Federal budget fails to address First Nation needs, say leaders

Create: 12/01/2015 - 19:32

While Conservatives called the federal budget “fair and reasonable” and the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs expressed relief that his department was spared more drastic cuts, First Nations leaders in northern Ontario panned the budget for failing to address their needs.
The Conservative’s first majority budget came amid months of calls for increased funding of Aboriginal education and the need for clean drinking water on reserve.
The budget is also the first since the First Nations-Crown gathering in Ottawa in January, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged a new relationship between the federal government and First Nations across the country.
Greg Rickford, MP for Kenora and parliamentary secretary to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs, said the spirit of that gathering was reflected in the budget.
“This budget is an act of good faith with respect to the commitments we made at the gathering,” Rickford said. “We continue to be a pragmatic government working with First Nations on the issues that affect them.”
On the education side, the Conservatives have pledged $275 million over three years towards improving First Nations education. Much of that funding, $175 million, will go towards rebuilding or renovating schools on reserves across Canada. The remainder will be used to support First Nation literacy programs.
The government also pledged to implement a First Nation Education Act by 2014, something Rickford said would set legally enforceable standards to ensure First Nation education outcomes match those of the provinces.
In terms of wastewater and clean drinking water, the budget set $330.8 million over three years towards improving the state of water on reserve.
The money is just a portion of the over $1 billion needed to bring First Nations water infrastructure up to Canadian standards, according to a recent federal government report.
Rickford acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to be done on providing clean water, especially in northern Ontario where over half of the Nishnawbe Aski communities have had a boil-water advisory over the past five years. But he said the money allocated to clean water in the budget continues the work that the government has already done on building capacity, upgrading and maintaining infrastructure and setting enforceable standards for wastewater and drinking water on reserve.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy said that while the budget provides funds for specific First Nation needs, it does little to renew the relationship that the government committed to during the Crown-First Nations gathering.
“This budget signals that the federal government is hearing us but not really listening,” said Beardy. “The investments in First Nations are a good start, but it does not adequately address the shortfalls that plague our communities.”
Beardy said that housing needs remains one of the most pressing problems in NAN communities, where many residents still live in shacks and overcrowded houses, but housing was not touched on in the budget.
He also noted that the education money allocated in the budget will not be enough to deal with the myriad of education issues facing NAN communities, never mind First Nations all across the country.
Meanwhile the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) called the budget a “piecemeal approach that will entrench poverty for First Nations people.”
Lake Huron Regional Grand Chief Isadore Day said the budget reinforces the government’s refusal to recognize the inherent and treaty rights of First Nations people to govern their own affairs.
“Our relationship with the Crown in Canada is a nation-to-nation one. Until governments recognize that, Canada will never achieve its full potential, nor enjoy the prosperity we should all be sharing,” Day said.
The budget also includes notice that the department of Northern Development and Aboriginal Affairs will be cut back by over $240 million over the next three years.
That is one of the smallest cutbacks of any federal department, something Rickford said came as a relief.
“We’ve been spared, comparatively, some of the austerity measures seen in other departments,” Rickford said.
The Kenora MP also pointed to the Urban Aboriginal Strategy funding included in the budget as another indication that the government is working to help First Nation people who have moved off-reserve.
“We’ve identified the urban Aboriginal population as young and growing,” Rickford said. “There’s a shift, of more Aboriginal people moving to cities, and we’re committed to helping create an innovative, dynamic group in cities.”

See also

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12/01/2015 - 19:37