More attacks on First Nations by urban groups interested in traditional lands and resources
Press Release
First Nations Peoples Have Better Opportunities Off Reserve, Think Tank Says
Ottawa - First Nations populations living off-reserve in cities tend have better median earnings, lower unemployment rates and better educational achievement than populations living on reserves, says a study commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).
Nevertheless, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) said the report is ideologically driven, and based on unsound data.
The study, based on 2006 census data from Statistics Canada, compared 10 First Nation reserves to towns or cities within the same province. The study included comparisons in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
"The 2006 census data confirms what many people suspect, that life is often better for Aboriginals in the cities than on reserves," the report's author Mark Milke said. Milke, a former CTF director, is a research director for the Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre think tank.
The study compared populations living in urban centres to those in neighbouring reserves. Reserves such as Wikwemikong, Westbank First Nation, Stoney First Nation, Peguis, Osoyoos Indian Band, Membertou Montagnais du Lac St. Jean, Lac la Ronge, Kahnawake and Burnt Church were included in the study.
Milke's study found that First Nations people living on reserve have a median annual income of $29,014, compared to a median annual income of $37,447 for those living off-reserve.
The study also said 49.6% of First Nations peoples have no university degree, trade certificate, or high school diploma, while the percentage for the general population of Canada, according to the 2006 census, is 15%.
In all but one of the comparisons, educational achievement on reserve trailed that of the general population in the nearby urban centre.
Only in Membertou, 50% of the on-reserve aboriginal population could lay claim to having had at least some post-secondary education, while in the comparative urban center of Cape Breton only 45.6% of the general population could make the same claim. According to the report, only 39% of First Nations people living in Cape Breton have at least some post-secondary education.
In most cases, Milke's comparisons found median earnings lower and unemployment rates higher for First Nations people on reserves compared to those living Canadian urban centres. The study also found in general, income and unemployment rates are healthier in Canadian towns and cities than on reserves.
Milke said he was able to find a few "happy exceptions" in his comparisons, such as the Osoyoos and Westbank reserves in British Columbia. The Osoyoss reserve runs a successful winery and its residents have comparable median incomes to first nations peoples living in the neighboring urban centre of Penticton.
While Milke's study did not draw any conclusions from its findings, the CTF's Manitoba director said the study builds a case for, "phasing out the Indian Act, eliminating reserves, extending private property rights to Aboriginal people and transferring government assistance directly to reserve members and not Band politicians."
Milke said he wanted readers to draw their own conclusions from the study, but said he feels there are really only two options. Milke said either First Nations people will decide as individuals to leave reserves in favour of better opportunities in urban centres, or reserves will be reformed to improve accountability and governance of band councils.
The AFN's senior director of strategic policy and planning Dan Wilson responded vehemently against the study. "This report is ideologically driven, there is nothing new and it uses bad data," he said, explaining that the 2006 census missed more than 200,000 status Indians who are listed on Government of Canada's own Indian Registry - a more than 25% discrepancy.
Wilson said more than 40 First nations do not have schools, and First nations schools receive at least $2,000 less per student than provincial schools.
"Lower educational attainment resulting from years of discrimination does not lead to the conclusion that reserves are the problem," he said.
Wilson said First Nations have made "tremendous achievements despite this sad history," and he said there about 20,000 small businesses owned and managed by First Nations people. Wilson said that over then next 10 years, approximately $300 billion in new economic developments will take place either on First Nations lands or their traditional territories, across Canada.
"This includes pipelines, hydro development, forestry, and mining. Wealth and employment have improved where First Nations have been consulted and included in economic development," Wilson said. "Respect for First Nations jurisdiction and fair funding are better solutions than any offered in this report."
By Sean McKibbon, smckibbon@economicnews.ca,. edited by Megan Ainscow, mainscow@economicnews.ca.