Holy (and Holey) Writ

Globe and Mail pundit Jeffrey Simpson has finally noticed something that has been evident to many for some time--that those who've been accorded "most favoured victim group" status are allowed to be as prejudiced, racist and bigoted as they want to be, and that our holy Trudeapian "rights" Charter is, shall we say, less than comprehensive:

It's hard to imagine in Canada, with its ethos of diversity and tolerance and its secularly sacred Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that what's happening on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve near Montreal could occur with barely a peep from civil-rights activists and governments.

Twenty-six residents who are considered “non-native,” and are married to or in long-term relationships with Mohawks, have been given eviction notices. Their presence apparently threatens the survival of Mohawk bloodlines and, therefore, the future of the community. Other evictions, it is reported, might occur later. It appears from news reports that the majority in the community agree with the evictions.

“This isn't about ethnic cleansing,” says Mohawk Grand Chief Mike Delisle, “It's about self-preservation.” It's also about a fundamental abuse of basic human rights in Canada.

Of course, there's the rub. Mohawks don't consider they are Canadian. They don't recognize Canadian sovereignty on their territories. They are a self-governing “nation” that has ceded nothing to Canada. They have their own rules, traditions, police forces, governance. If what other Canadians would consider basic human rights are abused, well, apparently that's just the way it goes, according to the federal government.

Nothing we can do, says Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. The minister is “uncomfortable” with the evictions. But, says he, “it's important for people to realize that whether I like the decisions or not, these are decisions made by first nations people on their own land. It is not for me to make those decisions, or the government, and we are not going to be making those decisions.” The reserve has a “constitutional basis” to set its own membership rules. “They can do it legally."

So there it is: Evicting people, or discriminating against them, on the basis of race has a “constitutional basis” and can be done “legally.” Could anyone imagine the immense hue and cry if race-based evictions were tried anywhere else in Canada? Charter cases would be launched faster than you could say Beverley McLachlin...

Simpson has noticed one loophole in our much vaunted Charter, the one which allows Aboriginals to opt out and behave in a way that would prompt Ontario "human rights" commissar Babsy Hall to rent her garments, tear out her hair and shriek hysterically about systemic discrimination (thereby justifying her high salary and her outfit's existence). But there's another, even bigger loophole. It effectively claws back that most vital of rights, the right to free speech.

Seems like the Charter isn't worth the paper it's printed on.