NORTH BAY – Aboriginal – On behalf of the 55,000 citizens of the Anishinabek Nation, I want to welcome all players, organizers and fans involved with the 2013 Dudley Hewitt Memorial Cup. Congratulations to the North Bay Trappers for hosting this major sports event, which we hope begins with fair and respectful competition, and ends with safe travels home for everyone.
We normally do not mix business with pleasure
We normally do not mix business with pleasure, but the political landscape for First Nations in Canada has become so alarming that we cannot pass up any opportunity to share our concerns with Canadians.
You have seen – and will continue to see in the coming months – demonstrations of public dissatisfaction with a federal government that is Ojibway acting more like a dictatorship and less like a democracy. From coast to coast, ordinary Canadians and First Nations community members have joined hands in peaceful protests against a flurry of legislation that would eliminate environmental protection of our precious lakes and rivers and sell out our natural resources to foreign interests.
These so-called “omnibus bills” also contain provisions that ignore First Nations rights protected by the Constitution and the courts, as well as the spirit and intent of the treaties that permitted the orderly settlement of Canada.
Stephen Harper is guilty of high-sticking the very players he was supposed to protect. If he doesn’t keep his head up, he could run into some pretty stiff body checks from the most experienced defencemen in the game.
After the next election, he might be sent down to the minor leagues.
Patrick Madahabee
Grand Council Chief
Anishinawbek Nation
