A recent U.N. report on racial discrimination has noted something that many in Canada have been decrying for years-the substandard living conditions experienced by many of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples.
The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported a “lack of substantial progress” in Canada’s efforts to right what it described as “the dramatic inequality in living standards still experienced by Aboriginal people,” especially native women, who are more likely than non-native women to suffer “violent death, rape, and domestic violence.”
The plight of Canada’s natives is not a new story, sadly, but the U.N. report offers an outsider’s perspective at how little successive federal governments have done to alleviate these deplorable conditions. Jim Prentice, the Indian Affairs minister in the Conservative government, blames the Liberals for years of inaction on the file. Indeed, the fact that Prentice’s department is still called “Indian Affairs” when natives have not been referred to as “Indians” for years highlights the current disconnect between government policy and the real problems faced by Aboriginal communities.
Partisan finger-pointing aside, no government has taken the action needed to help bring “Canada’s Third World” out of abject poverty and stigmatization. Some observers have argued that the Kelowna agreements crafted by the previous Liberal government would have gone a long way, but they were scuttled when Paul Martin’s government fell and Prime Minister Harper chose not to continue them.
The conventional wisdom regarding the appalling state of First Nations reserves in one of the wealthiest and most equitable countries in the world is that Canada’s approximately 1.3 million Aboriginals do not carry much political clout, and thus the money needed to seriously repair the reserves is spent currying political favour with a more substantial voting bloc.
That tired argument should no longer hold sway over policymakers. The entire population has grown more aware of Aboriginal issues in recent years, most famously because of the contaminated water crisis in Kasheshewan, but also due to increased media coverage of the drug abuse, suicide, and social marginalization that afflict many in the Aboriginal community. These issues are not only limited to natives on reserves, as evidenced by the disproportionate number in the homeless populations of major cities like Toronto.
The First Nations are not a passive people waiting to be saved, nor do they always express their grievances in the most mature and constructive way. Yet beyond the posturing at Caledonia and the provincial government’s knee-jerk reaction to the land claim dispute, complex issues of poverty and health care can only be addressed in a spirit of cooperation between native leaders, federal politicians and NGOs. Programs like the book drives led by Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman and the RCMP’s community policing initiatives that involve Aboriginal elders in the judicial process are positive steps toward raising awareness and making natives a part of the solution. More initiatives like these are needed to empower Aboriginals and make them see government as a partner, not an overlord or adversary.
Ultimately, Aboriginal populations must decide to band together to fight issues like drug addiction and domestic abuse, with help from government programs. But with no paved roads on reserves, inadequate healthcare, and contaminated water to contend with, native leaders find it difficult to address larger social concerns. The government must practically and efficiently provide funding for basic amenities like roads and electricity so Aboriginal communities have a stable base on which to build. Canada must stop treating the Aboriginal population like squatters, and start treating them like citizens.
This is a chance to show all countries struggling with racial discrimination that we are indeed the fair and equitable society we are reputed to be. Whatever government puts the necessary funds into native reserves may not win many voters, but every citizen should feel proud of a leader who chooses to help end Canada’s national embarrassment. Harper is in funding-announcement mode, with recent pledges for Ontario transit, Saskatchewan farming, and Alberta green initiatives. Now is the perfect time to make a similar pledge to fix the infrastructure in Canada’s native reserves and give Aboriginals a fighting chance.
