(NOTE: Scott made some references to this text but for the most part he spoke from the heart rather than reading the prepared material. But his words were based on key messages contained in the following text. His words will be available when the CRTC transcript is available and will be posted here on Turtle Island Native Network)

Madame Chair, Commissioners, Members of the Public, thank you for providing me with this opportunity to appear here today, to speak about our support for Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR) and their application to bring network radio to our people.

Before I begin, with great respect I now acknowledge the Coast Salish People and thank them for allowing me to live and work here in their territory. I also want to recognize the people from our communities who have come to your hearings to support the Native radio licence application.

The UNN is an urban Aboriginal organization supporting the creation and implementation of programs for the advancement of the level of education, training and opportunity among the Aboriginal Peoples in BC. The UNN actively supports the principle of Equity of Access for all Aboriginal People to programs, funds, policies and resources of the governments.

I believe it is our job - our responsibility as leaders of our communities to help educate not just ourselves - but people in places of great responsibility in Canada. People like your selves, Commissioners.

Because I do not know you, nor do I know how much you know about us, I will take some time to describe who we are, and who the people are, whose lives will be greatly impacted by the decision you make as a result of these hearings.

Aboriginal people are known for many things, including our diversity. In Vancouver there are people from almost everywhere - north, south, east and yes even further west. Some have come and stayed for a long time, others are moving back and forth - to and from their home communities.

The large number of urban Aboriginal people just didn’t appear overnight. There are several generations here who have adopted urban lifestyles, many reluctantly, but have adapted as best they could to a home away from home. But it hasn’t been easy - it still isn’t.

To understand who we are, is to understand who you are and the beliefs that are commonly held about us. The Royal Commission (RCAP) summed it up well, "Many Canadians think of Aboriginal people as living on reserves or at least in rural areas. This perception is deeply rooted and persistently reinforced. Yet almost half of Aboriginal people in Canada live in cities and towns".

It goes on to say, "The information and policy vacuum can be traced at least in part to long-standing ideas in non-Aboriginal culture about where Aboriginal people ‘belong’. There is a history in Canada of putting Aboriginal people ‘in their place’ on reserves and in rural communities." RCAP found there's a perception that Aboriginal cultures are incompatible with the demands of industrialized urban society.

As RCAP reported, "This leads all too easily to the assumption that Aboriginal people living in urban areas must deny their culture and heritage in order to succeed – that they must assimilate into this other world. The corollary is that once Aboriginal people migrate to urban areas, their identity as Aboriginal people becomes irrelevant."

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, research undertaken for RCAP, contradicts the idea that Aboriginal people consider their cultures and traditions irrelevant to urban life.

They emphasize that to cope in the urban milieu, support for enhancing and maintaining their culture and identity is essential. Whenever that support is absent, the urban experience is profoundly unhappy for Aboriginal people."

While most urban Aboriginal people speak English here, many also speak their languages, or are working toward the preservation and renewal of them. They have distinctive cultures and traditions. Some consider themselves to be more traditional, while others are more likely to describe and define themselves in contemporary terms.

Most urban Aboriginals are young people. Most urban Aboriginals are women - many with lives of desperation and great need.

Despite the great challenges they face, their interests can range for example, from the pursuit of the Internet’s ‘dot-com’ way of life, to hip-hop music, to learning about ethnobotany and the traditional ways of their elders.

In many ways Aboriginal youth in the cities are very much like their non-Aboriginal neighbours. They have hopes, dreams, and a desire to enjoy life. They want to participate in all the activities --- from both their own cultures, and the mainstream, including entertainment, education, sports and recreation.

But unlike on a sports field, they do not find it to be a level playing field - - - not in schools, businesses, politics - and certainly not in the local media. They feel frustrated. They have growing doubts about things getting better.

In fact, many feel it is getting worse.

The recent protest by Native youth in the Penticton office of Alliance party leader Stockwell Day is a clear illustration of the mounting fear that Aboriginal people have about their rights being eroded even further. Rather than seeing improvements, youth are seeing Aboriginal people as the targets of a growing tide of racism. They feel threatened by what they are witnessing.

What RCAP found was that relationships between Aboriginal people and the remainder of the urban population were fragile, if not hostile.

They could have been speaking about today.

Since RCAP was released, urban Aboriginal people as individuals, organizations and communities, have been working hard to bring improvements into the lives of their children and families in Vancouver. But we have barely scratched the surface of the problems.

We are working closely with all levels of government because they realize our urban problems, are theirs too. They also acknowledge that by working together we will find comprehensive solutions to the urban crisis that impacts us all.

Knowing all of this, I must respectfully ask, how is it Commissioners, that we are only here now as urban Aboriginal people applying for something that other non-Aboriginal Canadians have enjoyed and taken for granted for decades? It is because we are 'finding our voice', as urban Aboriginals.

Knowing all of this, how is it Commissioners that we heard during these hearings about the difficulty you are having considering AVR's proposal to work with one of your commercial broadcasters. It is a plan that would provide enough funds to accelerate the radio network in order to accelerate our education and community development work? Perhaps they have not made our needs clear?

We’re here to support the Aboriginal Voices Radio application, but we also are here to help inform you of what our expectations are, and if possible to help make your decision an easier one.

It is my understanding, Commissioners these are public resources.

The Vancouver Aboriginal community expects you to approve the Aboriginal Voices Radio proposal. We also expect you will approve their comprehensive plan that includes sufficient funding to provide a network service as quickly as possible. They shouldn’t have to face a struggle from day one.

Frankly, it astounds me that there can be any doubt - or any comparison between our critical needs and the needs of those large commercial radio companies that are here wooing you, pressuring you --- only because they want to make more money. Do they even really care about radio anymore?

My message to you is a simple one, Commissioners. We are here because we want to make a difference - now and not ten years from now. We want to help create a better life for Aboriginal women, youth, elders --- our children and their children’s children.

But we need your help in making this happen!