June 25, 2008

Over the last week, I have become inspired. As part of a research trip for the University of Manitoba, I have been traveling the prairies with two companions interviewing good folks doing good things. Being immersed in social and ecological issues constantly can be about as uplifting as cheering for the Leaf’s during the playoffs (when they make it), so it is nice to get recharged from a new generation of farmers.

The centralization and mechanization of agriculture has driven most rural residents to urban centers. Canada has become a heavily urbanized country – about 80% of people live in cities and only 2% of folks are farmers. On the prairies, this trend has led to major social issues for small towns such as school closures, health care inaccessibility and importantly, loss of traditions. The culture of small prairie farms and cooperation has been replaced by industrial ‘farms’ where monocrops of 10, 000 acres are not unheard of.

However, a new generation of farmers and thinkers is emerging on the prairie landscape. The new model focuses on small farms producing food in a traditional manner. Market gardeners are immensely popular in urban centers where freshness and superior taste appeal to not only local food eaters, but also elders and chefs. Rather than considering themselves innovative, market gardeners see themselves as preserving a skill that was once commonly held.

Also, pastured livestock production has become revived for both health and taste. Pastured livestock are fed and finished on grass, with less emphasis on grain feeding. The fats of animals feed on grasses are higher in omega-3 acids and grass systems require less input from the farmers – therefore there are less costs and chemicals. The animals take longer to reach market weight, but the higher meat quality results in greater profits for the farmers in a local market.

Importantly, these farmers are not working in isolation. Rural-urban linkages have created conscientious cooperation and these folks are marketing together, rather than working in isolation. Interestingly, these traditional farming practices are being reintroduced by ‘back to the land’ urbanites that have lost interest in the ‘rat race.’ These individuals have found that working the land has fulfilled them emotionally, spiritually and physically more than any job could.

While not solving all the world’s problems, it is a start. Perhaps the best things we can do is support these new farmers and start to relearn the traditions ourselves.

June 18, 2008 

Last week the Canadian government not only acknowledged the atrocities perpetuated in Indian residential schools but also apologized for them. While seen as a historic moment in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, the apology requires more than a scripted statement by Harper to heal the injustices of forced assimilation. The Canadian government must reaffirm its apology by adopting current world standards regarding indigenous rights and put these rights before industrial interests. 

In September 2007, Canada was one of four nations to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. However, Canada was in the extreme minority as 143 nations ratified the motion, with 11 abstaining. The document itself was not overtly liberal in that it was a compromise between recognizing Indigenous rights and allowing governments the power to operate. But for Canada, several of the Articles were clearly in conflict with an archaic policy that has been (and is) used to interact with Aboriginal Peoples. 

Article 4 called for the provision of self-government and autonomy for Indigenous peoples, which was venomously opposed by the Canadian government. Aboriginal communities have advocated self-government for generations and academics and government inquiries have as well for over two decades. The creation of Nunavut was seen as a monumental step to achieving self-government in Canada, but in the south, the government has opted to rely on the bureaucracy of Indian Affairs to govern Aboriginal Peoples. 

As well, Article 26 explicitly stated that Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands they traditionally occupied and called on governments to honour past treaties. Canada has obviously been reluctant to put past treaties in a modern context – as noted by First Nation peoples who still receive a $5 pittance each year. Further, land claims are backlogged into the decade range and government often allows development on these disputed lands despite these claims – see Caledonia and Grassy Narrows for example.  

However, signing the declaration may be inconsequential anyway. Canada has a poor track record of signing international agreements and then ignoring them (as with Kyoto but interestingly not NAFTA). In order to heal these injustices, Canadians themselves need to ask questions about what happened in our history in an honest way and rethink what it means to be Canadian. Do we really want short-term business projects and government incompetence to overrule our humanity?