feb 25 2020 #poetry #humanrights #wetsuweten

~

dream the dream

of being free

of colonial oppression and violence

of this genocidal silence

having your indigenous rights be respected

it’s a given and it’s expected

having your voices be heard

being honoured and understood

having your race be accepted

your spaces protected

your family and loved ones living fully

able to be all they can be

enjoying abundance and being free

no issues around safety

no harassment or pressure

each day feeling secure

sure of your fate

with no police state

honouring your lands

and your clans

peace within your heart and in your hands

💓

What Doug Ford has done in just six months #onpoli #openforbusiness #fordnation #politics

Here’s the list thus far. Thanks to Debra Gallant and Kev Holman for it’s beginnings. *edited This is what Doug Ford has done in six months. I’ll keep adding to it (by Kathryn Kaiser on FB)

1. Killed Cap & Trade resulting in $3-$4B in lost revenue (not including lawsuits). *edited
2. Fired Privatization Officer
3. Fired Chief scientist
4. Fired Investment Officer
5. Refused assistance to asylum seekers
6. Killed legislation to reduce scalping prices
7. Killed Bill 175 updating the police service act (police oversight legislation)
8. Delayed Immunization reporting rules
9. Ends electric & hydrogen vehicle incentive program
10. Cut the budget for school repairs
11. Cut 700+ green projects ($100M to shut down 1 wind farm alone)
12. Rolled sex ed back to 1998
13. Cancelled TRC school curriculum
14. Cuts Toronto City council in half.
15. Cut promised 3% increase for OW & ODSP & will change definition of disability, leading to further poverty.
16. Basic Income pilot project stopped
17. Considers no more minimum wage increase (considering rolling back implemented wage increase in 2020)
18. Reduced Pharmacare availability
19. Cuts funding for guide dogs for visually impaired
20. Cuts advanced age allowance for elderly
21. Common law changes deleted
22. Cuts to funds to repair social housing
23. Cancellation of opening new overdose prevention sites
24. Buck a beer at taxpayer expense.
25. Reduced Civil Servants to clapping seals.
26. Reneges on $500,000 for after school music program for kids at risk
27. Muzzles civil servants from using words “climate change” in any social media release
28. Removal of For Profit Maximum Threshold – big box day care coming
29. Fired Howard Sapers – Correctional Reform
30. Fired Frank Iacobucci re: ring of fire consultations
31. Dismissed – high speed board
32. Sued by and lost to Tesla
33. Sued by teachers re: Sex ed
34. Sued by City of Toronto re: Bill 5 / 31
35. Streamlining rules to allow for faster passage of Bills (less debated etc.)
36. Governance deficiency results in downgrade of Hydro One credit rating (interest on debt rises)
37. Invokes s33 of the Charter for the 1st time in Ontario
38. Back to work legislation for CUPE 3903
39. Regulations re: vaping put on hold
40. Mental health funding cut by $1.34B *Udpated
41. Snitch line to complain about teachers introduced
42. Indigenous and ASL language training for schools cut
43. Stops the ban on back end payment mutual funds (cheap up front a mess at the end)
44. Proposed safe injection sites put on hold (google Naloxone)
45. 2 of 4 credit rating agencies downgrade Ontario from stable to negative.
46. Disbanded Anti-Racism Directorate and all sub-committees
47. Stopped WSIB UFL 10 years ahead of recommendation of the Auditor General
48. No $1 increase in minimum wage. (but $1 beer)
49. Cut WSIB payments to injured workers by 30%
50. Kills Bill C-148 which gave p/t workers the same pay as f/t, guaranteed 10 days off (2 paid) & other benefits (reducing bereavement days to TWO days)
51. Ends the Drive Clean program.
52. Paused the parents reaching out program – funding for parent councils for schools including breakfast programs and assisting with tutoring.
53. Cancels or postpones 33% increase to shelters
54. $35M to fight the federal carbon tax
55. Cuts French Language Commissioner
56. Cancels plans for French Language University
57. Promise not kept – allows pot dispensaries within 150m of schools (oppose Libs 450 m rule)
58. Shuts down College of Trades (who had a 20M reserve fund i.e. operating at a surplus)*edited
59. Removes rent control. No rent control for new units (not previously rented)
60. Reduces oversight on the Environment
61. Will not implement tax increase on 1% ($275M in lost revenue) *edited
62. Appoints OPP Commissioner of questionable qualifications (& lied about pulling strings to put said buddy in charge of the OPP)
63. Non- climate change plan
64. Overruling Hydro One Board’s selection for CEO (see #87)
65. Ontario Chief Comptroller (accountant) resigns because she won’t sign off on the lie that there was a $15B deficit
66. Cut protections for water, food, childcare safety and opened up the greenbelt to development (Greenbelt development currently on hold) *edited
67. Cut all funding for the College of Midwives (retroactively)
68. Cut funding for Indigenous Cultural Program
69. Slashed funding for Friendship Centres
70. $5m slashed from Ontario Arts Council (retroactively)
71. Limits grant for post secondary education, reduces tuition by placing cost on universities and colleges
72. Ends the gap time for repayment of student loans
73. Dissolving LHINs (Local Health Integration Networks) & replacing with no more than 5 oversight bodies) *
74. Pander to Hunters with odd reduction in permits
75. Appoints friends to Boards with exceptional salaries
76. Bill 66 – allows municipalities to ignore environmental, heath and safety regulations
77. Consideration of ending regulations to protect endangered species to allow for development
78. Looking for additional $1B to cuts in education
79. Pays $150K to 97 year-old Hazel McCallion as advisor- who pressured Wynn for years to open the Greenbelt to development. *edited
80. Removes electric vehicle chargers from GO station parking lots.
81. Considers removing caps on kindergarten, primary class sizes.
82. Launches “Ontario News Now”, a third world style propaganda news site payed for by taxpayers.
83. “Streamlines” Landlord Tenant Board. (more to follow)
85. Decision made to appeal the Robinson Huron Treaty claim, after feds agreed not to.
86. Promoted white supremacy and paid zero political price for it.
87. Costs HydroOne US $103 Mil in termination fees to Avista as a direct result of govt meddling.
88. The “keep it off the books” (and paid for by the OPP) personalized camper van request.
89. Backed out of gender identity debate.
90. Refuses to honour funding for sexual assault centres.
91. Fired children’s advocate, and closed Ontario Child Advocate’s Office.
92. Scrapped funding for three satellite University campuses citing deficit (see #65)
93. Scrapped the Social Impact bonds issued by the previous government to help pay for social programs.
94. Increased their own monthly housing allowance over 20% (retroactive to July 2018) to combat inflated costs. (see #59)
95. $8M first year loss at OCS (Ontario Cannabis Store)
96. Strips protections for apprentices (1:1 ratio apprentices to skilled tradesmen) therefore placing ALL workers under risk. See injury rates in B.C.
97. Cuts in pay for family doctors working in new primary care models in Ontario (introduced to counter the shortage of docs in 2000)

