What i saw in the documentary shocked me. I have grown up in many big cities and i know in bigger cities crime is more prevalent. So, therefore the crime rate in Vancouver doesn’t really shock me. However what does shock me is the ethnic groups that are being specifically targeted. The indigenous people, specifically women, that are targeted are mostly done so because the perpetrators know that in many cases the women have very little contact with their families as a consequence to the Canadian government in many cases splitting them up.

This added an element of depth to the problems that previous legislation and residential schools have done. I understood how due to the bad education and lack of cultural affinity, many of the native people had difficulties establishing themselves in society, and thus many became affiliated with crime out of despair. However I never considered that these exact reason made them into a perfect victim just because the perpetrators know that the women they assault have very little familial connections, and they also know that the system is sadly not in their favour either. This creates a two tier society concerning safety, the mostly white majority can live very safe and comfortable lives with police protection, whereas aboriginals and especially women live very unsafe, uncomfortable lives in a world where the system does not care much for them.

It is shameful that a country should let this discrimination to continue, the more we are learning about aboriginal issues in Canada, the more i realize how superficial the equality among citizens is. It has been shown that the equality exists purely on paper, and for the rest not much has been changed. As such the government is mocking the aboriginal people by giving them “equal” rights, that they know are just a sham in most cases. This in my opinion shows a very distinct image about the Canadian government.

I find it curious how the state on the whole does not try and fix the aboriginal issues to the satisfaction of both sides, and as such they can start to fix problems that affect the society on the whole. This truly shows how the problem concerning the first nations really isn’t something that the government can put aside, the problem is very much key to the development and the improvement of the country. I find it very shortsighted of the politicians to let the horrendous diplomatic and political situations to continue. Since the first contact, the relationship between first nations and colonists has been very difficult, so after hundreds of years, i don’t see why the government isn’t trying more to end it.

It is completely unjustified that the government does not act more on what it claims to be doing and furthermore, that it would allow for the creation of an unofficial and unequal system to be created. This shows that after all these years, the relationships have improved, but at the core, most problems have not changed since first contact. This is truly shameful.