I'm Indigenous (Manitoba, but living in Victoria) and the situation in BC is byzantine.
I'm pretty jaded about the whole political/economic situation here. I agree about the split between the elites and the people under them, but I think the broader challenge is that British Columbia, if not all of Canada, has too many bureaucrats (and I'm using the term as a pejorative.)
It's not just the self-interest of the elites, even with representation all bureaucrats at all levels vote for more bureaucracy. I'm worried we're well past the tipping point. It's a fringe concept but I think it's time to discuss excluding government employees from voting in elections that affect their employment. Although it was extremely narrow in application, not unprecedented in Canada.
That said... I agree with everything you've presented here.
Thank you Nolan. It means a lot to me to hear an Indigenous voice support my views on this matter. And I agree with everything you say about the large public sector in BC and the role it plays in hindering real progress for the people who need it most in our province-- Indigenous people most of all. I look forward to reading your thoughts and opinion on more of my work as it is published.
This comment is not welcome here and does not represent anything this publication stands for. Bigotry toward Indigenous peoples or any other group is not a conservative position — it is the absence of one. The argument I am making is that Indigenous peoples deserve full and genuine participation in the institutions that govern them. That is not a radical idea. It is the oldest conservative idea there is — that legitimate governance requires the consent of the governed. If that offends you I would suggest the problem is yours to work out, not mine to accommodate. Comments like this one are exactly what serious conservatives need to be willing to name and reject clearly if this movement is going to mean anything worth defending.
I've done business from Prince Rupert to Fort St. John, down through Kamloops, Kelowna, and back to Vancouver, Victoria, including participating in the ABN (Aboriginal Business Match), a development organization matching businesses from FN communities with non-FN businesses to move both forward.
There will be a substantial (maybe very substantial) portion of FN opposed to this idea because it may result in fewer opportunities to use leverage (real or perceived) to extract payments from projects and businesses. The most resentful person I've met, resentful because of the number of hands out and payments made for 0 value added is a FN grandmother who's successful businesses span the western 1/2 of B.C. She employs lots of people and would employ more except for the "shakedowns". Her words.
That is undoubtably true that there will be loud opposition from corners of FNs. And one of the strengths of this proposal is that it lays bare those who are here for a solution that could work, or at the very least is something novel from the status quo that isn't working and those content to continue the grievance politics that have not produced any results for anyone.
I have a piece next Saturday coming where I explore the 1969 White Paper in light of my proposal and offer a critique of what happened in 1969, where the White Paper fell short and why the concept of Citizen Plus proposed by Harold Cardinal has been warped and taken to an extreme that actual hurts indigenous people in Canada and particularly BC today. I look forward to your thoughts on it when it comes out.
Thanks for writing this.
I'm Indigenous (Manitoba, but living in Victoria) and the situation in BC is byzantine.
I'm pretty jaded about the whole political/economic situation here. I agree about the split between the elites and the people under them, but I think the broader challenge is that British Columbia, if not all of Canada, has too many bureaucrats (and I'm using the term as a pejorative.)
It's not just the self-interest of the elites, even with representation all bureaucrats at all levels vote for more bureaucracy. I'm worried we're well past the tipping point. It's a fringe concept but I think it's time to discuss excluding government employees from voting in elections that affect their employment. Although it was extremely narrow in application, not unprecedented in Canada.
That said... I agree with everything you've presented here.
Thank you Nolan. It means a lot to me to hear an Indigenous voice support my views on this matter. And I agree with everything you say about the large public sector in BC and the role it plays in hindering real progress for the people who need it most in our province-- Indigenous people most of all. I look forward to reading your thoughts and opinion on more of my work as it is published.
Burn your house and get out. Indians will never reconcillate on anything. Just like the muslims they lie, lie, lie.
This comment is not welcome here and does not represent anything this publication stands for. Bigotry toward Indigenous peoples or any other group is not a conservative position — it is the absence of one. The argument I am making is that Indigenous peoples deserve full and genuine participation in the institutions that govern them. That is not a radical idea. It is the oldest conservative idea there is — that legitimate governance requires the consent of the governed. If that offends you I would suggest the problem is yours to work out, not mine to accommodate. Comments like this one are exactly what serious conservatives need to be willing to name and reject clearly if this movement is going to mean anything worth defending.
Sure, and in proportion.
I've done business from Prince Rupert to Fort St. John, down through Kamloops, Kelowna, and back to Vancouver, Victoria, including participating in the ABN (Aboriginal Business Match), a development organization matching businesses from FN communities with non-FN businesses to move both forward.
There will be a substantial (maybe very substantial) portion of FN opposed to this idea because it may result in fewer opportunities to use leverage (real or perceived) to extract payments from projects and businesses. The most resentful person I've met, resentful because of the number of hands out and payments made for 0 value added is a FN grandmother who's successful businesses span the western 1/2 of B.C. She employs lots of people and would employ more except for the "shakedowns". Her words.
That is undoubtably true that there will be loud opposition from corners of FNs. And one of the strengths of this proposal is that it lays bare those who are here for a solution that could work, or at the very least is something novel from the status quo that isn't working and those content to continue the grievance politics that have not produced any results for anyone.
I have a piece next Saturday coming where I explore the 1969 White Paper in light of my proposal and offer a critique of what happened in 1969, where the White Paper fell short and why the concept of Citizen Plus proposed by Harold Cardinal has been warped and taken to an extreme that actual hurts indigenous people in Canada and particularly BC today. I look forward to your thoughts on it when it comes out.
Thanks for the continued engagement and insight.