Thank- you for visiting Indigenous Watchdog - the Phase 1 launch of an online platform to deliver current, comprehensive and insightful information on critical Indigenous issues impacting First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action are the starting point for an exploration into a broad range of current events... Continue Reading →
Indigenous Watchdog Status Updates – June 14, 2021
"Seventy-six of the Report's 94 Calls to Action fall under the sole or shared responsibility of the Government of Canada. At this time, working together with provincial/territorial governments and other key partners, eighty percent of these are completed or well underway". The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister Crown-Indigenous Relations, Dec. 15, 2020 Federal Government = 80% Truth... Continue Reading →
“Missing Children and Burial Information” – Current status of the TRC Calls to Action?
“I call on Canadians – elders and youth, Aboriginal or not – to commit to reconciliation and breaking down the wall of indifference." Honourary Witness to the TRC, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General of Canada Indifference. The official government of Canada website "Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action" was... Continue Reading →
Conrad Black’s bogus attack on Truth and Reconciliation: He white-washes history to minimize Indigenous “grievances”
Conrad Black's two articles in the National Post: "The truth about truth and reconciliation" (March 21, 2021) and "A serious conversation for a serious country" (April 3, 2021) assert two blatantly false claims about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: "the rampant but fraudulent truism that this country is rotten with 'systemic racism'" "there is no... Continue Reading →
What does the Fraser Institute’s Tom Flanagan get right about reconciliation? Not very much!
Tom Flanagan and the Fraser Institute released "Promise and Performance: Recent Trends in Government Expenditures on Indigenous Peoples" that rates investments in Indigenous programs as a failure since they have not lifted Indigenous people up from their entrenched position at the bottom of the Canadian economy. Flanagan's entire argument is presented in strictly economic terms... Continue Reading →
Indigenous Watchdog Status Updates – March 31, 2021
STATUS CHANGE Call to Action # 32 "Amend criminal code to depart from mandatory minimum sentences" changed from STALLED to IN PROGRESS Call to Action # 41 "Appoint public inquiry into MMIWG" changed from "STALLED" to "IN PROGRESS" What's Happening with Reconciliation The following table provides a quantitative look into what is happening with reconciliation... Continue Reading →
What does Indigenous success look like? Here are 85 examples of reconciliation in action!
Are you tired of always reading or hearing negative stories about how Indigenous people are treated in this country: how systemic barriers to Indigenous interactions with social structures are entrenched and continuously reinforced; how the economic pillaging of Indigenous territory continues unabated, and the pattern of Indigenous erasure seems to be repeating itself over and... Continue Reading →
What does justice for Indigenous people look like? It ain’t pretty!
Compared to all other categories of accused persons, Indigenous people continue to be jailed younger, denied bail more frequently, granted parole less often and hence released later in their sentence, over-represented in segregation, overrepresented in remand custody, and more likely to be classified as higher risk offenders. "Spotlight on Gladue: Challenges, Experiences, and Possibilities in Canada’s... Continue Reading →
Is Reconciliation advancing or retreating? Status Updates as of Dec. 31, 2020
Indigenous Watchdog is now completely updated and current as of December 31, 2020 The 36 "Calls to Action" updates below - Legacy and Reconciliation - are a measure of how reconciliation is actually working through the day-to-day actions and policy decisions various levels of government - federal provincial, territory and municipal - and other institutional... Continue Reading →
Is Premier Brian Pallister of Manitoba a racist, an entitled colonial brat – or both?
On Dec. 3, 2020 Indigenous Watchdog posted "Does systemic racism exist in Québec, Manitoba and New Brunswick? Don't ask their premiers." On the same day, Premier Brian Pallister of Manitoba said this and I quote: "They are also telling us that they are going to hold back the portion of our vaccine for Manitoba that... Continue Reading →
Does systemic racism exist in Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick? Don’t ask their premiers.
Over the last nine months Indigenous Watchdog has documented numerous examples of systemic racism against First Nations, Métis and Inuit people across Canada in healthcare delivery, child welfare jurisdiction and justice systems including excessive use of force by the police. Among its conclusions, “In Plain Sight - Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health... Continue Reading →