Battle Lines are Drawn
Canada as a nation has been brought to a standstill by some protests across the country. The original grievance of the Indigenous people in British Columbia was the proposed pathway of a pipeline through their territory. Their ‘elected’ officials agreed to the pipeline, the hereditary chieftains did not. Who is ‘right’, who is ‘wrong’?
This goes back to the Indian Act which was imposed on the native Canadian tribes by the federal government. As always, a conquered people are suppressed by the victorious forces, and most of the terms of the Act are discriminatory. These grievances go back a very long time, but only the Indigenous population have a long memory; the rest of us think the battle was over a century-and-a-half ago.
The federal government is trying a walk a very fine line with reconciliation on one hand, and the rule of law on the other. Guess which side will be victorious?
The Liberals under Trudeau are presently a minority government. This ‘small’ protest could topple them. Time will only tell.
