Federal government eliminates funding for First Nations Statistical Institute
FEDERAL BUDGET DECISION ELIMINATES FUNDING TO THE FIRST NATIONS STATISTICAL INSTITUTE
OTTAWA – March 30, 2012 – The federal government's Budget 2012 has resulted in cuts to the First Nations Statistical Institute's operational funding by 50% in 2012-2013 and eliminated all of its funding in 2013-14.
Based in Nipissing First Nation with a satellite office in Ottawa, the First Nations Statistical Institute (FNSI) is the only First Nations-led and managed Crown corporation in Canada. FNSI was founded in 2006 with a mandate to gather statistical information on the demographics of First Nations communities—and thereby fill an important gap in understanding the social and economic conditions of First Nations peoples throughout Canada.
"There are social and economic disparities that are widespread and so it was important to provide data to measure progress," said Keith Conn, FNSI's Chief Operating Officer. "There are gaps in data and statistics for all Aboriginal peoples that are either missed or excluded from the Census and FNSI is currently working to fill those gaps in support of First Nation communities."
FNSI is preparing economic data for a project in conjunction with the First Nations Financial Management Board and the First Nations Finance Authority that would see several communities create a borrowing pool to issue bonds for access to long term debt financing for the purpose of paying for infrastructure like roads and schools, thereby lessening the financial burden on governments. FNSI is also helping communities make sense of their administrative data to better plan for their education, housing and labour force needs.
"Over the next weeks and months, FNSI will provide certain core services on the projects it has undertaken with First Nations communities, while seeking ways to wind down its operations over 2012," added Keith Conn.
ABOUT FNSI
The First Nations Statistical Institute (FNSI) is an autonomous, First Nations-led Crown Corporation. FNSI was established to increase the quality and accessibility of First Nations statistics to improve planning, decision-making, and investment.
FNSI:
- Collects and aggregates objective, high-quality, non-partisan First Nations statistical data
- Assists communities in data collection, research, analysis, and data-sharing
- Provides a direct link with communities for control of and access to their data
There are currently more than 250 databases across government departments and agencies that relate to First Nations statistics. These databases are not currently searchable by a central portal. FNSI also works to build the expertise of First Nations and their governments in the area of statistics and data management.
Backgrounder: The First Nations Statistical Institute
For further information contact:
Keith Conn,
Chief Operating Officer
First Nations Statistical Institute
(705) 493-8311
info@fnsi-ispn.com
www.fnsi-ispn.com
289 Ted Commanda Drive
Nipissing First Nation
Garden Village, Ontario
P2B 3K2