Photo by Vince Fedoroff
UNHAPPY FIRST NATIONS LEADERS – Several chiefs took part in Tuesday's news conference to express their displeasure with Premier Darrell Pasloski. Left to right: Lori Simms, Eddie Skookum, Simon Mervyn, Grand Chief Ruth Massie, James Allen, Math'ieya Alatina and Eddie Taylor.
Chiefs of Yukon First Nations say the Yukon Party should be worried going into the Oct. 11 election.
Chiefs of Yukon First Nations say the Yukon Party should be worried going into the Oct. 11 election.
The Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) hosted a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Grand Chief Ruth Massie, alongside six chiefs, called Premier's Darrell Pasloski's decision to turn down an invitation to address First Nations at this week's meeting "disrespectful”.
"Our leadership is feeling this speaks very, very loudly to us,” said Massie. "It's very, very disrespectful to our process. We've tried to work with the government, as we do regardless of who the government is.”
Massie said the CYFN has gone out of its way to work with the government for the past eight years. The only time it's had success working with the government, she said, is when it's "their agenda they want to push.”
Eddie Taylor, the chief of the Trondëk Hwech'in, agreed. He said over the past three years, he has been making an effort to drive from rural Yukon to Whitehorse to meet with ministers. Often, he has found the doors locked and the meeting cancelled.
"Like the Grand Chief says, they only approach us when it's to their benefit,” said Taylor.
The CYFN sent a letter to the leaders of the political parties on Sept.1, asking them to have a face-to-face dialogue with the chiefs to address issues facing Yukon First Nations. With the invite, CYFN sent a series of questions which arose from its annual General Assembly in July.
All party leaders, except for the premier, accepted the CYFN''s request. Yukon MP Ryan Leef also agreed to speak with the chiefs earlier this week, while the territory's senator, Dan Lang, declined.
Massie said Pasloski's reasoning for not meeting with the CYFN leadership was due to "other commitments.” The CYFN received the phone call from the Yukon Party late last Friday.
At a Yukon Party press conference this morning, which was organized by campaign manager Jonas Smith to unveil the party's housing platform, Pasloski said his door is always open to First Nations people.
The premier declined take any questions on the issue.
"I have been willing, and I will always be willing to meet with First Nations,” he said. "In fact, since becoming premier (last June 11), I've met with 13 out of 14 First Nations on their traditional territory.”
Pasloski said that during all those sessions, he has committed to ongoing dialogue with First Nations.
As for his refusal to speak to the CYFN leadership this week, Pasloski said his staff did receive the invitation last week and "promptly” informed the council he wouldn't be able to attend.
The premier didn't say why he couldn't go, nor what his other obligations were. He did say a formal letter explaining his absence was prepared.
‘Unfortunately, that letter wasn't sent,” the premier said. " As the leader, I will take responsibility for the fact that the letter wasn't sent.
"I'm here today to offer a sincere apology to the Grand Chief for the oversight of the fact that that letter did not go out there.”
The Yukon Party prepared a four-page written response to the six questions sent with the CYFN's invitation. The queries pressed the premier on the Yukon Forum, the new resource revenue-sharing agreement, the First Nation Education Commission, land use planning, child welfare and economic development.
The responses were sent to the media Tuesday afternoon.
At the CYFN press conference, Massie said even though the organization received these written responses, she would have much preferred the "respect of the presence of the premier.
"When you're invited somewhere, the least you can do is respect that,” she said. "Even if he had another commitment, why didn't he come to our leadership table and tell us to our face?”
Massie said sending other Yukon Party candidates to replace the premier would have been better than the leader's no-show.
She said the issues the CYFN leadership wanted to talk to the premier about were about finishing the Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Board five-year review, where the party stands on the Peel watershed management debate and why the government didn't accept any of its recommendations for the new Children and Family Services Act, which came into force in the spring of 2010.
"None of the recommendations, 210 of them, not one of them got changed or entered into the final drafting stage,” she said.
Massie called the process a long, tedious waste of two years and taxpayers' money.
James Allen, the chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, thinks losing First Nations' support could significantly alter the election's outcome.
