Heres something I wrote in response to the Winnipeg Free Press about the latest accusation of genocide they published in their online edition. Its a few days old and it doesnt appear like the WFP will publish it. Re: Nelson proposes plan to sue province over child welfare, (Dec. 22). Generally, genocides are world news so it is curious that when a claim is made of an ongoing genocide in our own backyard, the Free Press reports it only in the online edition. Perhaps the editors are accustomed to these inflammatory accusations and deem them no longer worthy of print but this recent claim by Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Terry Nelson is striking on two counts. For one, it may be the first time in history that a party has attempted to file a civil suit for harm done by “genocidal policies” prior to a criminal conviction for the same. Secondly, Nelson is claiming that Manitoba’s Child and Family Services is genocidal: “CFS is a new residential school system and there will be no change unless we make it painful for governments to continue their genocidal policies.” Nelson argues that under the UN Convention on Genocide, the provincial government has committed the ‘forcible transfer of children from one group to another.’ A provincial spokeswoman had no comment which seems like taking being accused of a crime against humanity too lightly for the public good. However, even reporter Alexandra Paul could only say that Nelson had a well-deserved reputation for “provocative rhetoric.” To be fair, Nelsons claim is absurdly spurious. Since devolution, aboriginal children have been handled by aboriginal-run CFS agencies so there is no difference in groups. Children are taken into care for their safety and well-being and not with an intent to destroy the group, which is required to reach a conviction of genocide in the World Court. But if the editors have determined that Nelson’s claim isnt worth printing, why publish it at all? In the past, the Free Press hasn’t shied away from printing claims of Canadian genocide by aboriginal demagogues and provincial academics but of all the hollow accusations to relegate to the digital periphery, Nelsons recent claim deserves more attention. It isn’t just that using claims of genocide as rhetorical ordnance warrants editorial rebuke for what amounts to trivializing the worst crime against humanity. The implication of Nelsons claim was spelled out by a commenter on his Facebook page where he posted his libellous allegation: CFS employees are “genocide workers.” Stigmatizing workers in a field chronically short of staff isnt good for the children involved and what greater inversion of values is possible if child welfare equates to destroying children? Perhaps worse, Canada has committed itself to a responsibility to protect when genocide is occurring in the world. Such is the moral imperative a conscionable state construes in the event of genocide. But when genocide happens in our own backyard, who carries out that responsibility to protect? It may be easy to dismiss the ravings of an indolent polemicist but we have seen how contemporary fanatics are auto-didactic and an ongoing genocide demands action greater than just civil. All that is required to reach a conviction in the court of public opinion is credulity
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:47:12 +0000
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