The power struggle in a troubled community
Lisa LaFlamme, Chief Anchor & Senior Editor | CTV NewsHi everyone,
Again today the tragic living conditions from the isolated Attawapiskat reserve in northern Ontario have dominated the headlines in this country. Fixing the problem though, isn't as easy as fixing the blame and today, there's plenty of that going around.
In a committee meeting today on Parliament Hill, the Aboriginal Affairs minister appeared to be out of touch with his file. The state of emergency was declared a month ago but John Duncan says, he only heard about it last Thursday. He was also asked if he is aware that Katcheshewan and Fort Albani have also declared states of emergency. "News to me." he says.
Today Daniele Hamamdjian, who spent a second day on the reserve, had a chance to ask Chief Theresa Spence, directly, about the 92 million dollars received from the government and how it is spent. It was a difficult interview and the Chief was not happy about the line of questioning. We'll have that interview at 11 also.
It is clear that there are accountability problems on both sides.
Judging from the reaction we're getting, this story has inspired heated debate.
Our story online focusing on today's government response to the living conditions is the most commented-on story of the day.
On our Facebook site we asked whether you think the prime minister should heed the NDP's call to visit Attawapiskat. Several people posted similar responses to this one by Sofia Layarda.
"Yes, absolutely. (The prime minister) should live there for a month. His reaction seems to be "well we already gave them $ so I'll just wash my hands (of) this."
Bernadette Barter wrote: "YES!!! … I used to live in Moosonee and it was darned hard there, nevermind Attawapiskat. All of those Northern communities are in dire need of help and this government needs to be responsible for helping them."
But others on Facebook, and commenters on the CTVNews.ca website, set their sites squarely on the reserve -- questioning the accountability of those in charge there and being critical of the ‘handouts' the community is receiving.
‘chel in the Peg' wrote: "How is more money going to fix (the situation)? The waste and the suffering is truly sickening. Aboriginals on reserves need to demand better leadership - not from the government but from themselves."
"Harper does have a point," wrote Corey Campbell. "If they were given $90M there is no reason at all they should be living like that. What did they do with it?"
The debate on Parliament Hill was equally as heated. If you missed Question Period today, we've clipped it for you. Watch the exchange between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel, and Liberal interim leader Bob Rae.
Today, Daniele also interviewed a number of people at the reserve who have questions of their own. They feel cheated by the system and some, by their own leadership. They have some interesting reaction to the news that their band leaders will no longer be in charge of managing the reserve.
We'll have all sides on the show tonight and as always, we welcome your comments on Facebook or on The Desk.
See you tonight,
Lisa
-
Read More...
India's Supreme Court cancels tainted telecom licences
Thu Feb 02, 07:48 AM -
Read More...
Twitter tributes pour in for Sarah Burke
Thu Jan 19, 06:13 PM -
Read More...
Eradicating polio one drop at a time
Thu Jan 19, 01:08 PM