More Politically Incorrect, While I Am At It ....

In answer to one of the comments of my last blog post:
Of course this is a result of the treaties, be them fair or unfair. They were signed and we have them. But it is the responsibility of those who signed them to uphold them. And the Chiefs of each of the communities that signed the treaties agreed to ensure the Aboriginal people under them would be law abiding and cause no problems to "Her Majesty’s subjects". I do not see that. All I see is Chiefs spending money on themselves and communities going without water, and proper housing, and community members running amuck without community governance.
When I was in University, Aboriginal communities wanted the ability to govern themselves and the ability to have their own community courts. Well, it looks like the treaty allows for Aboriginal community courts, or actually demands them.
You may think this is a racist blog post. It is not racist, it is just not politically correct. There is a difference.

Lets Be Politically Incorrect

That’s right, I am going to be politically incorrect. I am going to say that a lot of the problems we have in Winnipeg, and a lot of the crimes we are dealing with have to do with Aboriginal people. We have a large population of Aboriginal youth committing crimes. We have a downtown that is becoming too dangerous to visit. And we see no end in sight.

Now that there is a Federal election on the horizon I got to thinking. The way I see it, it is the Federal government that can fix the issues we have. They can make changes to the Young Offenders Act, they can change the way the court system deals with offenders, and they can hold Chiefs more accountable for their communities.

And I got to wondering what the Treaties had to say about the responsibilities of the Aboriginal Communities. It turns out that the Chiefs of the communities who signed Treaty One do have a responsibility to maintain “perpetual peace between themselves and Her Majesty’s white subjects, and not to interfere with the property or in any way molest the persons of Her Majesty’s white or other subjects” (http://www.canadiana.org/view/30387/0315, p316). The other numbered treaties have similar clauses. The Federal government needs to go back to the numbered treaties and hold the Chiefs accountable to ensure their community members are upholding the laws of this land. The members of the communities in the numbered treaties who “interfere with the property or in any way molest” people need to be disciplined and/or rehabilitated by their own communities.

Have you ever heard that “We are all Treaty People”? Well, we are. And the crimes and violence occurring by Aboriginal people in this city is a Treaty Issue that needs to be dealt with according to the writings of the numbered treaties.

Nothin' Happenin' Here

Last night there was a cab parked on my street. It seemed odd because it was just sitting there, lights on, waiting. There was no honking of horns to hurry the soon to be passenger, just patient waiting. It must have waited at least 10 minutes, just sitting there. Then a woman walked around the corner, and approached the cab. She looked around a bit first, then got in. The cab pulled a u-turn on the street, drove around the corner and stopped. Then a minute later left. After a few minutes it came back up the side street and stopped on the side of the road, then left again. It's always the same cab company doing these strange pick-ups and maneuvers.
Earlier in the day I went for a walk through William Whyte. On the way home, as I walked down the lane behind the Dollarama, there was a young woman walking in front of me. She stopped at the top of the back lane going down Redwood. Then, as I passed her a van stopped and picked her up. Was it the way she was walking, or how she was dressed, or something else? I am not sure, but I knew what was going on when I first saw her, and was not surprised when the van stopped.
The day before, when I went for a walk through the St Johns area, I saw something else. As I entered a back lane, there was a kid on a bicycle coming out of the lane. I did not like the way he was riding his bike with only one hand on the handlebar and the other behind his back. I wasn't sure what he had hidden, and was a little leary to keep walking. As he passed I glanced back to see his hand was empty. But the feeling was still there, what was really at his back? What was there, hidden, just below the surface? And why was he down the lane. Then I saw a man standing inside his back yard at the edge of the lane. He was waiting for something. And chances are the kid on the bike was just there. As I continued the walk down the lane I saw the third part to the equation coming down the lane, a young kid. And of course he headed straight for that same yard. One kid picks up the cash, the other delivers the goods.
So, what do I do about these instances? Nothing. I have no proof of anything happening. I didn't actually see anything. All of these instances were just people moving about doing what they do. A woman standing in a lane. A man driving a van. A cab driver waiting for a fare. A kid riding a bicycle. Another kid going for a walk. A man getting fresh air on his own property. Nothin' happenin' here.

It's Up To Everyone

I have been taking a break from patrolling the back lanes and reporting items to 311. Walking down back lanes, seeing the piles of garbage, and the lack of caring just wears me down sometimes. So, I have decided to take a break for a while. There are others in the area who have been reporting items to 311, and a City employee who is actually paid to report the bulk items and overflowing dumpsters. Given that, I should be able to take a break every now and then. After all, it is not my job to report garbage. I do not get a pay cheque to ensure the streets and back lanes of the North End are clean.

My daily walks have been on the front streets lately. I have been walking through the area of St Johns, checking out the local businesses, and enjoying old architecture.
But my last walk took me down the lanes, seeing garbage strewn, and mattresses piled. It is up to everyone to ensure their back lanes are clean. It is all our responsibilities to ensure our part of the City is clean. And it is up to everyone to make their area a place they want to live.

Now that it is Spring, and the garbage of the winter is showing through, we all need to do our part in making our streets and lanes a place we can be proud of, and a place we want to call home.