Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

PSAC National Aboriginal Peoples’ Conference - “Maawangiteeng”: Where The Journey Begins.

Conference Objectives

The objectives of our 2008 PSAC National Aboriginal Peoples’ Conference are to:

• Connect with our Aboriginal Brothers and Sisters
• Educate and build capacity within Aboriginal communities and the Union
• Politicize Aboriginal Rights around the eradication of poverty (clean water, housing, education), for quality public service and a clean environment
• Raise awareness of the Union’s role in advancing Aboriginal Peoples’ Rights in the workplace, community and society as a whole

Delegates

A PSAC member who is a member in good standing and who self-identifies as Aboriginal can apply to be a delegate to this Conference. The selection of delegates will take into account union and equality rights activism, as well as representation criteria (i.e., Region, Component, language and other equity group representation such as gender, disability, etc.).

Delegates will be selected by their respective Regions and Components. The delegates will be entitled to full voice and vote during the conference, including the resolutions and elections processes.

Funding for Delegates:

Delegate costs to the 2008 PSAC National Aboriginal Peoples’ Conference will be fully covered as per the 2003 PSAC Triennial Convention decision and PSAC Travel Directive. Costs covered are as follows:

• travel costs, including ground transportation;
• hotel accommodation costs at the Winnipeg Fairmont Hotel;
• loss of salary;
• per diem for meals;
• incidental costs;
• child care as per the Family Care Policy;
• costs related to accessibility requirements.

Observers

PSAC members who are members in good standing and who self-identify as Aboriginal may also attend the 2008 PSAC National Aboriginal Peoples’ Conference as observers; however, observers will be responsible for all costs associated with their participation, including:

• loss of salary and meals;
• hotel and travel arrangements and costs;
• the conference registration fee of $150.00;
• any additional accessibility needs and childcare arrangements (subject to meeting deadline requirements).

Please note that the number of Observers will be limited to the space available at the Conference. They will have voice only during the discussion period after panel presentations. They can attend the sharing circles, if space permits, but may not be able to select the topic. Observers do not have the right to voice or vote during the resolutions debate and elections processes.

For more information and online registration, visit the Conference & Convention section of the PSAC national website or download the attached package (pdf).

Sharon McIvor is a member of the Lower Nicola Band, a practicing member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and a Professor of Aboriginal Law at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, where she is on the executive of her trade union, the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators. For many years, Sharon McIvor has been a national leader in the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action.

Recently, in an unprecedented constitutional case, Sharon McIvor successfully challenged the continuing preferential treatment given to males and those whose Indian status is traced from male ancestors, as a violation of section 15, the equality guarantee of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

On June 7, 2007, in McIvor v. Canada, Judge Carol Ross of the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must remove sex discrimination from the determination of Indian status and restore equal Indian status to First Nations women and their descendants.

This is a ground-breaking decision that may affect the Indian status of more than 200,000 Aboriginal women and their descendants.

(more…)

Anytime a child dies is a tragedy. When a child who has serious medical condition, and is unnecessarily separated from their family and community and then dies, it is both tragic and a grave injustice.

This was the case for Jordan.

Jordan was a young First Nations boy who was born with severe medical complications. Jordan spent the first two years of his life in hospital care before his condition stabilized and doctors determined he could go home. What should have been a time of celebration turned into a time of sorrow and frustration as Jordan remained hospitalized unnecessarily for an additional two years while provincial and federal agencies became entrenched in a jurisdictional dispute over the cost of his home care. The dispute was finally settled, but not before Jordan’s unfortunate death.

Separating children from their family and community is a fundamental violation of a human rights principle which advocates that whenever possible, it is best to ensure children’s welfare within their family and community.

Jordan’s short life should never have been the stage for a jurisdictional dispute about which level of government would ensure a child received the care needed. Yet situations like this happen too often. A recent research report exposed jurisdictional disputes involving the costs of caring for First Nations children are prevalent with 393 of these disputes occurring in 12 sample First Nations child and family service agencies this past year alone. The vast majority of these disputes were between two federal government departments or between the federal government and the provincial/territorial government (for more information please see the Wen:de report (2005)

It’s time for governments to remember that their first priority is the welfare of children – including First Nations children. The Canadian Labour Congress has lent its support to an initiative that will require governments to adopt a child-first principle to resolve jurisdictional disputes involving the care of First Nations children.

The initiative is called the Jordan Principle and is being advanced in the House of Parliament by Jean Crowder, NDP Aboriginal Affairs Critic and via a petition action organized by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

The Canadian Labour Congress encourages its affiliates and allies to support the Jordan Principle by signing on to the declaration to support the Jordan Principle.

