“for once” are you serious? you make it sound like the first nations are dropping like flies by the hand of all these ignorant white racist cops.

seriously, get a clue!

Assuming for a moment the suspect was within close proximity then I’m all for her being shot.

But if she’s 30ft away or so… the officer could have retreated behind her car, knocked her the f*ck out with her nightstick / baton, could have pepper sprayed her.

It’s hard to know for definite whether the officer’s actions were completely justified without having been a witness to the events.

In my opinion, this police officer did her job well. A narrow object like a knife, even a butter knife, can cause death or serious bodily harm. The officer used her available tools to prevent such a thing from happening, and the suspect lived through it after all. The controversy is a little overblown.

I just moved to Kenora this past year, I’ve experienced the same amount of racism I did living in my own reserve & Winnipeg, not that different, smaller town that’s all.

oh, heres a thought, maybe racism is not the problem like you might like to think. maybe its an issue of old fashioned dollars and cents like this guy suggests. hey ryan paul, maybe you and your friends living on the reserve would like to pool your money together and give it to me so I can pay to have my driveway plowed. by your logic that would be fair to ask of you wouldnt it? afterall, my house was the first one to be built on my block.

10%……..no way man. the majority of the community of kenora is not racist. this goes for every other city in canada and every other issue of race (for example racism against blacks)…the small minority expresses some racism. the problem in kenora is that it is such a small town that the odds of meeting people who are racist during your day to day activities is greater, and so is your odds of meeting a nonracist. but negative experiences stick out in our minds more so than positive ones, and then you take those negative examples and apply them to everyone. when in reality, if you could dive into the brains of every person in kenora, you would see the majority are not racist.

as for macdonalds, old people go to macdonalds in the morning…old people your right, they tend to be a bit racist. but dont use that as your defining example.

kenora is awsome and full of great people. if your thinking of moving there you are making a great decision! the people, the land the lake the outdoor activities (fishing!) is all top notch. a lake and people like no where else in Canada!

the choice however; to blame others for our own problems and to expect something to change without doing anything, or to avoid working for it or avoid actively progressing towards a better life and instead wanting others to give us hand-outs while we complain about our situation and blame everyone else….well this is something white people, natives alike are guilty of.

i know poor WHITE people who sit around and complain they have no job, their government subsidized apartment is in shambles and the government won’t fix it, they complain that everyone is against them etc, etc. meanwhile they make no attempt to get a job, they make no attempt to clean their house up or fix it or take care of it from day one, they do nothing to change theuir situation…all they do is blame the government and blame the bill collector and the friends who dont fix things for them etc… white people and natives are both guilty of this alike. it is an affliction of PEOPLE ( in general white, black, native, chinese) who lack ambition, drive, self respect/love, work ethic, who are defeatest and self defensive and refuse to aknowledge that to share in the pot of gold you must contribute to the pot of gold.

the poor neighborhood in winnipeg is full of whites, american blacks, natives, vietnamese, sudanese etc… they have poorly maintained streets – back lanes – houses/apartments – poor plumbing – poor garbage pickup service etc.

this is a capitalist nation where people contribute to the tax base and they are given services in return. those people mentioned above in manitoba housing do not contribute to a tax base – they collect government checks. they get jobs, lose jobs; take simple easy jobs that they do not plan into the future for (e.g. can i advance if i stick with this job) – they do not try to get educated – they have large families without thinking of the financial reprecussions.

HOW CAN YOU EXPECT OTHER PEOPLE IN CANADA TO PAY FOR PEOPLE ON RESERVES WHEN THE RESERVES DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE TAX BASE???? simple analogy: suppose you live on a reserve and your plumbing is broken…would you go to your friends house who doesnt live on the reserve and demand that he/she fix your leaky faucet??? something tells me that you wouldnt do that.

you cannot take from a system without contributing to the system. – goes for everyone everywhere of every race.

reserves are trouble because their is no opportunity to be part of the larger system: no jobs – no economy – no health care- lack of social opportunities – “self government” that sees chiefs and high ranking officials are paid exorbant amounts of money while their people suffer. reserves marginalize the people on them – there is no opportunity. these things dont exist because of geography, social divide, self government politics, and most importantly a refusal to cooperate and be part of the canadian tax community.

how can you take from a system that you do not contribute to? how can you expect the government of canada/ontario/kenora to fix houses to brand new and to make roads (and salt them) and buildings (schools. businesses) and social opportunities for free? WHY do non-reserve natives, blacks, whites, chinese, vietnamese, phillipeno, etc who contribute to the tax base have to pay for those on reserves? why do those in manitoba housing have a poor standard of living just like those on reserves? because they do not contribute to a tax base and the government therefore will not give them handouts equivalent to those who do pay tax.

unfortunately (for some) in this country capitalism reigns supreme. and i like it that way… i work for what i have and i cherish and maintain it because I worked for it. the government plows my road and fixes my streets because I work hard and pay tax – i contribute to the system that is shared by every other tax payer. simple analogy: in times of need my neighbour cant afford to fix his leaky faucet, so i help him out and i pay. then in the future my faucet leaks and i cant afford to fix it – so my neighbour pays.

As for the road leading to the reserve that wasnt plowed salted….maybe the reserve natives are the only ones who use it. maybe they should plow salt it because they use it. it would be different if they paid tax. No tax NO road plow. If everyone on the reserve paid kenora/canada/ontario taxs at the individual level, then im sure the government would be happy to plow the road. Or perhaps as an alternative, the reserve community would like to forgo their individual governemnt checks or band payments from indian and nothern affairs canada investment initiatives and pitch in to get the road plowed?

i feel like sometimes native treaties and alledged canadian government failures are used as a shield against the basic question “Do you pay tax and contribute the shared tax base?” in this world no one gets a free pass, it doesnt matter if you were here on this soil first or last. everyone is equal, everyone must contribute. treaties and reserves have themselves caused difficulties for aboriginal peoples. get rid of the treaties and reserves and establish yourselves as different with strong cultural values and spiritual ties – but be part of the larger group as well – attend the same schools, use the same services…BENEFIT from being part of the larger tax system.

self government at its basic core means self support/administration- reserves at their core mean self responsibility – overseeing yourself. how can you have such a thing if you (under the current system) cannot support yourselves? you dont want to be part of the bigger system, but you want the same treatment, same services (school, health care, roads, water treatment/plumbing, job opportunities), same financial benefits?
get rid of reserves or move them close-very close to cities. myself i support urban reserves in cities, or even a native province all its own…cut ontario in half already! – but without the “special” treatment. you have your own land and you work and pay like everyone else – you are finally part of the bigger system.

those already part of the bigger system will gladly welcome you. be part of the united community (benefit from canada and the tax contributions)…but make sure you retain your identity.

I live in the city but spend a good portion of my time in kenora (6 months). I have many native friends some reserve members, some not, hell i even hang out with a dude booted off the reserve. the census among the off-reserve natives seems to be that reserves are not a good idea, and those pals that live on reserves seem to think something needs to change and fast – some are talking about moving to the city.

everyone seems to aknowledege that natives want to maintain their identites and culture while simaultaneously being part of the greater canada. it seems to me that special treaties, and reserves work against that goal completely and instead work to marginalize natives.