Real racists are those who would consign natives to hunting, fishing

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller has accused Canadians of racism.

The racism inherent in the Left and the liberal toadies in the media is truly mind boggling.

Take the current narrative being pushed in the mainstream media that there is a conflict between resource development and indigenous rights.

There’s hardly a day that goes by that there is not some disingenuous story about how the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have the support of indigenous people across the country in defence of the land.

Activists push the narrative that indigenous people are against resource development and it is generally accepted by ignorant journalists.

News stories and commentaries keep pushing a view of indigenous people that is racist and bigoted, that they are victims of big, bad business, victims of the energy industry that is raping the land.

Enough already. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The vast majority of indigenous communities are actually heavily involved in natural resource development.

• Over the past few decades, indigenous communities have signed close to 500 agreements with mining companies.
• About 60 per cent of communities have contracts with forestry companies.
• There are about 30 indigenous communities producing oil on their reserves.
• There are about 40 producing natural gas.
• Twenty indigenous communities approved and signed on for the CoastalGasLinks pipeline.

Let that sink in.

None of this will come as a surprise to anyone involved in the energy business. They know full well the extent of indigenous participation in the resource extraction industry.

What the general public does not know is that the resource industry hires twice as many indigenous employees and pays them twice as much as any other sector.

It is any wonder the Wet’suwet’en communities along the route of the Kitimat pipeline are supportive? Their people stand to make millions upon millions of dollars. That’s money which opens doors for them and their children.

Here’s the really sad part about all of this. Whenever pro-development chiefs and other native individuals approach Ottawa to support development (as they did with the canceled Norther Gateway pipeline) they are labeled sell-outs by activists and special interests by the government.

Now, you tell me who are the real racists. The activists, the media and the politicians who would rather have indigenous people living on handouts and in poverty or the chiefs and their supporters who have to build businesses and grow their local economies?

The Left have an agenda. It is socialism. It is certainly not pro indigenous people and it’s certainly not pro environment.