Blackstock – the Spirit Bear plan

This is Spirit Bear. He is an ‘Ambearrister’. He actually has a Bearrister degree from Osgoode Law School to prove it. And he was right there with us during the Canadian Human Rights tribunal hearing. He’s from Carrier Sekani First Nation. He has a plan to remedy all of the inequalities that First Nations Children experience. 

It’s not that hard. You know, in all the years that Canada’s been a country, there’s never ever been a costing out of all the inequalities First Nations Children in place and then creating a comprehensive plan that says, “What is the big ticket of those inequalities?” And then how do we address that in a way that is sensitive to children’s childhoods?  

Something like the marshal plan after the Second World War where the allies got together and they said, “Well, let’s rebuild Europe in a decade” and they did. Well, if they can rebuild Europe in a decade, surely, we can address racial discrimination in the provision of public services for First Nations kids in far shorter time than that. And that’s what’s called the Spirit Bear plan.  

Now, it’s been affirmed by all First Nations in Canada through a resolution at the assembly of First Nations but the Government of Canada still refuses to adopt it. And Canadians should be asking why, “Why wouldn’t the government want a plan to eliminate all the inequalities that First Nations kids face in 2019?” 

What makes me hopeful are the children of all diversities who are working with us and more importantly with Spirit Bear, around all these campaigns. Children don’t come with the same normalized baggage that many Canadian adults have. They have a developmental tendency towards fairness and towards compassion. And what we need to do is really provide that and nurture that and give children of all ages real opportunities to make a difference in their world around reconciliation.  

So that as they grow up as a new generation, they’re not going to say, “Oh, what do you mean you’re only taking first steps to rectify water inequalities in Canada? If we can get freshwater pumping in an earthquake zone halfway around the world, why can’t we do that an hour and a half outside of Toronto in a First Nations community?” They will be asking those questions demanding a different society. Children know how to do reconciliation. Adults just need to learn from their example.