A protester stands on a desk in the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada office Wednesday. Protesters occupied the office to urge Ottawa to address the Attawapiskat, Ont., suicide crisis. (Facebook / Idle No More Toronto)
Protest to urge government action during Attawapiskat suicide crisis has been non-violent, say police
By Chantal Da Silva, CBC News, April 13, 2016
Protesters have been occupying the Toronto office of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) since mid-morning, demanding that the federal government take action following a recent spate of suicide attempts in Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. Read the rest of this entry
Flash mob in Edmonton mall, December 2012.
by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, May 7, 2015
The Idle No More movement was like “bacteria” that spread across the country carrying with it the potential for an outbreak of violence, according to an internal RCMP document shared by senior officers.
The internal document was a site report from Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s camp which was set up during her liquids-only fast on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River within sight of Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court of Canada. The camp became a hub of activity during the height of the Idle No More movement between December 2012 and January 2013. Read the rest of this entry
Idle No More rally in Ottawa, Dec 21, 2012.
The federal Aboriginal Affairs department shared information with Canada’s spies and other federal law enforcement agencies to bolster surveillance of the Idle No More movement, internal government documents show.
The documents, obtained under the Access to Information Act, also reveal how easily Canadian authorities assume the possibility of violence when it comes to monitoring First Nation demonstrations.
The Harper government’s proposed anti-terror bill, Bill C-51, would make it easier for federal departments and agencies to share information on widely-defined national security grounds. Read the rest of this entry
Drum group at Sarnia CN rail blockade, Dec 23, 2012.
‘In a true democracy, protest and dissent should be celebrated, not investigated’: Paul Champ
The Canadian Press/CBC News, March 18, 2015
Use of social media, the spread of “citizen journalism,” and the involvement of young people are among the key trends highlighted by a federal analysis of protest activity in Canada over the last half-decade.
A growing geographic reach and an apparent increase in protests that target infrastructure such as rail lines are also boosting the impact of demonstrations, says the Government Operations Centre analysis, obtained under the Access to Information Act. Read the rest of this entry
Clayton Thomas Muller, former member of IEN and Idle No More.
By Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, Oct 21, 2014
An Indigenous activist says documents showing the RCMP have him under surveillance reveal Canadian authorities have criminalized Indigenous dissent.
Clayton Thomas-Muller, 37, said he wasn’t surprised to learn the RCMP is keeping tabs on him and compiled a file on his movements dating back to at least 2010.
“I try not to pay any attention to the federal surveillance issue,” said Thomas-Muller, who is currently living in Ottawa and is a former Idle No More organizer. “I feel very strongly that the work I do is just and is on the right side of history, so I really don’t pay any attention to the Harper government’s tactics to try to criminalize the work I am involved in which uplifts democracy, transparency, equity and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Specifically, the right of indigenous people to say no to harmful developments that threaten their way of life.” Read the rest of this entry
Mi’kmaq face RCMP riot cops on Oct 17, 2013, near Elsipogtog, NB.
Benjamin Shingler, The Canadian Press/CTV News, August 17, 2014
MONTREAL — Federal officials closely tracked the fallout of an RCMP raid on a First Nations protest against shale-gas exploration in New Brunswick, at one point raising concerns it could spawn another countrywide movement like Idle No More.
Documents obtained under access-to-information legislation reveal a lengthy email chain last fall monitoring events related to a blockade near Rexton, N.B., about 70 kilometres north of Moncton.
Train blocked in Toronto, February 2013.
by Justin Ling, National Post, June 1, 2014
As First Nations activists shut down roads and bridges in protest last year, the Counter-Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of National Defence was watching. Closely.
All the while, behind the scenes, they were preparing to tell the media they were doing no such thing.
The Canadian Forces spent virtually all of 2013 keeping eyes on the Aboriginal protesters, out of fear that they could pose a threat to military personnel or intercept weapons shipments, according to documents obtained under Access to Information laws. Read the rest of this entry
Blockade of CN rail line near Sarnia, Ontario.
High-profile lawyer complains to legal disciplinary body that judge should have declared potential conflict of interest before hearing case involving CN Rail and Aboriginal protestors
Idle No More flash mob in Edmonton mall, December 2012.
Justin Ling, National Post, March 23, 2014
Secret documents from Canada’s spy agency show that the Canadian government was getting ready in case last year’s Idle No More protests “escalated.”
A heavily-redacted 11-page report — with one entire page missing — obtained under the Access to Information Act shows that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was involved in preparing an all-of-government approach to dealing with the First Nations protests, which began in late 2012.
Robert Warrior, Indian Country Today, Jan 29, 2014Ryan Bellerose’s unfortunate recent op-ed essay in Indian Country Today Media Network, “Don’t Mix Indigenous Fight with Palestinian Rights,” would be laughable and easy to dismiss given how heavy on bluster and light on accuracy it is. The essay, however, employs ugly characterizations and simplistic historical analysis in discussing deadly important and serious issues regarding American Indians, Israel and Palestine. Seeing what connects the Native world to the Middle East is challenging to many ICTMN readers, but a clear dividing line is emerging between American Indian defenders of Israel and the growing number of us who support the Palestinian boycott divestment, and sanctions movement. Read the rest of this entry
