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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, January 9, 2013 · 8 By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Idle No More protesters target PM at Ford Among other things, Bill C-45 makes it easier to sell Indian reserves and has changed the Navigable Waters Protection Act. The Idle No More movement garnered media attention when Theresa Spence, the chief of northern Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation, went on a hunger strike nearly a month ago demanding to meet with Harper and Governor General David Johnston. On Friday, Harper announced he plans to meet with a delegation of First Nations leaders this Friday (Jan. 11). An organizer of the Oakville rally, Taylor Flook, of Toronto, said she's alarmed by the changes to the water protection act. "I think Bill C-45 is a bill that affects everybody. The changes to the Navigable Waters Act are very alarming considering there were over two million lakes and rivers and water systems protected before the act was enacted. Now, there are something like 87 left. Most of those are now falling in Conservative ridings," she said. "The government is saying, `Don't worry about this change. It's just if you want to build a bridge over a lake, you don't have to ask your federal government.' What really is going on While Prime Minister Stephen Harper was inside the Ford Oakville Assembly Plant Friday morning, the national grassroots movement Idle No More was busy making noise outside. Nearly 100 protesters rallied just outside the plant, at the Ford and Kingsway drives intersection, hoping Harper would hear their message. They chanted slogans and bore placards while bracing a winter wind. The rally formed a circle temporarily blocking traffic in the intersection before it marched on the plant and a Halton police guard blocked entry to the Ford property. Protesters then returned to the intersection to again block traffic for 15 minutes. Wanda Nanibush, an organizer of the Idle No More Toronto movement, was among the protesters and told The Oakville Beaver the movement is about aboriginal rights, democracy, the environment and peace. She said it hopes to draw attention to Harper's "callous and undemocratic actions," such as his omnibus budget legislation, Bill C-45, which protesters say tramples treaty rights. DOMINIK KUREK / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog ON THE LINE: Idle No More protesters block traffic in the intersection at Ford and Kingsway drives Friday morning during Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Oakville's Ford Assembly Plant. is the federal government is rescinding its fiduciary responsibility to the First Nations of this country in consulting them before allowing companies to build." Flook, who is of European descent, said Idle No More is a way to start a healing process between Canada's native peoples and European settlers. "I want to do right by my grandfather and my grandfather's grandfather by healing the relationship that was begun back then." Earl Lambert, a Cree First Nations member from Brampton, was at the rally drumming and chanting the Grandfather's Calling In Song. He said the song calls upon his ancestors for protection. Lambert said protesters gathered near the Ford plant to stand up for their "children, the environment, mother earth and the future of all Canadians." He said the treaty between First Nations and the Crown, as well as democracy, is being violated by Bill C-45. "I'm also here to stand up on behalf of all First Nations and the agreement they made between the Queen and First Nations to live in a peaceful co-existence," said Lambert. "I like the fact this movement is about peace, it's about unity, it's about harmony and it's about people of all nations coming together to stand up for what they believe to be right, and that is democracy." Protester Laura Kolnicki said Idle No More participants may be there for different reasons, but the movement itself is a response to the erosion of democracy in Canada. She cited Ontario's Bill 115, which took away the local bargaining rights of teachers and imposed contracts on them. As others experience an erosion of democracy firsthand, it has led them to relate to the struggles of First Nations people. "People can relate to that and say, `We have to work together,'" she said.