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Ontario press release

April 9, 2010

More healing for Aboriginal victims of crime

First Nations, Inuit and Metis victims of crime throughout Moosonee, Moose Factory and the James Bay area now have access to an increased number of healing services in their community.

Through the Aboriginal Victims Support Grant Program, the Payukotayno- James and Hudson Bay Family Services Centre in Moosonee has built a wilderness camp for traditional healing and acquired new equipment to extend services to communities along the James Bay coast. The centre provides workshops, training, healing circles and ceremonies for Aboriginal victims of all ages.

The Moose Cree First Nation in Moose Factory also received a grant to enhance its existing crisis and referral services by providing additional training to workers and extending services to remote areas.

Earl Cheechoo, President, Payukotayno: James and Hudson Bay Family Services stated, "We are thankful to be able to reach out and help so many. It can be hard for victims in remote fly-in communities to access support. Now, through this program, we are able to help the communities and give them the support they need."

Chief Norman Hardisty Jr., Moose Cree First Nation said, "With additional training, new staff and new transportation, our capacity to help those in need is significantly enhanced. We are thankful for the ability to provide these services to the people in this area. We want to be able to give them the support they need and this grant helps us do that."

Two million dollars in one-time funding has been awarded to 19 Aboriginal organizations for 20 local projects that support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, hate crimes and historic abuse in remote areas of Ontario.

Payukotayno: James and Hudson Bay Family Services received $212,000 for its project and Moose Cree First Nation received $69,000.

A news release explained that in addition to these grants, Ontario is developing an Aboriginal Justice Strategy with a vision to provide coordinated, responsive justice services to First Nations, Inuit and Metis people.

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Also of interest on this topic . . .

Aboriginal People as Victims of Crime

* Aboriginal peoples made up 4% of Canada’s population in 2006 among whom 60% identified as First Nations, 33% as Métis, and 4% as Inuit;

* This population is young compared to the rest of Canada with a median age of 27 compared to the Canadian median age of 40. Almost half (48%) of the Aboriginal population in Canada is under the age of 25;

* The Aboriginal population in Canada grew by 45% between 1996 and 2006, almost six times faster than the growth rate among the non-Aboriginal population;

* The unemployment rate among the Aboriginal population was nearly double that of the non-Aboriginal population in 2007 (10.6% compared to 5.9%);

* A larger proportion of Aboriginal people live in over-crowded homes than do non-Aboriginal people in Canada (11% versus 3%) as well as in homes in need of major repairs (23% versus 7%);

* According to self-reported information from the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS), Aboriginal people were three times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to experience a violent victimization such as an assault, sexual assault or robbery (319 versus 101 incidents per 1,000 population). This is similar to findings from the 1999 GSS, the last time the GSS was conducted;

* Violent incidents were much more likely to be committed against younger Aboriginal people than they were against their older counterparts. Those aged 15 to 34 years were nearly two and a half times more likely to experience a violent victimization compared to those who were 35 years and older (461 incidents versus 192 incidents per 1,000 population);

* Violent incidents committed against Aboriginal people were more likely to have been perpetrated by someone who was known to the victim (56%), such as a relative, friend, neighbour or acquaintance, compared to violent incidents committed against non-Aboriginal victims (41%). Aboriginal people were victimized by a stranger in 25% of all violent incidents, compared to 45% of incidents committed against non-Aboriginal victims;

* Consistent with what was found in 1999, 21% of Aboriginal people reported having experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by a spouse in the five years preceding the 2004 survey. This compares to 6% of non-Aboriginal people who experienced spousal violence over the same time period; and,

* Aboriginal people are much more likely to be victims of homicide than non-Aboriginal people. Between 1997 and 2000, the average homicide rate for Aboriginal people was 8.8 per 100,000 population, almost seven times higher than that for non-Aboriginal people (1.3 per 100,000 population).

Victimization in Canada’s Territories

* According to the 2004 GSS, residents of the territories were three times more likely than provincial residents to experience a violent victimization such as sexual assault, robbery or physical assault (315 versus 106 incidents per 1,000 population);

* Residents of the North experienced higher levels of spousal violence than their counterparts in the provinces. Approximately 12% of northern residents reported being the victim of some form of violence at the hands of a current and/or previous spouse or common-law partner in the five years preceding the survey. This compares to 7% of the population in the provinces;

* Residents of Nunavut were far more likely to have been victims of spousal violence (22%) than residents of the Northwest Territories (11%) and the Yukon Territory (9%);

* Similar to findings from the victimization survey, police-reported crime rates in the territories were substantially higher than rates in the rest of Canada. Specifically, in 2005, crime rates in the North were over four times higher than rates in the provinces (33,186 compared to 7,679 incidents per 100,000 population); and,

* In 2005, the Northwest Territories had the highest police-reported crime rate among the three territories at 41,245 incidents per 100,000 population. This rate was 1.3 times higher than the rate in Nunavut, 1.8 times higher than that in Yukon and nearly three times higher than that in Saskatchewan, the province with the highest provincial crime rate (14,320).

Sources:

* Brzozowski, J., Taylor-Butts, A. and Johnson, S. 2006. “Victimization and offending among the Aboriginal population in Canada” Juristat. Catalogue no. 85-002-XIE, Vol. 26, no. 3. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

* de Léséleuc, S. and Brzozowski, J. 2006 “Victimization and offending in Canada’s Territories” Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Profile Series. Catalogue no. 85F0033MIE. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

* Pérusse, D. 2008. “Aboriginal People Living Off-reserve and the Labour Market: Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2007.” Catalogue no. 71-477-X. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

* Statistics Canada. 2008. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis, and First Nations, 2006 Census.” Catalogue no. 97-558-XIE. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.