Nipawin - Friday, July 20, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis
   

Apartheid

Our Saskatchewan leading politicians have disenfranchised aboriginal people by providing public policies similar to the past Apartheid against people of colour in South Africa, that is a separate path of social development. Our former premier Romanow's government had the acumen to put temporarily aside the predicament of the aboriginal people when it issued legislation to have their social advancement spearheaded by the running of gambling casinos.

 

 

not our
problem

The results of this public policy has been one of corruption and division among our own people, native and non native. When the infant mortality rate in Saskatchewan was one of the highest across Canada, the government put the focus on the aboriginal population, their problem is not our problem. When our native leaders misappropriated money from the gambling casinos operations, that was their problem not ours. When our judges stated that Saskatchewan was a racist society, our government retorted that more money was being given to aboriginal people to combat family violence. When statistics revealed that Saskatoon and Regina had the highest prostitution rate among the teen population, that was not our problem, that was an aboriginal problem.

 

 

figures are misleading

Again today, as Statistics Canada reports that Saskatchewan is the province with the highest crime rate, we have Justice Minister Chris Axworthy stating that these figures are misleading since "that crime occurs among the province's native communities" and that governmental help is on the way with yet another division policy of a separate justice system for natives.

 

 
----------------References:
   
  Saskatchewan crime rate highest among provinces, CBC Canada, July 20, 2001 http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/20/crime010720