Since the aboriginal vote is 25 per cent of eligible voters and there are about 20,000 voters, he said, 5,000 votes can make a difference.
The youngest chief, Math'ieya Alatina, spoke last at the conference, articulating First Nations' frustrations in less than a minute.
"The nub that we received from the Yukon Party is really indicative of the relationship that has been established, or a lack thereof, with Yukon First Nations over past eight years,” she said. "That really has to change.”
First Nations, she continued, have decided they're going to take a stronger stance.
"We want our power back.”
By Nadine Sander-Green
Star Reporter
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Comments (18)
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Yukon Girl on Sep 19, 2011 at 4:19 am
To all those who keep bringing up the past with regard to residential schooling in response to JC's comment I find that you have taken his comment out of context. Yes what happened in the past was sad but you need to realize that the majority of non FN persons living in Canada today are not British and were not the ones who destroyed your culture.
JC is referring to modern agreements set in place which have been for the benefit of FN people, however, these self governments never say thank you for these "entitlements" and in turn don't give back to their own people. These self governments are detrimental to the FN community as a whole.
Side note: Eddie Skookum is a disgrace to the FN people.
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Yukon Party = Disrespect on Sep 16, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Wow, this story must have been pretty damaging for the Yukon Party if it is making such a concerted effort to gather up as many members as possible to write in about this story. Sounds like everyone on this blog, including the regular YP blowhards, were given marching orders to try to play down this story.
For the real story, I'd encourage Yukoners to research just how "respectful" this Yukon Party has been over the last 5 years - ask Northern City Housing, who left town because they were snubbed; the FH Collins Planning committee, which wasn't told about delays to the school project until it was announced in the papers; government officials who were bullied over the Peel Planning Report not saying what the Yukon Party wanted it to say...there are sadly many, many more examples...this CYFN snub is just the latest.
If you don't care about anything but your own interests, and you get excited about a party that will piss away your taxpayer dollars, then the Yukon Party might be the party for you.
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YukonFirstNations on Sep 16, 2011 at 9:06 am
J.C,
We should 'Thank you' for taking away our lands, our culture, our pride??
Ohhhhh sorry.. I didn't know you were 'looking after us' for sooo long. Thank you so much for putting our kids in residential school, 'teaching' us not to be savages anymore, taking away our language, our culture.
When a group of people get their lives taken away, and many hundreds of thousand killed. It's called genocide.
Find out the real history before you speak out of context.
Thank you for making me realized that there are still racist people in our world.
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Joel on Sep 16, 2011 at 9:03 am
Whether I like it or not, here is the reality of what he did...
The premier designate (he is not the premier yet) is currently running in a month long job interview. He simply decided to skip this part of the interview.
Eddie S needs to go into hiding due to his disgraceful behavior. He does not deserve the position he holds.
This does show the cockiness of Mr. Pasloski and it happened in his bid for the federal seat when he skipped a debate in Dawson(I think)due to other commitments. He believes he is already premier. He believes he can decide what parts of the election he wants to be a part of. He believes he had a part in what the Yukon Party has done for the last 2 terms. He believes the Yukon Party is the same now as it was for the last 2 terms. He thinks no matter what he does, he will be elected.
Personally, I don't care about what CYFN wanted to talk about...if you are running in an election for a job, you drop everything for that period in time. Everyone else seems to know that.
You have to be every where for every one. Look at the election powers of the late Mr. Layton...no matter what else was going on in his personal life/business life, he was there with a smile on...bad hip, cancer and all.
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FN_87 on Sep 16, 2011 at 6:07 am
JC, If only you could have experienced residential school, maybe then you would see Native people in a different light. And here is a big THANK YOU for everything. Thanks to the non aboriginal people of Canada that took us away from our life styles, and killing our language. Happy now JC?!
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pull out of cyfn on Sep 15, 2011 at 2:37 pm
as a yukon first nation member i would love my fn to pull out of cyfn. cyfn has done nothing for us except create problems and a grand chief who destroyed her own nation. premier daryl go strong. You have my vote
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Native Capatialist on Sep 15, 2011 at 10:40 am
As a native minority, the CYFN does not speak for me. CYFN and their socialist ideas can take a hike as with the all the Yukon FN bands. Their policies are crippling native people quicker and effectively than any mandate that Ottawa has thrown at them. Self-gov't is a farce and bleeds socialist ideas and entitlements.
