We Deserve Smarter Spending On Aboriginals

[Anonymous]

So much money is spent, at least in theory on Aboriginals. In reality, too much of that money is being spent on civil servants, lawyers, and consultants.



By Lorrie Goldstein of Sun News Media



Big spending really hasn't helped Indigenous Canadians, says new report



Billions of dollars in increased federal government spending has failed to improve the standard of living for Indigenous Canadians, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.



Despite a four-fold increase in spending between 1981 and 2016, the gap between Indigenous Canadians and other Canadians based on the Community Well-Being Index, which uses census data to measure income, employment, housing and formal education every five years, has barely budged in 35 years



In 1981 the gap was 19.5 points, compared to 19.1 points in 2016.



The Fraser study, Promise and Performance: Recent Trends in Government Expenditures on Indigenous Peoples warns that based on this data, a planned 50% increase in Indigenous spending to more than $17 billion annually in 2021-22, compared to $11 billion in 20152016, won't improve the lives of Indigenous Canadians.



Study author Tom Flanagan says the problem is that [size=150]"the majority of the outlay goes to civil servants and consultants, not to Indigenous persons."[/size]



"Clearly, more money hasn't meaningfully improved living standards for First Nations in Canada," Flanagan says.



"A constant flow of money from Ottawa has failed to solve the problems plaguing small, remote First Nations communities, yet the federal government continues to increase federal spending on Indigenous programs without material reforms."



Flanagan argues the biggest problem facing First Nations is a lack of economic opportunity because 70% of reserves are located more than 50 km from the nearest town or city and almost 20% have no yearround road connections to them.



"Development of natural resources such as forestry, oil and gas and minerals is by far the best hope that remote First Nations can have for prosperity," he writes. "Governments can overcome distance by fostering infrastructure, including roads, railways, pipelines, power lines, communication towers and harbours."



One problem with this, however, is that many First Nations are divided on the issue of pipelines crossing their lands.



Flanagan says one of the issues that most angers the public is the failure of federal governments of all political stripes to provide safe drinking water to all reserves.



The Trudeau government recently announced it will not fulfill its 2015 election promise to end all boil water advisories on reserves by March, 2021, and will now need to almost double the $1.65 billion it has already spent to complete the work.



The Fraser study reaches many of the same conclusions as a 2018 investigation by Canada's late auditor general, Michael Ferguson, who described the inability of Liberal and Conservative governments to improve the lives of Indigenous Canadians as an "incomprehensible failure."



"There are so many discussions about the need to close the socio-economic gaps between Indigenous people and other Canadians in this country and we don't see those gaps closing," Ferguson wrote.



"We don't even see that they (the federal government) know how to measure those gaps."



The previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper passed the First Nations Financial Transparency Act in a bid to get a handle on government spending on reserves.



However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended its most controversial provision in late 2015, which permitted the federal government to withhold funding from any band that failed to produce annual audited financial statements or disclose the salaries of chiefs and band councillors.



That said, studies by the federal auditor general have concluded that while federal, provincial and First Nations governments have all contributed to the problems, "most of the responsibility falls on the federal government."

[Anonymous]

Nothing will change. Too many vested interests are getting rich off of siphoning money meant for Aboriginal-Canadians. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is the one of the most corrupt government departments. It's right up there with Environment and Climate Change Canada.