A great deal of head-scratching and anguish has been portrayed in the media lately over the appalling living conditions on the Attawapiskat First Nations reserve on James Bay.
No question about it, it is pretty gut-wrenching to see little children living in tents and ramshackle sheds with no heating and no running water, all while winter sets in with its usual vengeance.
But something is horribly amiss here.
NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose riding is Timmins-James Bay, says the reserve is underfunded.
Well, if you read column last week in the Sunday Sun, you might wonder how $34 million a year translates into underfunded.
There are a great many question marks that need to be followed with some answers.
The bands’ people, for example, are living in squalor but, if you look at the financials, you will see that some $12 million was spend on salaries and benefits to oversee a reserve with a population of less than 2,000 residents.
And that, friends, is almost half the $34 million the reserve receives from the government.
No wonder running the reserve has now been taken out of the band leaders’ hands.
If it is not greed at play, it’s incompetence.
Categories: General
Very well put !! It is no wonder the band doesn’t want a government official looking at their books.
It is about time they are held accountable for the spending of what !!! 34 million.
Now they have hired consultants to figure why the funding doesn’t equate to better living conditions. Is it really that complicated?
Have you noticed the interior of their (homes),they are a disaster or at least the ones i seen.As a child and in my growing up years we had diddly but our house was always warm and clean.And where the hell is the money going?Just a senior teed off over people looking for sympathy when none is deserved.The more i write the madder i get.Send the mooches diddly squat!
I assume this isn’t the first year this has happened.
Why did Angus squawk this year, instead of the last seven?
Who’s responsible for the funding in our government of anonymous gangsters? (Sorry, didn’t mean to bring in McSquinty).
Put the crooks who have ruined childrens’ lives in jail.
Why can”t the chef take 20 or so into her big house?
If Attawaspikat needs $34 plus million a year to survive, why does it even exist? This is not a temporary problem – it’s terminal. If it’s residents want a better life,doesn’t it make sense to go somewhere where they at least can have a fighting chance to get it. .
ALMOST EVERY TIME ANYONE QUESTIONS THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF TAXPAYER MONEY SQUANDERED ON RESERVATIONS, YOU ARE LABELED AS A RACIST.NONSENSE !
EVERY BAND SHOULD BE PUT ON NOTICE THAT A FORENSIC AUDIT WILL BE CARRIED OUT. IT MIGHT EVEN SAVE THE TAX PAYING PUBLIC A FEW DOLLARS.
Why has no one asked Charlie Angus if this was is first visit to his riding. If not why did he not bring this to light sooner
Okay, so that’s $6000 per person per year or $500 per month. What’s your point?
They are getting $17,000 per person per year – doesn’t sound like a lot, but remember, that’s per PERSON, not household. A family of four would get funded $68,000.
Imagine your take-home pay was that amount. You’d be living in a large house, with all the necessities – clean drinking water, plenty of food, warm and clean clothing. In fact, your life would be a bit on the Park Avenue side.
Instead, they’re living in squalor. The band leaders have some ‘splainin’ to do.
It’s greed – nothing else.
You don’t see any of the band council members and their close relatives living in ‘tents and ramshackle huts’.
Way, way past time the Feds clamped down on these fraudsters.
They builded 40 brand new house just 5 years ago. Now go see the shape of these house in another five years they will look like the one shown on tv. They refuse to pay rent saying they own the house and when repairs are needed they go to the Band and say the band is responsible to fix it. No rent income no repairs. Just a vicious circle.
There’s definitely something fishy going on at that reserve. I watched the chief being interviewed several times and she is evasive and continuously making statements like “We just need the government to help us” And I’ts like they just don’t care about us.” There’s only one reason why the chief would make obviously false statements like that. She knows those interviews are going to be televised and she playing up the Government vs the Indians card in hopes of riling up Canadians and having people put pressure on the government. Either that or she’s just plain retarded.
The only way that the amount of money that has been given to the reserve could disappear and leave the town living in such squalor is plain and simple theft, embezzlement, whatever you want to call it. The money was given to the reserve and then it’s gone and they need more yet there’s nothing but ramshackle buildings and tents without plumbing or electricity on the reserve. Sure, they built a couple of facilities but they have burned through what 90 million in the last 3-4 years. The really sad part is that whomever is control of the mkoney, and I’m assuming that would be the chief, is stealing from her own people. Those people have such blind faith in their chief that apparently they can’t do math. Surely, if they didn’t know before, they sure know now how much money has been pumped into the dump they are living in and I have yet to see any video footage of residents asking where the he77 the money went.
No, I don’t think that you can spin it any other way. Someone is definitely stealing this money and now it will be up to whomever the government sends in to ferret out the guilty party or parties. Or at least that’s how it should be done and there should be a complete freeze on any more funds going to the reserve until this problem is resolved.
Whether or not the Government handles this properly we shall see.
way way past time we clamped down on the feds
I would love to see a tour given of the big chiefs house ,i bet it’s a lot more modern then some non-natives who dont get a big subsidy from our goverment .Laziness is no excuse to live in squalor .Just buy less alcohol and things will be better for everyone there. Remember that these natives on reserves pay no tax for anything and that includes income tax on what our goverment donates.