Aboriginals must assimilate.....

Barbara Yaffe has a good op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen today on aboriginals and how they must integrate into Canada.

Simon Fraser University's John Richards recently drew a parallel between rioting Muslim youth in France and Canadian aboriginals, especially those on reserves. He laid out four stark truths that, one and for all, must be addressed.

1. Canadians suffer from "white guilt" stemming from past aboriginal policy. "This guilt has prevented for a generation honest discussion of the limits to aboriginal nationalism.'

2. On-reserve schools are "grossly inadequate," yet Ottawa lets band councils that aren't up the task, monitor school quality.

3. Ottawa's generous welfare system for aboriginals has left too many single-parent families on welfare, too many poorly educated young men with few skills or job prospects.

4. Aboriginal leaders exhibit "hostility to participation in a modern industrial economy."

For once, some common sense on aboriginal policy. Will our political leaders get the message?