Out of Winnipeg comes a heartwarming cross-cultural story of sharing beliefs that is sure to touch the nation from coast to coast.

In 1984, Haitian-born Gregory Bromby viciously raped and then murdered 15 year old Tara Manning by stabbing her 51 times. He was sentenced to life in a Quebec prison but was transferred to a Winnipeg facility in 2010. As Gregory Bromby committed his crimes while still a minor he is eligible for parole even though he is supposed to be serving a life sentence, and that is where our story begins:

According to a letter sent to Manning [Tara's father] by the Parole Board of Canada, Bromby asked for the elder-assisted hearing.

First introduced in 1992, the cultural hearings are designed to “provide an environment that facilitates a culturally sensitive hearing process for aboriginal offenders,” according to a parole board document.

Participants in the hearing are seated in a circle with an elder facilitating. There’s a ceremony portion of the hearing, which involves smudging and prayer, and a decision-making portion.

Manning said that, to his knowledge, Bromby has no aboriginal heritage.

“This has to do with their culture, their way of life,” he said of the cultural hearings. “And he is Haitian.”

Manning said he doesn’t have a problem with Bromby accessing a culturally sensitive hearing process if he can demonstrate he has been following an aboriginal spiritual path for a sustained period.

“But they won’t tell me anything,” he said. “If he joined the Red Road a week before he applied for parole, then he can go and say to people two months later, ‘Listen, I’m following the Red Road. I’m doing really well.’ It’s all smoke and mirrors.”

The Parole Board of Canada said anyone who meets specified criteria can apply for an elder-assisted hearing, even if that person is not of aboriginal descent.

“The Correctional Service of Canada will submit information regarding that offender’s participation in aboriginal programs and spiritual activities,” said Amy Wood, a regional spokesperson for the Parole Board of Canada.

The parole board then makes a decision based on three criteria: commitment, engagement and progress in aboriginal teachings.

She said there is no set amount of time a person must follow these teachings before applying for the cultural parole hearing, she said. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Wood said the decision reached by the parole board at the end of the hearing is “exactly the same as if it was a regular hearing.”

There were 492 applications for elder-assisted parole hearings last year. Of those, 56 applications were made by non-aboriginal people.

She could not comment on Bromby’s case because of privacy regulations. (CBC)

The indian way didn't appear to have any extra sympathy for Gregory Bromby as he was denied parole. As a non-aboriginal asking for aboriginal treatment I bet the general consensus is that Gregory took this route because he must have felt that he would be treated differently, even more leniently. That is what I would think and do.

If the general consensus is agreeable to the course towards leniency or differential treatment then that explains the sudden media interest in this story, because if there was no inclination to thinking that way, then this wouldn't be a story at all.

The reality is, there is no dishonour in adopting the spiritual beliefs of another culture, however the case here seems so outrageous, we would want to believe otherwise.

If Gregory Bromby wants to be an indian I don't see why anyone should care. But, if Gregory Bromby wants to continue to be a Haitian who gets to be treated like an indian, then hey, we have a problem.

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Notable - Charles Adler gives his 02. Kinda whishy washy Readers Digest sad smack but his points are good.

The story of Rwandan war criminal Leon Mugesera and teacher at Laval University first caught my eye back in 2005 when media reports surfaced about the governments plan to deport him because of a previous inclination to incite genocide against 800,000 Tutsi's back in 1992. He apparently gave a fiery speech to a couple thousand like-minded individuals urging them to exterminate the bastards.

Possibly he was thinking that nobody would take him seriously as when the killing started he took off to Spain and then came over here to our fine country where he was granted landed immigrant status in 1994. A little over ten years later, after Leon had gotten nicely settled in, somebody in our beuaracracy said holy crap - it probably isn't cool to let this guy stick around and then the deportation hearings began.

The typical appeals process began to ensue, he might get the death penalty if sent back to Rwanda but then Rwanda promised that they wouldn't pursue one.

The usual winner that tends to work for a lot of war criminals hiding out here is the don't send me back or I will be tortured plea and in this case, it has kept Leon Mugesera on our soil for an extra 16 years.

The latest appeal involved Mugesara contacting the UN directly which brought in the UN Convention Against Torture which Canada is a partner with. Does anyone remember what the UN did when 800,000 Tutsi's were getting hacked up with machetes? Pretty much nothing despite all the desperate pleas so it is notable to see them stick their nose in here.

Our own government who are well aware of the hypocrisy said the hell with the UN, let's kick him out anyways.

Leon Mugesara, fell ill from the apparent stress:

Canadian authorities will deport Léon Mugesera, an alleged Rwandan war criminal, in spite of a postponement request from the United Nations committee against torture.

