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Speak Up

Shame on the leaders of Canada's political parties for once again failing to include aboriginal issues as a topic for consideration in either of the debates held this week.

Without denigrating the importance of the topics that were discussed, such as people losing their jobs, they must realize that most aboriginal people have never had jobs to lose. My father use to tell me that Indians never felt the effects of the Great Depression. It pains me to say that very few Indians today would be impacted by the free fall we are witnessing in the financial markets except for the resulting higher cost of basic items.

The underlying philosophy behind foreign intervention and foreign aide, particularly in Afghanistan, is that we need to engage the Afghanies because if we leave them idol - if we leave them unemployed - they will gravitate towards the Taliban and become terrorists. Do they not think that it would be prudent to apply the same thinking with respect to aboriginal poverty?

It is high time Canada realizes that aboriginal people want to participate in Canadian society in a meaningful way - in a dignified way. Stop responding with more welfare dollars. Start providing funds to enable us to develop our economies so that we too can complain about 7% unemployment rates instead of the 80% rates that have existed forever.

The slogan "Make Poverty History" rings loud and clear in Indian country. Sadly it is our history. If our issues are continually relegated to the back burner, poverty will not only be our history - it will also be our future.

Stewart C. Paul

Tobique First Nation