An Open Letter to Saskatchewan’s Conservative M.P.s
Written by Randy Lundy, FNUniv
Monday, 15 March 2010
The Federal Government’s decision to cut $7.2 million in funding to the First Nations
University of Canada is unprecedented in Canadian history. Never before has any government presided over the closure of any publicly funded university or college. Furthermore, the institution is the only First Nations owned and operated University in the country, and it is hard to imagine the government would consider such a cut to
any other university in the country no matter its governance or administrative
difficulties. As such, this decision appears to be motivated primarily by a
political agenda and ideology.
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Historically, many struggles for social justice have been carried out in the realm of schools and schooling. Schools are deeply connected to our communities, our lives as citizens, and our common future. This weekend, education activists and community organizers from a variety of communities and perspectives are gathering their forces in Regina, in an effort to expand networks and share experiences.
Jacqui Strachan of People for Education, an influential Ontario lobby group, will be there to help out. Strachan will lead a workshop titled ‘Advocating for Our Children, Our Schools and Our Communities’ on Sunday, March 14. The workshop will include roundtable discussions from Aboriginal, rural and urban perspectives.
The event sponsors and participating organizations represent a wide constellation of community organizations, research groups, unions, parents and educators. Write Comment (0 Comments)
Over the past year and a half the general population has sat quietly by as governments everywhere have introduced numerous programs to bail out banks and large corporations. Governments have been printing money, and debt and budget deficits have balooned. Very little of the massive government spending programs has gone to assist people who have lost their jobs or their homes.
Now governments are going to have to pay for the bailouts. And guess who is going to have to tighten their belts?
The silence and apathy of the great majority may be ending. In Iceland and Greece we are seeing popular resistance to the right wing policies being imposed by their governments. European politicians and businessmen are fearful that the emerging popular movement will spread to Portugal, Spain, Ireland and even the United Kingdom, the countries with the most significant debt problems.
As many of you know, the $7 million in funding that the federal government
contributes to the First Nations University of Canada has been pulled and
Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian Affairs has sent various letters to
newspapers indicating he has no intention on restoring our funding. THIS IS
UNACCEPTABLE! And amazingly, Members of Parliament (Federal MP's) have been
silent--- they aren't protecting their province!
Representatives from the First Nations University of Canada
(FNUniv) faculty and Students' Association (FNUnivSA), along with Aboriginal
leaders, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), and the
Assembly of First Nations (AFN), will be in Ottawa this week to appeal to the
federal government to reverse its decision to end funding - at the end of this
month - for the only Aboriginal university in Canada.
Global change activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki will speak at Queensbury Downs in Regina Friday morning, and on campus tonight. It promises to be an inspiring event for people grappling with
questions about how to make effective change in the world by starting at the
community level. There are a number of options for taking part in the event.
Another options is to watch it live on the web at SCN’s educational webcast
site: http://ecast.scn.ca/.
If you can’t be
there in person and want to ask questions, you can ask questions via the event Facebook site. The
event is sponsored by Saskatchewan In Motion.
For people on campus, you can take part in an interactive conversation with
Cullis Suzuki about education for sustainability tonight, Thursday, at the
Education Auditorium. The event starts at 7:00
p.m.
March 3 was the day the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) held its annual
meeting in Toronto. RBC is the largest financier of the environmentally
devastating Alberta Tar Sands project. Since 2007 the RBC has extended
over $14.3 billion (USD) in credit to companies operating in the
Alberta Tar Sands. The tar sands operation currently uses 350 billion
litres of water annually, with 90% of that water being so toxic after
use to process the heavy crude oil that it kills any animal that
consumes it. RBC states that water quality is a top corporate priority.
In support of activists who were gathering at the RBC annual meeting in
Toronto, a group of Climate Change Protection Ninjas descended upon a
reported environmental crime scene in Regina. Click on 'read more' to see their photographic docket.
Starting this weekend, a number of events in celebration International Women's Day are taking place in Regina. A feature event is a Saturday night banquet with keynote speaker Buffy St.-Marie. Earlier on Saturday, 'Who is the woman who inspired you the most?' is the topic of a 'Linking Women to Women' gathering. On the official day, Monday, March 8, the University of Regina will be the site of a mini-conference drawing the links between African and Indigenous grandmothers. To learn more about these events, 'read
more.'Write Comment (0 Comments)
In June 2009 the Peruvian government signed a free trade agreement with Canada. Shortly after this signing, members of an Indigenous tribe working to prevent mining on their traditional
land were massacred by their government. Many of the mining companies invested in this area are Canadian and their continued interest in foreign resources is negatively impacting the safety and livelihoods of many Indigenous people. To learn more about this issue and to support the people of the Peruvian Amazon please join us on February 27! There will be a solidarity benefit dance featuring the music of Oye and John C Cook. Click on Read More for details. Write Comment (0 Comments)
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As many of you know, the $7 million in funding that the federal government
contributes to the First Nations University of Canada has been pulled and
Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian Affairs has sent various letters to
newspapers indicating he has no intention on restoring our funding. THIS IS
UNACCEPTABLE! And amazingly, Members of Parliament (Federal MP's) have been
silent--- they aren't protecting their province!
Global change activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki will speak at Queensbury Downs in Regina Friday morning, and on campus tonight. It promises to be an inspiring event for people grappling with
questions about how to make effective change in the world by starting at the
community level. There are a number of options for taking part in the event.
Photo: Enviro-ninja gives signal of potential crime area. 
Starting this weekend, a number of events in celebration International Women's Day are taking place in Regina. A feature event is a Saturday night banquet with keynote speaker Buffy St.-Marie. Earlier on Saturday, 'Who is the woman who inspired you the most?' is the topic of a 'Linking Women to Women' gathering. On the official day, Monday, March 8, the University of Regina will be the site of a mini-conference drawing the links between African and Indigenous grandmothers. To learn more about these events, 'read
more.'