Amnesty International report states Canada has not adequately protected Aboriginal rights
Amnesty International’s recent report on The State of the World’s Human Rights mentions, among several issues, the prevalence of violence against aboriginal women in Canada and the lack of a plan to address it, and says the government is making “baseless claims” that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does not apply to Canada [source: CBC].
Growing support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is mentioned as a positive international development, but the Canadian government has not yet endorsed the declaration. (more…)
A recent 
Métis Nation British Columbia’s 2010 Olympic torch relay team, “Keeping It Riel”, recently ran with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic torch. The team’s slogan, a tribute to Louis Riel, was selected during a meeting last summer with Métis youth. Organizer Marcel Chalmers 
Fifteen Métis communities across British Columbia were funded this summer to create a variety of youth projects. The projects focused on life skills, health, and personal, cultural, community and leadership development, among other objectives. Danielle Welch, with Mid-Island Métis Nation in Nanaimo, organized an interactive and educational camp on Vancouver Island. The culturally-focused camp was the first initiative of its kind and attracted 16 youths from Victoria to Courtenay. [Source: Nanaimo Daily News] 
Curtis Brick died last month after lying in the sun at a Vancouver park on one of the hottest days the city had seen all summer. Curtis Brick was a homeless aboriginal man. Though the park was filled with people, he lay for seven hours until an aboriginal outreach worker intervened and called 911. Now questions about the way Curtis Brick was treated by emergency personnel has advocates calling for a coroner’s inquiry. 