Gone fishing
News
Posted 1 month ago
It is my understanding that the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is hosting a one-day workshop at Brokenhead Manitoba sometime soon, regarding the over-all fishing industry. As it relates Aboriginals, Non Statues, Treaty or to be more specific northern Aboriginal resource users, or should be users commercially in addition to other aspects of all the fish resources that we intentionally wasted to create imposed poverty on Aboriginal communities.
But let us not forget that the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has taken on a role for the last 12 years to do something about the deplorable and destitute living conditions that are imposed on all Northern Aboriginal fishermen, their families and consequently their communities, resulting from the FFMC legislation of total Fish Marketing Monopoly.
For the last 40 years or so, we have heard about studies and more studies about Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation operations on how FFMC is the best thing since sliced bread. Dozens of studies by the FFMC have been done at a cost of millions of dollars to the Canadian Tax Payers, and Northern Aboriginal Fishermen, each time have proved nothing, but the widespread extreme destitution that only escalates on daily basis because of it.
The commercial fishing industry in the FFMC zone is a total National and International disgrace, and has been for the last 40 years. No other country, or so called democratic country in the world would ever get away with what the province, Manitoba Hydro and FFMC are doing in respect to the gross violation of Human Rights, however, our Aboriginal leadership has known all along about the imposed slavery and legislated poverty, but have simply refused to act on it on behalf of their Aboriginal destitute communities.
Instead some Aboriginal people have become members of the Board for the FFMC at tremendous salaries. This created and imposed more widespread as well as extreme poverty, along with suffering of their people. It does not make any logical sense to have more workshops at taxpayers' expense as long as the FFMC is in full control of the Fishing Industry, that is to say, "lock, stock, and barrel" as it is today.
Making future plans about the fish resources, as the fish resources could relate to the social order, or the network of human relationship in society, is like asking the Federal and Provincial governments to share all opportunity to enhance the quality of life on an equal basis among all Canadians. This is not about to happen, not as long as we continue to be silent pawns for profit for the white society.
The only obstacle that blocks our social and economic equality rights is legislated poverty which is based on racism and thereby denies our constructional tools of equal opportunity in a supposed democratic country. But, again all Aboriginal leadership know all about it. Because they have many kinds of lawyers by their side on a daily basis, but choose to ignore the dire straits and living conditions of their people because it is a lot more profitable to look the other way.
Workshops should have happened 40 years ago not when the fishing industry has been totally axed and decimated by Province, FFMC and co-conspirators by complicity. Simply put, we simply cannot share any responsibilities, liabilities, obligations, sincerity and honesty with the Province, FFMC, since they only pursue total profit without any regards to the environment or conservation of their fishing practices.
Procrastination and talking about future fishing plans does not put the bannock on our tables, getting hush money, as a result we have destroyed at will, without fear of repercussion legally or legislatively at least 200-400 million pounds of good high protein marketable fish on annual basis.
This intentional waste of good fish resources by the FFMC could easily bring to our Northern Aboriginal destitute communities the sum of $400-$600 million annually which would criminate most of extreme poverty in our communities, therefore the FFMC must be totally abolished and full control be given back to the Native People rightfully landowners and no more organized crime!
"Meegwetch",
Henry Traverse
Concerned Fisherman
Dallas
