Native people on cusp of change, AFN chief Atleo says [resource revenue sharing] – CBC News (July 19, 2012)


 

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/

Shawn Atleo, the newly re-elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, called on all Canadians to unite with his people in making a new future for native people, saying they “are on the cusp of major transformative change.”
 
“It is about time we pull back the veil on misunderstanding and we engage all Canadians to walk with us and give effect to the notion… we are all treaty people,” said Atleo at his Toronto news conference Thursday. He also paid tribute to the young people in native communities.
 
“You can’t helped but be moved by stories of resilience of what young people are achieving irrespective of seven generations of residential schools.” Atleo reiterated what he considered key issues: resource development, economic sustainability and called for a national inquiry into the hundreds of dead or missing native women across the country.
 
Atleo said he would stand up to any attempts to sweep away native rights to their resources or control over their lands:”We will act on our rights, our treaty rights, our inherent rights, our title rights.”

Read more

In Panama, Locals Protest Canadian Copper Mines – PBS News Hour – July 17, 2012

 

Watch In Panama, ‘New Conquistadors’ Protest Canadian Copper Mines on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

Transcript

JEFFREY BROWN: Next, new battle lines are being drawn in the rain forests of the Americas, and billions of dollars are at stake. Canadian mining companies hold about 1,400 properties in developing nations from Mexico to Argentina.
 
One of those is in Panama, where local groups have teamed up with environmental activists to halt the building of new mines.

Our story is a collaboration with CBC News in Canada and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The producer is Lynn Burgess. The reporter is Mellissa Fung.
 
MELLISSA FUNG, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: Deep in the Panamanian rain forest, more than three hours northwest of Panama City, small agricultural communities dot the landscape, places that have remained unchanged for generations.
 
Carmelo Yanguez has lived in this town of Coclesito for more than 40 years. A subsistence farmer, he lives on what he grows, planting coffee, rice and beans and fish from nearby rivers. But his peaceful life, he fears, is changing.

Read more

Co-operation wins over confrontation as AFN re-elects Shawn Atleo – by John Ivison (National Post – July 19, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

TORONTO — Compromise is for losers, read the T-shirt worn by one delegate to the Assembly of First Nations leadership convention. As it turns out….not so much.
 
Shawn Atleo, who boasts proudly of his background as a mediator and facilitator, beat seven other candidates to retain the AFN leadership, winning on the third ballot.
 
A number of them, including his closest rival, Pam Palmater, had called for the AFN to start wielding a big stick in its dealings with Ottawa. Ms. Palmater openly accused Mr. Atleo of selling the AFN’s soul to the devil. Mr. Atleo countered by talking tough about the prospect for unilateral action. “We will never compromise,” he told delegates Tuesday.

But, in reality, the National Chief knows he needs a willing partner in Ottawa if he wants to achieve his goals of reforming land claims policy and ushering in resource revenue sharing.

Read more

Atleo’s victory a sign national chiefs want to work with Ottawa – by John Ibbitson (Globe and Mail – July 19, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite

In giving Shawn Atleo their emphatic endorsement for a second term as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada’s native leaders chose to work with Ottawa rather than fight against it.

But if the first fails, the second could follow. Mr. Atleo has a clear mandate to work with the Harper government on reforming education on reserves, fighting the scourge of violence against native women, and improving housing and health for Canada’s native people.

The majority of chiefs endorsed Mr. Atleo’s re-election on the first ballot, though it took two more votes for him to reach the required 60 per cent. Such strong support answers the complaints of critics who said Mr. Atleo should be taking a more confrontational approach in demanding control over resources on land claimed by first nations.

“The office of national chief is not the head of first nations government,” Mr. Atleo said after his victory, when asked whether it was time to become more forceful in advocating native claims.

Read more

Continuing commodities super cycle not all about China any more – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – July 18, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

Analysts feel the commodities super cycle is not behind us, but global population growth will see the centre move from China to other areas of the developing world.

Groningen – Despite pronouncements that the era of high commodity prices is coming to an end and concerns that China’s economy is finally beginning to show signs of fatigue, there are still a number of commentators that see some legs left to the commodities super cycle.
 
The commodities super cycle, as a concept, began coming to the fore about a decade ago, around the same time that China began to crouch down in preparation for its massive industrial leap forward. And, over the last 10 years we have seen significant growth in the prices of certain commodities. As the table below from Standard Chartered illustrates – bear in mind that these prices are estimates given that we haven’t yet come to the end of 2012 but the trend has undoubtedly been up.

From the table it is clear that the commodities that have risen the most in price terms over the last decade are the ones most in need during the Chinese industrialisation.

Read more