Harper's Government Votes against Aboriginals (big surprise)

Canada votes Against UN Declaration on Aboriginal Rights....

The "Non-Binding" declaration was in fact passed in a vote of 143 to four. Can you guess the four countries that voted AGAINST a declaration in support of Aboriginal Rights? Easy. Those who are most afraid of losing natural resources and land: Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand.

As is typical, "significant concerns with respect to the wording of the current text" was cited as the reason Canada wouldn't support the declaration.

It's amusing and disappointing that even though the declaration is acknowledged as "non-binding" (at least in Macleans), those four governments are still having none of it. The declaration, as with most UN projects, is mostly symbolic, as a matter of good faith. The UN has policies on issues of equality, access to health care, access to education, elimination of violence and sexual assault, etc. These are symbolic gestures, and the issues they address will probably never come close to being truly dealt with on a massive scale. Are the governments of the four opposing nations really that numb? Can they not see this as a positive PR opportunity?

Canada respects its aboriginal population, read all about it!

Nope. Not a chance. No one cares about aboriginal issues anyway, unless you're aboriginal yourself, right?....
Oh Harper.

extry extry