Governments Blasted For Jailing Native Protesters

Governments Blasted For Jailing Native Protesters

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 16:57

 

 

A former Assembly of First Nations national chief stirred up a crowd of around 400 people today in Saskatoon.

 

Ovide Mercredi was speaking at a national treaty implementation conference.

 

He called on the federal government to endorse the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

Mercredi said only then would he believe the Conservative government would honour treaties, as well.

 

Mercredi also had harsh words for how the Ontario government and federal government are handling a case in northern Ontario where a band chief and councillors have been jailed because they opposed development.

 

He compared members of the KI First Nation being put in jail to what China is doing to Tibet.

 

Mercredi suggested that conference delegates should demand that Parliament pass a resolution to release the “political prisoners”.

 

He also called on the delegates to not be timid in their fight to get their treaty rights implemented.

 

As well, Mercredi urged the crowd to never put treaties into policy, arguing that treaties are above policy and above federal law because they pre-existed the Constitution.