Click here to lend your support to the Jordan Principle

Karl Flecker
National Director
Anti - Racism and Human Rights Dept.
Canadian Labour Congress
613.526.7406 Direct line

The PSAC stands in strong support with the Assembly of First Nations’ National Day of Action to Make Poverty History. We encourage all members across the country to participate in the actions taking place on June 29, and in the AFN’s Make Poverty History for First Nations campaign.

In Vancouver: Solidarity for Aboriginal justice

• March and Rally
• March: 11:00 AM - Vanier Park to Library Square
• (Begin assembling at 9:30, Coast Guard Station by the Burrard St Bridge)
• Rally: 12:00 Noon - Library Square (300 West Georgia)
• more info: (604) 684-0231 or www.ubcic.bc.ca/NDOA.htm or NDOA@ubcic.bc.ca

The Make Poverty History for First Nations campaign highlights the struggles facing First Nations people and communities. First Nations and all Canadians must take action together and demand that Canada’s political leaders honour their commitments to end poverty.

Too many First Nations children, elders, families and communities are living in conditions that should not be acceptable to anyone in Canada:

• 1 in 4 First Nations children live in poverty.
• First Nations youth commit suicide at 5 to 8 times the Canadian rate as a result of poverty and despair.
• High school graduation rates for First Nations youth are half the Canadian rate.
• Close to 1 in 4 First Nations communities are under boil drinking water advisories.
• Mould contaminates almost half of all First Nations homes.
• More than half of First Nations people are not employed.
• Diabetes among First Nations people is at least three times the national average.
• First Nations suffer from Third World diseases such as tuberculosis at 8 to 10 times the rate of Canadians in general.

More than half of First Nations people are under 23 years of age. If poverty is not addressed today, it will continue to negatively impact First Nations families and communities into the future.

(more…)

June 21st is the summer solstice, marked for centuries by many Aboriginal communities as a day to celebrate their heritage. In 1996, the Parliament of Canada proclaimed June 21st as the National Aboriginal Day.

For the PSAC, it is a day to express solidarity with Aboriginal Peoples as well as a day to recognize and celebrate the contributions of the Aboriginal Peoples in our communities.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people have and continue to make important contributions in their struggles for social justice, equality and workers’ and human rights.

Their struggles are numerous, given the failure of successive governments to address Aboriginal poverty, access to education, employment, housing, water, health care and access to other basic infrastructures and social services within the Aboriginal communities.

(more…)

Women’s History Month represents an opportunity to highlight women’s contributions and to recognize the achievements of diverse women as a vital part of our Canadian history. This year’s theme is “Aboriginal Women”. A series of fact sheets highlighting the realities of Aboriginal women as well as their contributions to their communities and families and the unique challenges they face is being produced by the Women’s program.
Visit the national website for:

• Factsheet 1: Violence Against Aboriginal Women: the fight-back
• Factsheet 2: Aboriginal Women: a reality check - Part 1
• Factsheet 3: Aboriginal Women: a reality check - Part 2

Women’s History Month represents an opportunity to highlight women’s contributions and to recognize the achievements of diverse women as a vital part of our Canadian history. It also represents an opportunity to show how we all benefit from the efforts of our foremothers in our on-going quest for equality and represents an ideal opportunity to instill a sense of pride in our collective accomplishments.

This year’s theme is “Aboriginal Women”.  The PSAC will be posting a series of fact sheets (one every week) highlighting the realities of Aboriginal women as well as their contributions to their communities and families and the unique challenges they face.

Visit the national website for fact sheet #1: Violence Against Aboriginal Women: the fight-back

In light of the recent arrests of 17 young Muslim men, media sensationalism and government statements have stirred public frenzy about “homegrown terrorists”, revealing a shallow multiculturalism and reinforcing the racialized national space of Canada. This discourse within the context of the War on Terror further justifies an increasingly aggressive and crusading police, security, and military apparatus both within and beyond these borders. A critical perspective, rooted in the historic and current reality about Canadian domestic and foreign policy, is necessary to address the climate of paranoia, racism, repression, and war-making. Join us for speakers, films, and discussion….

|inline

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people are making important contributions in the struggle for social justice, equality and workers’ and human rights. Their particular struggle is a response to colonialism, domination and the policy of assimilation pursued by the Canadian government.

The fight for access to employment, housing, education, health care and other basic social services continues on a daily basis for many Aboriginal people. While the United Nations Human Development Index rates the majority of Canadian society as having one of the highest quality-of-life scores, Aboriginal peoples in Canada would place 48th among the world’s nations in the same index.

