Meeting Recording
Today’s Meeting was in person and there is no recording of the meeting.
Visiting Rotarians
Isaac Oluwagbemi, President RC of Waterloo
Guests
Jean Becker, University of Waterloo, Guest Speaker
Tracy Vennard, guest of Louise Gardiner, potential club member
Saimi Hartikainen, our Exchange Student from Finland
President’s Comments
President Dave welcomed everyone to our meeting today.
Bell Ringer(s)
President Dave declared all women Rotarians as Bell ringers this week in recognition of International Women’s Day!
Happy Jar
Louise Gardiner is very happy that her husband, Graham, has come through his recent heart attack successfully and is recovering well. She was also happy to announce her latest professional endeavour as a Traveltrend Navigator, which will have a focus on helping women’s groups make travel plans.
Bill Proctor was happy to have recently been in Kenya on Safari, which was an awesome experience and to visit a Rotary Club in Nairobi.
Lumi Mironescu is happy that Ella, our exchange student in Japan is continuing to do very well and that she will be participating in an archery contest in the near future.
Club Announcements
A Better Tent City
Neil Swayze thanked all members who brought in personal hygiene items to be donated to a Better Tent City. Our next project in support of ABTC will be planting of the raised flower beds and vegetable gardens in May.
Grand River Hospital Foundation Fundraiser
The five Rotary clubs in KW, along with local Kiwanis clubs are supporting a fundraiser for the Grand River Hospital Foundation. It is a gala dinner with David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada on March 31 at Bingeman Park. Our club is using central funds to purchase 4 tickets to the event and a raffle will be held to select the four members from the club to attend. Members will receive an email from President Dave explaining the process and asking those interested to put their name forward for the draw. Tickets are also available to the general public, go the
GRHF website for more information.
Program Highlights
Our guest speaker today was Jean Becker, introduced by Linda Bennett.
Jean Becker is Inuk, a grandmother, and a member of the Nunatsiavut Territory of Labrador. She has lived and worked in Southern Ontario for over 40 years. She is the AVP Indigenous Relations at the University of Waterloo and has worked in postsecondary education for more than 30 years. Actively involved in advocacy for Indigenous people outside of the academy, Jean is passionate about her work to implement decolonization in the academy.
The title of her talk was Canada’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples
She first provided a bit of back ground:
Recent Timeline
- 1990 – Oka crisis
- 1996 – RCAP Final Report – 4,000 pages, 20-year agenda, 440 recommendations
- 2015 – Truth and Reconciliation Commission – 94 recommendations
- January 1, 2024: 11 calls to action complete; 39 in progress; 26 not started or stalled
Why Is Reconciliation So Hard?
- Denial
- Apathy
- Misconceptions
- Overwhelmed
She then reviewed several common questions or statements that are made in relation to Indigenous relations.
If things are so bad, why don’t they just leave the reserves?
- Many have – Statistics Canada reports nearly 70% of Indigenous people now live in urban and rural Canada. Many of them retain close ties to their communities
- No one should be forced to leave their homes
- Indigenous people are connected to the land where they were born and grew up, the places where their ancestors lie
Why are they always blocking roads and rail lines and protesting development?
- Studies show that most Indigenous people support resource development, but they want responsible development that aligns with the protection of the environment
- Indigenous people don’t consider themselves ‘protestors. They consider themselves ‘land defenders’ and ‘water protectors’
-
They only got the job because they are Native
- Statistics Canada shows First Nations, Metis and Inuit have lower wages than non-Native people, they are the least likely to hold management positions and are twice as likely to be discriminated against on the job than any other group, more than half feel unsafe on the job
- On-reserve unemployment rate 23% when non-Indigenous unemployment rate was 6%
I am not responsible for what happened at residential schools
- Probably true for most of us but
- Residential Schools are not ancient history. The last school closed in 1996
- Today there are more First Nations, Inuit and Metis children in care than there were at the height of residential schools
- The numbers continue to escalate including in Waterloo Wellington
Canada purchased land legitimately from FNMI who gave up their rights
- Canada used its own laws and policies to colonize and assimilate FNMI
- This is clear in Supreme Court decisions setting precedent regarding Aboriginal title, specific claims, and duty to consult and accommodate
- 1996: Chief Justice Lemer: “Aboriginal rights exist because of a simple fact. When Europeans arrived in North America, Aboriginal people were already here, living in communities on the land, participating in distinct cultures as they have done for centuries. This fact and this fact above all others, separates Aboriginal people from all other minority groups in Canada and mandates their special legal status”
Indigenous People get free education and free money
- Registered Status Indians may have access to education funds through their First Nation provided through treaty rights. Allocations are inadequate and have been frozen at 2% since the 1990s
- Six Nations consistently has a waiting list of 200 – 400 unfunded potential students
- In 2019 federal funding was initiated for Metis Students through the Metis Nation Post Secondary Education Strategy
- In 2019 federal funding was allocated for the Inuit Post Secondary Education Strategy
Indigenous People don’t pay taxes
- The only tax exemption is for Status Indians living on reserve or for goods bought on or delivered to reserves
- Inuit, Metis and non-Status Indians receive no exemptions
- Funds for First Nations communities and programs do not come from taxpayers. They come from funds the government took, held and invested called Indian Trusts.
- These funds also are also used to operate the largely non-Indigenous bureaucracy known as The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs originally the Department of Indian Affairs
Closing Remarks & Reminders
There is no meeting next week as the week is set aside for committee meetings. Please see below for details of other upcoming meetings.
Kitchener Rotary e-Newsletter