The UN committee asked Canada to delay Mugesera's deportation, after the former Rwandan politician's legal team lobbied the commission to investigate claims that he could face possible torture or death if he is sent back to his native country.

Officials with the federal Department of Public Security confirmed Wednesday night that they will go ahead and execute the deportation order.

It's not clear when that will actually happen — Mugesera's scheduled deportation will likely be delayed after he suffered a medical crisis Wednesday afternoon that put him in a Quebec City hospital.

His legal team told CBC News that doctors at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUL) won't let Mugesera fly until his medical situation is resolved.

The UN's intervention came at the 11th hour of Mugesera's anticipated Thursday afternoon deportation.

Justice Michel Shore denied Mugesera's appeal for a delay on his deportation order earlier Wednesday in a Montreal courtroom.

Less than three hours later, Mugesera was rushed by ambulance to hospital, suffering what his lawyers described as a stress-related attack. (CBC)

Sneaky... Reminds me of the antics of one Laibar Singh who as a suspected terrorist faced deportation but held it off for years by faking paralysis. The last grip on the door frame.

Leon might not have to be too ill for too long however, the latest twist comes courtesy of Quebec Superior Court Judge William Fraiberg who issued an 11th hour ruling stating that Leon can stay here pending the UN's review of his case. How he can overide a federal ruling is beyond me but what isn't, is the last play of a stressed out man:

"Daddy is in critical condition," the family said in a statement. "We urge Canada to meet its international obligations as demanded by the High Commissioner for Human Rights." (QMI)

And until we meet the obligations as demanded by the High Commissioner for Human Rights that rule in favor of Leon Mugesera, we'll be staying right here...

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01/15/12 - Did I ever doubt this government... Released from hospital and arrested, another hearing on Monday.

I've been watching the Alberta reserve of Hobbema struggle with it's violent gang problems for almost a decade. After every stabbing or gunshot they make national headlines and vow to clean the place up, and I believe, that the chief and council have really tried to clean the place up.

Nothing has worked and the violence continues on a daily basis. Media watchers only see what is bad enough to make the papers but lower level threats have become normal because of the prevailing gang culture, and people live in fear everyday. A culture of intrinsic violence (have been there and seen it) is what really runs the community. The bigger infractions are just enough to make us point.

Enter the last resort of the traditional aboriginal practise of banishment:

A Hobbema councillor who's "tired of burying young people" is backing a proposed bylaw that would boot troublemakers off the Samson Cree First Nation reserve.

Kirk Buffalo, a Samson band councillor for nine months, is in favour of Wednesday's referendum on a residency bylaw at the largest of four Hobbema reserves aimed at evicting gang members.

Under the proposed bylaw, any 25 residents can apply to have someone legally removed from the reserve.

"This residency bylaw is not a solution. It's merely a tool," Buffalo said.

"We've had two murders, drive-by shooting, gang activity, drug activity," Buffalo said of some of the events leading to the referendum.

"As dysfunctional as Hobbema sounds, we're very rich with our elders, our language, our culture and that's what we need to connect. The people who we are talking about are disconnected to themselves."

The referendum, which was announced weeks ago but discussed for years, created a buzz through Hobbema, 70 km south of Edmonton.

"The only people who are worried (about the referendum), the only people that are against it, maybe, are in the drug or gang (culture)," Buffalo said. "Because most of the people, if you respect the law, and respect yourself, it doesn't affect you."

Buffalo said his work with the court system has allowed him to deal directly with the underlying issues and is a strong believer in what he termed the "home fire."

"If everything is well at home, the family, the father, the mother, there's roles in our culture. There's a role as a young man and there are roles as a young woman, and if you can teach that to these parents - young parents - it would be a lot better than what we see today," he said. (Sun News)

I heard Kirk Buffalo on the radio today and his greatest misgiving was that because the bigger picture of the reserve is divided up into four communities a positive vote for banishment would mean that those banished could still maintain their neighbourship as the other communities haven't gotten on board with the program yet. Interviews of elders from the Hobbema community by the Aboriginal People's Television Network (APTN) give us the opinion that this is a positive move. They just seem to be plain tired of the constant crap.

Those against banishment mostly follow the case against Manitoba's Norway House First Nation who passed a banishment law in 2009. The idea against is that corrupt or nefarious chiefs and council members (like we never see them) could banish other members of the community for political purposes. My friend Cory Morgan picks up on this piece of injustice and furthers a case against the tradition.

My own view resides on the fact that the traditional form of banishment is a punishment that is worse then a death sentance. A disavowing of all ties from ones community.

It is different then say a non-aboriginal being a black sheep in the family and being 'turn-backed' from the shaking fingers of relatives. This is about soul and the deeper sense of who you are being repelled and being rejected.