The Kelowna Accord reached between the Prime Minister, the Provincial Premiers, the Territorial Leaders and Aboriginal Leaders in November was an important first step towards improving socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal peoples and communities. The Conservative government, by not committing the funds agreed to by the previous government in the federal budget, has effectively turned its back on Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

|inline

On June 21^st, 2006, Canadians from all walks of life are invited to participate in the many National Aboriginal Day events that will be taking place from coast to coast to coast.

June 21^st kick starts the 11 days of Celebrate Canada! which includes National Aboriginal Day (June 21), Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24), Multiculturalism Day (June 27) and concluding with Canada Day (July 1)!

First proclaimed by the Governor General of Canada on June 13, 1996, June 21^st of every year has become a day in the Canadian calendar that presents Aboriginal peoples with a great opportunity to express great pride for their rich diverse cultures with their families, neighbours, friends and visitors.

Read more about National Aboriginal Day at the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website. Here is a list of events in BC.

By 2050, aboriginals will comprise half of Sask. population

Aboriginals will comprise 50 per cent of Saskatchewan people by 2050, and they will “catch up” to the rest of the population in education and earning potential this century, a University of Saskatchewan professor says.

In a paper, as yet unpublished, exploring the future of the province’s aboriginal people, economics Prof. Eric Howe says early 20th century Eastern European immigrants overcame discrimination, poverty and a lack of education, and aboriginals will too.

|inline

The BCGEU Aboriginal Council is supporting this important initiative by distributing “Stop Violence Against Aboriginal Women” buttons, and gathering donations to support the walk.

Highway 16 from Prince Rupert to Prince George has been dubbed the “highway of tears” because of the heartbreak associated with the many cases of young women who have vanished or whose bodies have been found along the road. Most of the women have been Aboriginal.

The walk begins in Prince Rupert on Saturday, March 11, with the first steps taken by Florence Naziel, and other supporters. Florence is a 56-yearold grandmother from the Frog Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. Her cousin’s daughter went missing along Highway 16. Florence is challenging herself to walk 20–30 kilometers a day and she invites anyone who wants to support her in her mission to honor the families of the missing or murdered women.

|inline

Centre for Native Policy and Research (CNPR)

JOB POSTING: Researcher

• Closing date: Friday, February 24, 2006, 4:00 PM - EXTENDED TO MARCH 3, 2006
• Position start date: March 13, 2006
• Duration: Full-time permanent subject to funding.
• Salary Range: $45,000 - $57,200 plus benefits package after 6 month probationary period.

ABOUT CNPR

The Centre is a non-partisan, social justice, progressive Aboriginal think tank. Our focus is on the social, economic, and environmental policy and research concerns of Aboriginal people in British Columbia and Canada. Although over fifty percent of all Aboriginal people now live in urban areas, there is a lack of research and policy analysis on issues important to the growing urban Aboriginal population. The Centre tackles this gap by providing collaborative solutions between existing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups, bringing people together beyond politics to promote progressive research, policy alternatives, and hope.

|inline

You are invited to celebrate the 11th annual Dances with Dragons, which was started ten years ago by students from Mount Currie (see background below). This is not a performance but a genuine celebration of another year of journey with the First People and one more step towards reconciliation. To that end, please share the following invitation with your friends: |inline

News Release: Concerns Regarding the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards Held at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver (Unceded Coast Salish Territories) On Friday, January 27, 2006

Attn: National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation

We the undersigned are deeply concerned with the high concentration of unethical corporations that sponsor the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (NAAA). In particular, we disapprove of the NAAA sponsors that have a track record of destroying Indigenous people’s lives and land; namely the Encana Corporation, Shell Canada, and Weyerhauser. We haveresearched these corporations and found blatant and undeniable human rights violations in the territories that they operate in. In addition, many of these corporations have refused to recognize Aboriginal Rights and Title in Canada.

Although many of NAAA’s corporate sponsors claim to “balance out” their environmental and human rights injustices by giving funds or support to Indigenous groups, we see that the harm they produce far outweighs any aesthetic repairs they claim to make. We are also concerned with the NAAA’s failure to involve the grassroots Native community in the organization of the awards and we criticize this exclusive conduct throughout the years. With the observations that we outline below, we trust that you will listen to our concerns and make the necessary changes we request. |inline

Your are currently browsing the archives for items filed under the Human Rights category and it’s subsections - Racially Visible and Aboriginal issues, People With Disabilities, and Pride. You can find more information about the PSAC BC Human Rights Committee under the Get Involved! link on the main Human Rights Committee page. Older news and posts relating to Human Rights are archived in our old webspace.