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From http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/iderd/ 

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. This year's theme is "Empowering Youth to Fight Racism". Cyberschoolbus invites you to learn, reflect, and take action against racial discrimination, a powerful issue that affects us all. 

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Press Release from the ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS OF QUEBEC AND LABRADOR

International Day against Racism - Colonialism against First Nations continues

     WENDAKE, QC, March 21 /CNW Telbec/ - On International Day against Racism, Canada may appear to be a country, in which racisms does not exist, but take a closer look, because part of its population, the First Nations, still have to confront racism. The type of racism they must deal with is bureaucratic in nature, as they are often considered to be second class citizens and their problems are usually shrugged off by the Federal government. Colonialism is alive and well in Canada.

     Yesterday, the Harper Government was blamed in a report by the Auditor General of Canada concerning one of its post-secondary education programs designed for Aboriginals. Young Aboriginals are penalized, although they should have the same opportunities as other young Canadians.

     Data from Statistics Canada shows that since 1996 the average increase needed to fund First Nations schools and to keep up with the increase in the population and the cost of living should have increased by 6.2% in Canada and 4.5% in Quebec. However our analysis shows that by keeping the increase in school funding at a flat 2% since 1996, the loss for 2009-2010 alone will amount to 267 million dollars in real monetary value in Canada and 28 million dollars in Quebec.

     It is no surprise that the maximum increase of 2% in post-secondary education has had a considerable impact on the number of students registered in post-secondary institutions, which in fact has dropped from 27,000 to 23,000, while waiting lists continue to grow. The Assembly of First Nations
(AFN) estimates that there are 10,500 students on waiting lists in Canada, due to the lack of funding to continue their post-secondary education.

     Housing for Aboriginal peoples is another example of bureaucratic racism.
The Federal government must make more efforts to improve the deplorable housing conditions in Aboriginal communities, by establishing new policies to increase the injection of new funds. It has been proven that there is a 1.5 billion short-fall in the funding needed to bring Aboriginal housing up to the level of the general population in Quebec

     "Is it normal in 2009 that we still have to fight with the government over policies that are completely outdated, and often based only on the race of an individual? What I find the most disappointing on this whole issue is the indifference of the general public to these outmoded policies. It is time for the entire population to examine their conscience on International Day against Racism" stated Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL).

     The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) is the regional body that represents the Chiefs of First Nations in Quebec and Labrador.

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/For further information: Alain Garon, Communications Officer, AFNQL, (418) 842-5020 or (418) 956-5720/