*edited* I did not expect the list to go quite this viral. Thanks for all the shares, and for taking the time to respond in a helpful way. So many of us are negatively impacted by these decisions.
Keep writing letters, filling out surveys and contacting your MPPS. And let me know when we are hitting the streets.
If I have omitted anything, or made a serious error, please let me know in the comments. I will try to keep up, but will not be able to respond to everyone.

#onpoli #openforbusiness #fordnation

 

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161307484560511&set=a.10151742047355511&type=3&theater

1200 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada – Not High on Harper’s Radar #MMIWG

I don’t know that an inquiry will tell us anymore than what all the other studies have already told us – it all comes down to the colonial mind that pervades and rules Canada – in our government, the huge dehumanizing corporations, our medical system, legal system, et al.

The systemic racism and violence of Indigenous people must end. It was born in our shared history of the colonialism of Canada. It will only end when we get to the root problems of these racist institutions. E.g. the Indian act is racist and archaic yet it is still is the law that dictates the majority of First Nations people’s lives.

Plus, an inquiry will serve to give over control into the very hands of those who are the problem so they can sit on it some more and do nothing or create new policies that are empty talking heads to make people feel better.

Like the TRC – The govt can pretend to resolve the issue of the painful history of Indian Residential School and the majority of people believe in it and actually believe this will be some kind of resolution.

Yet this is the govt that withheld the necessary documents for the TRC to be able to complete their govt mandated report on the history of Indian Rez School. The Harper govt had to be sued by the TRC to get millions of documents released so they could complete their report.

The govt did finally release SOME of the documents recently, but only under SCOC (supreme court of Canada) order – they made sure to drag their feet and only do it last minute so there’s no time or man power to have people go through the many millions of documents in just a few months.

So yet again, the truth will be withheld. The truth will be fashioned to suit colonial rule. The TRC will assure us they did their best and that the report is accurate and comprehensive yet they themselves have said there is not enough time.

You can bet when the TRC releases their report – people will be outraged at what they learn happened in those schools but they will get over it quite soon as the majority of people will applaud the govt and naively believe they did all they had to do.

Meanwhile, only a fraction of the truth will be revealed – just the tip of the iceberg.

But all will be forgotten since people will finally have an excuse to no longer feel bad about our shared history.

We need new solutions to these very old issues at the root causes and not just more spin doctoring by the government.

Don’t let them control the truth and outcome of the #MMIWG like they have with the history of Indian Residential School.

I believe the government should create a fund for a grassroots initiative where the power is given to the people to resolve the issue, so we can be sure it involves honour, integrity and respect and a true focus on resolution.

Harper cares more about cats than 1200 missing murdered Indigenous women.

Indigenous Rights

via Idle No More and First Peoples (on FB)

Healing and Reconciliation