A chief from southern Saskatchewan says she thinks the Idle No More movement helped spark a recent visit to Canada by a United Nations official.
Chief Lynn Acoose of the Sakimay First Nation says she’s pleased with Dr. James Anaya’s initial findings of problems facing First Nations.
She lists treaty violations, violence against aboriginal women, resource extraction, and environmental impacts as just a few examples he found.
At the same time the chief says she’s not especially hopeful the current government will pay much attention to Anaya’s report, but she’s willing to wait and see.
In addition to the Idle No More movement, Acoose says the hunger strike by Theresa Spence and the Harper government’s growing appetite for resource extraction have also drawn attention from the International community:
“I think all of these things have precipitated the attention the UN has on Canada.”
Acoose says Anaya’s findings also highlighted how Canada has breached its constitutional responsibilities in the Treaty 4 region.
The chief says she thinks Canada has also lost much of its reputation in the areas of human rights monitoring and environmental defence.