN, so I can understand why they want the GG there. But many things have changed since then, and the GG position has little to no relevance to them now.

Even if the GG did show up at the meeting with Harper, he'd be there for a photo-op only. The British monarchs (and by extension, the GG) have devolved the vast majority of their powers to the elected bodies over hundreds of years.

Negotiating with the Crown means negotiating with Harper. Queen Elizabeth or her placeholders will not be negotiating for the government, now or in the future.