Kick them out and let them stand on their own feet outside the community and let's see how they fare. Typically, the fear that they live on will not be that easy to get once outside familiar grounds, and they soon turn to nothing.

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The people speak: Hobbema reserve votes to allow eviction of gang members

As of this upcoming New Year we Canadians were supposed to be inefficient incandescent light bulb free and would join hands with other countries in becoming world leaders in green social engineering. That progressive green wet dream is dead.

Last January doubts were raised on their true energy savings when used in Canada's cold climate. Replacing warm incandescents with the lesser heat offerings of the CFL would actually increase greenhouse gas emissions because the heat would have to be replaced. Then of course we introduce that 'what the hell do we do with all the bulbs full of mercury' problem.

The United States EnvironMental Protection Agency (EPA) was a bit further ahead in the game then us and had already issued What to Do if a CFL Breaks in Your Home instructions and Health Canada followed suit a month later with almost identical no need to panic if you follow every steps.

It appears not everyone got the memo:

Curran Faris thought he was helping the environment when he replaced most of the light bulbs in his home with CFLs.

"They're supposed to save you money and they use less energy, so they're good for the environment," he said.

What he wasn’t told is the bulbs contain mercury, a dangerous toxin, and need to be disposed of correctly. So when the CFLs in his home started to burn out, Faris tossed them in the garbage.

“I feel pretty bad about it. I mean, I wasn't informed,” he said.

“I also didn't look up to see what I should do with them. But on the other hand if these things are being marketed to consumers as the environmentally-friendly solution to light your house, they should also be telling us that they contain mercury and you need to dispose of them properly.” (CBC)

Can you just imagine the pain of the betrayal? You were just motoring along in your green conscience clear life and then this, and then to make matters worse, there was no Jiminy Cricket to guide you.

You thought you were helping the environment but you were not.

You thought that you would use less energy but in the grand scheme of things you don't.

And then on top of that you poison mother earth you filthy white bastard with your utopian complex of progressive Lenin fondling your little balls with his big thumb puppeteering your anal peripheral blind-sided bitch.

All things aside, it is a good day for Mr. Curran Faris as he has been enlightened to the frightening fact that the government is not always right.

We often hear from our 'leaders' that we must fight for our rights and more often then not, once you digest what those rights are, they tend to line up with what status indians are getting. My old friend Fortunate Guiboche referred to this as the aboriginalization of the Metis and often followed it up with screeds about self-discovery so you wouldn't end up being what others say you are.

A letter to the editor by one Kelly Chartrand published in today's Winnipeg Free Press has reminded me of those simple tidbits of wisdom and deserves to be preserved. In response to an article on the efforts of former prime minister Paul Martin's continuing advocacy on behalf of First Nations, she writes:

Kudos to former prime minister Paul Martin for putting his money where his mouth is (Martin's dream, Dec. 24). Education is the key to a better future for aboriginals. Missing in that viewpoint is the need for individuals to take charge of their own lives. The tiresome call for the rest of Canadians to do something to solve the aboriginal crisis has been a failure for generations.

Missing is any incentive to complete an education. There are no jobs, no resources and no future on the reserve. Why would anyone finish high school when they know the welfare check is guaranteed to be there when they become adults? Asking aboriginal children to stay in school is to ask them to be different from their peers. I imagine that would be a very difficult choice.

What is needed is to give individuals freedom and mobility. This can be done by giving all the present funding in the aboriginal federal budget to the individual and letting the individual control their own lives as best they can. A new treaty on an individual basis perhaps?

As a whole, the Métis people are doing better than our status cousins. Perhaps it is because we were forced to fend for ourselves and thus be responsible for ourselves. Individual freedom, with support, is what is needed. No one can give you prosperity without individual effort.

Kelly Chartrand (Winnipeg Free Press Dec. 28, 2011)

Skipping over the idea that while Paul Martin's heart is in the right place his advocacy isn't for everyone, we get to the meat of the matter which is that the Metis people as a whole are doing better then indians, and are doing better because we didn't have all those 'rights' to hinder us. I like the way she thinks.

I also like to think that the Metis were Canada's first libertarians and because of the drawbacks of history, we kept our strong sense of identity and individualism and that pride in nationality continues to grow. Some sort of self-discovery thing obviously..

With these theories in mind it continues to perplex me why our so-called 'leaders' ('leaders' because we can't be led by any man) continue on fighting for 'rights' that we have done just well enough without and 'rights' that place us in a communal sense of direction. The motivation of course is greed, the end result is stepping back to something we never were.

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Further: Not all aboriginals live in a Marxist paradise

A Christmas Prayer