“Ottawa’s push to extend human rights protection to people living on reserves is just a smoke screen to avoid talking about more pressing issues like poverty, First Nations leader Lawrence Joseph says. Last month, the government said it will repeal a section of the Canadian Human Rights Act that prevents people on reserves from filing human rights complaints against band councils or the federal government. In a CBC interview Tuesday, Joseph, the chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said Ottawa has given the issue too high a priority and is ‘throwing up smoke screens all over the place to try to make themselves look good.’” (01/02/07)