I made this comment on Steve V's blog post this morning regarding the living conditions on native reserves and how the Liberals need to champion this a major issue to wrap themselves around.

Your exactly right Steve, the Liberals need to champion themselves around a just and honourable causes, and the plight of our first nations and the alarming living conditions in which they endure is an important objective indeed. However, I strongly feel that the Liberals NEED to have a complete arsenal of just and honourable causes including major issues such as; healthcare, environment, education, equality, poverty, human rights, foreign policies, global diplomacy, democratic transparency, accountability. I’m sure I’ve missed a few important issues as well but to reiterate my point the Liberals should be working as a team to champion these issues and work towards taking steps needed to correct or improve on these plights. I believe the Liberals are on the right track with this approach but more needs to be done, for example; Ralph Goodale and his work with agriculture and rural concerns, Bob Rae and his exemplary work on foreign policy and human rights, John McCallum financial and economic expertise, Stephen Dion and tireless work with environment issues and possible solutions (I think the Green Shift was a policy ahead of its time and many of the items in that plan should be pursued), Martha Hall Finlay and her stellar work on womens rights (I’m sure she will continue even though she is no longer a sitting member of parliament and I hope we see her run again in the next election as she has so much to offer), anyways the list goes on with a good many representatives. The Liberals should be more vocal and more proactive on these plights, it’s one thing to have these as policies but to champion these issues and gather other people towards your particular plight is essential, social media is the perfect tool for this endeavour. We should see more rallies, protest and campaigns for the many people effected by this inactive government and I would love to see more Liberal representatives in the thick of things. The Liberals should be getting behind the people and their causes and forget the fact some other Canadians might be annoyed or angered by their actions, as long as the campaigns are just and honourable there will be a good many Canadians who will applaud their actions.
As for the specifics of your post Steve, Sheila Frasers scathing report on the conditions our first nations face is definitely a perfect example of how the Liberals can wrap themselves in a just and moral cause, and yes many red neck types will definitely be annoyed by their efforts. I think I’ve heard that statement by Doyen many of times “ what can be done for the first nation anyways” or “they don’t want our help they just want our money” and yes thwap that is the sentiment of many Canadians. What many Canadians do not know is that our efforts and assistance has had numerous positive successes. I am sure there are many more reserves that have a normal standard of living and that may only have a minimal percentage of the population living in deplorable conditions, and we have that in our own communities as well. The Osoyoos Indian band is one of the first bands to see year after year profits through their approach of treating the band as a business and constantly expanding the business. Chief Clarence Louis has been traveling the country teaching other bands to use this extremely productive approach to better their communities. I have worked with various native band offices for many years and I currently work for a company who operates on a native reserve, more than forty percent of my fellow workers are native and I have many good friends who are native. I would like to say that they are no different than you or I, period! Yes they have poverty and substance abuse issues but so does the rest of this country, have you ever seen the Vancouver east end, and those conditions exist in every major city in Canada. What is needed is simple EDUCATION and EMPOYMENT period!
Sorry for the long winded comment Steve, I guess you hit one of those hot button issues I’m so passionate about, and the Kelowna Accord was one of them.