Native Canadian Government

[Nysyarc]

This is a topic that I have spoken at length with many of my friends and family members about, and I think it is suitable for the Debate Hall. This is based on the rights and privileges that the Canadian legal system grants to aboriginal or native citizens living in Canada.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against native Canadians personally, I don't want to sound like a racist. In fact I have a close friend who is native Canadian. My issue is with the excessive support they receive from the government, and with the fact that some of their leaders want to have a government of their own:

http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/rights_freedoms/topics/516/

I realize the article is quite old, however Georges Erasmus among others including Phil Fontaine, current Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, still press for an independent native government system. This is what I am basing the debate on, however first I will outline quickly the advantages that a native citizen currently has while living in Canada (I could not find sources for these, but I assure you I would not make this up):

• A right to claim land in a native 'reserve' that is paid for through the taxes of ordinary citizens.
• Exemption from most government taxes.
• Free university or college tuition provided the student has passing grades in high school.

Those are the main legal advantages, however many natives also have bias priority over ordinary citizens in terms of employment, civil law cases, private education, etc. Normally I would not have a problem with this, however it is the fact that many natives abuse these privileges that disturbs me. Getting drunk or high in public is only one of the many things some natives do that we have no power to stop.

I find this bit of information very interesting:

First Nations peoples face a number of problems to greater degrees than Canadians overall. They have higher unemployment, rates of crime and incarceration, substance abuse, health problems, lower levels of education and poverty.

The fact that they are offered so many advantages and so much opportunity to lead better lives than the average citizen, makes these statistics confusing. They have become dependent on the immense government support they receive, and they can get away with a lot more than the average citizen. Again, I am not generalizing and I realize that many natives do not abuse their rights, but statistics state that many do.

My question though, is this. Is Georges Erasmus justified in his advocation of a self-contained native government system? Are the native peoples of Canada ready for such a large step into independence? Is it their right as the ancestors of the first settlers to be independent of our government, or are they taking things too far?

In my opinion, he is not justified and they are not ready. As for their rights as the ancestors of the first nations people, I think they have lived in the comfort of our government's support long enough to just accept being Canadians at this point. The fact that one of their leaders wants to secede from our government is insulting to the hospitality our government has provided.

Objectively, they would not last very long as a self-contained government. As the quote from Wikipedia states, they have many issues to resolve before they can hope to be independent. They blame these issues on the pampering our government offers them, yet it is their decision to accept the advantages and to abuse them. I think if this is truly the course of action they wish to take, it should not be a decision made by one zealous leader, but by a panel of representatives from different native reserves across the country.

I personally would have no problem with them having an independent government, but I doubt that many native citizens would agree with Erasmus that it is a good decision. Any other thoughts or disagreements?