We want our power back? How about give native people their power back by not speaking for them, sorry CYFN, being native does not entitle you to power.
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anonymous on Sep 15, 2011 at 9:35 am
You say that JC but if you think of that 144 years of confederation we the First Nations have been here a lot longer before we were taken away from our ways so Thank you.
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bobby bitman on Sep 15, 2011 at 8:59 am
There were three items on which they wanted to hear from Mr. Pasloski, including where he stands on the Peel Watershed issue. The Peel is something that Mr. Pasloski wants to keep right out of the election campaign, I believe his intention is to go against what the vast majority of Yukon voters want on the issue.
I can't say that I support the outrage of an organization that gives the premier one full work day's notice to show up at a major event, and is subsequently told he cannot make it for scheduling reasons.
However, I hope people do bring up the Peel Watershed issue and ask pointedly where people stand on it. That decision making is something we will all live with for generations, it is not just surface chop on the water.
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anonymous on Sep 15, 2011 at 7:27 am
Right on JC.
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Martin Oreste on Sep 14, 2011 at 10:24 am
If the Chiefs want to talk to the Premier, they should go to the public forum or candidates debates same as any other citizen. Inviting the government behind closed doors with not a clear agenda, is not the way to go. Any Premier should govern equally for all the people of the Yukon and not for a selected minority.
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JC on Sep 14, 2011 at 10:17 am
Now, I'm really ticked. I think its time this was said. After 144 years of Confederation, the non native governments across Canada have been looking after the First Nations people. And not one "thank you" from them. All I ever hear from them is demands, then cussing. If they get what they want, there is no "thank you". If they don't get what they demand, its cussing. I think these people from the CYFN should find out what the word "disrespectful" really means. For instance, when someone gives, its respectful. When the recipient gets and doesn't give a "thank you", that's disrespectful. So, leaders of the First Nations, start learning to say "thank you" and you will be surprised of the great things that follow. Its also a good lesson for the young people to learn from their elders.
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Nile on Sep 14, 2011 at 9:37 am
I think having Skookum as a part of your little entourage pretty much makes anything you say nul and void Ruth.
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JC on Sep 14, 2011 at 9:14 am
"We want our power back" What does that mean?
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JC on Sep 14, 2011 at 8:52 am
I think its very disrespectful for the FN to invite the sitting Premier to a meeting without proper notice. The Premier just can't drop everything and attend a meeting on such short notice and preparation. The other two party reps came because they had nothing else to do - its just electioneering for them. And I also think that calling a meeting like that during election time is just a tactic to discredit the Premier. There would have been plenty of time to get to know Mr. Pasloski after the election. And having the likes of Eddie Skookum at the meeting was a discredit to the FN. By the way, he is known to switch between NDP and Liberal so do the math. No, I don't think the FN, NDP or Liberals scored many points on this one. The whole idea was as phony as a 3 dollar bill and they must think we out here are that dumb to buy into it.
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Pendulum has swung to far on Sep 14, 2011 at 8:43 am
These chiefs seem to think when they say jump, the premier should ask, how high? An invitation is exactly that and as such can be accepted or rejected. I imagine the period leading up to an election is probably booked chock full of events and appointments made well in advance. Maybe more notice from the CYFN would have made a difference?
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CYFN....Who Cares? on Sep 14, 2011 at 8:22 am
Hey speaking of disrespect...Is not getting hammered and beating the hell out of your partner & pretending your a leader disrespectful?
As long as Eddie or anyone as he, sits on a council of any kind telling anyone what respect is?
Redefines what undermine means!
I think I will step away from local news till post election.
Can you say entitlement overdose?
I can...AND DO!
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barb Dawson on Sep 14, 2011 at 7:37 am
It is not surprising that the Yukon Government is not more respectful of the Yukon First Nations, after all, it is the Yukon Party we are speaking of, do they respect anyone at all. Everything I ever read about this party was nothing but them putting themselves above the rest. Vote them out, and everything will fall into place that should have in the first place. Just my perspective from afar.