Follow the money
The Fraser Institute played the Grinch last month by encouraging Canadian governments to confiscate what it portrays as overly lavish gifts under the Christmas trees of First Nations people.
According to a misleading study published in December by the right-wing think tank’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies, federal spending on Aboriginals is out of control and, it is implied, should be slashed. In “Ever Higher; Government Spending on Aboriginals since 1947,” Fraser researcher Mark Milke questions the growth in funding that he says increased by 880% on a per capita basis from 1950 to today. In 1950, Canada spent around $922 per person and today it is around $9,056 per person.
For each Canadian in 1950, Canada’s federal government spent $1,504 and today they spend $7,316. A measly 387% increase that is not only implied but showcased. Even though the authors of this information are shown to be part and parcel of the Fraser Institute there is a disclaimer. The Institute’s website covers itself by saying, “The opinions expressed by staff or author(s) are those of the individuals themselves, and should not be interpreted to reflect those of the Institute, its Board of Trustees, or its donors and supporters.”
And it is no wonder as detractors have said the report is misleading at best. It is assume you can calculate the spending on Canada’s Aboriginals by merely dividing the Aboriginal Affairs budget by the total Aboriginal population. Of the estimated $7.8 billion budget over $1 billion is consumed by the department itself. Hell, more than $100 million of that budget was spent on court cases fighting First Nations.
Nor does the spending figures take into account the budgets of provinces devoted to education and other programs for non-Natives that should be figured into per capita spending figures. The federal government has sole responsibility for social spending on reserves.
Ken Coates, the Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, noted that the past 40 years or so has seen a change in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians that replaced decades of neglect. Coates also observed that spending on Aboriginal people needs to be compared, not with spending on the average Canadian, but with spending on Canadians similarly situated to Aboriginal people. Many reserves are in remote northern areas where it is expensive to provide services.
In reality it is all about equal opportunities. Canada is considered sixth in the world by the United Nations Human Development index while Canada’s First Nations are considered 63rd. No one can say equality is an easy opportunity to grasp given that simple non-partisan statistic about our great country.
It’s all about impressions and Tenelle Star, a Saskatchewan First Nations student, had that problem. She gained notoriety recently by wearing a sweatshirt bearing the message, “Got Land?” The back of her hoodie then suggested, “Thank an Indian.”
Her school asked her to remove her sweater as it “offended some people.” Some teachers even felt it was racist. She was told to wear it inside out. Several meetings later, Star was able to preserve her right to free speech by wearing the shirt to school.
In many ways that is what the Fraser Institute report is all about. Creating a reaction that doesn’t necessarily reflect reality or the true situation concerning Aboriginal spending. The Assembly of First Nations said only $5.4 billion of INAC’S $7.8 billion budget is actually spent on First Nations people. Even then, the department’s funding only represents 0.004% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.
The Fraser report, however, makes for easy headlines. It also feeds the envy and resentment that the powerful people who fund this propaganda factory seek to create among Canadians. In reality, “Ever Higher” is where the Fraser Institute wants to place the bar against the achievement of equality for Aboriginal people in Canada.