Law Times

Page 10 May 2, 2016 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com FOCUS More money needed, says lawyer Will budget lead to changes for First Nations people? BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times I t's tempting to call the federal government's recent budget "ambitious" because of its commitments to Canada's indigenous people, but accord- ing to one lawyer, calling those promises ambitious is "a sad commentary on the status quo." The Liberals' first budget promised $8.4 billion over five years to indigenous commun- ities. Most of that cash will go to- wards improving health care for First Nations children, education, and building infrastructure for safe drinking water. "The positive is that you have the Liberal government tabling probably the most ambitious budget in recent memory when it comes to levelling the play- ing field and improving socio- economic conditions in aborig- inal communities," says Rob Miller, leader of Miller Titerle + Company LLP's First Nations economic development practice group. "But I think it's really a sad commentary on the status quo than it is a positive. The budget, in my mind, is about ad- dressing injustice and inequality that's really arisen from years of the federal government almost shirking its responsibilities to in- digenous people. Can you really call a budget ambitious when it's focused on clean drinking water for Canadians?" The budget, while laudable, is taking steps to correct "an em- barrassing and shameful past," Miller says. "I don't think it is really forwarding-thinking or helping bring Canada to a spot where there's now a respectful relationship that complies with direction from our courts." Peterborough, Ont.-based Ab- original lawyer David McRobert has been monitoring the federal government's spending patterns on indigenous issues over the past decade. He says he's spot- ted "a refreshing change" in the 2016 budget. In the 2013 budget, McRobert says the previous gov- ernment promised just $155 mil- lion over 10 years for infrastruc- ture improvements on reserves. "In stark contrast, the cur- rent budget promises $2.24 bil- lion over the next five years for infrastructure to end long-term boil-water advisories . . . and ad- dress wastewater and waste man- agement issues," he says, adding the recent budget also includes a spending promise of $1.2 billion over the next five years to sup- port "social infrastructure" in First Nations, Inuit, and northern communities. McRobert says he expects some of that spending will go into continued funding for re- serve policing, domestic vio- lence, healing circles, and other initiatives either begun under or continued by the Stephen Harper government. The feder- al government has also pledged $413.5 million over the next two years for improving primary and secondary education for First Nations children. In addition, an investment of $634.8 million will go towards immediate and long- er-term health-care needs of ab- original children, while $255 mil- lion over two years will go into funding roads, energy systems, and broadband connectivity. The Liberals' budget "ref lects the fact that you have some very experienced ministers," Mc- Robert says, adding Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Ben- nett and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould are well aware of the issues. "I imagine they are making their voices felt in cab- inet," he says. But while promising, the allo- cations in the budget are simply not enough to bring aboriginal communities across Canada up to the socio-economic baseline that the rest of Canada enjoys, ac- cording to Miller. "More money is needed," he says. McRobert agrees, adding one needs to only look at two recent events in Ontario's aboriginal communities to understand the depth of the need and the dearth of resources. In March, nine people died in a house fire in the remote Ontario First Nations community of Pikangikum. Although first responders rushed to the scene, they weren't able to douse the fire due to lack of running water. In April, the chief for the Attawapiskat First Nation declared a state of emergency after a rush of suicide attempts over- whelmed the community. "The First Nation [and] Inuit in Canada could absorb the en- tire budget [for] infrastructure probably in the course of a few years just to start to address some of the problems they have," Mc- Robert says. He adds that over- lapping issues such as housing, drug addiction, mental health problems, and lack of economic opportunities have amounted to "a permanent emergency in many communities for decades." Miller says there's also "a big hole" in the budget when it comes to capacity funding for aboriginal groups that are in- volved in reviewing government projects. The budget does promise funding for "aboriginal repre- sentative organizations," which typically include the Assembly of First Nations, Native Wom- en's Association of Canada, Mé- tis National Council, Inuit Ta- piriit Kanatami, and Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, accord- ing to Miller. But Miller says these groups don't typically get involved on project reviews, and the issue of capacity funding for engage- ment with the federal gov- ernment on specific projects for specific aboriginal groups is still "an important outstand- ing question." LT Rob Miller says the budget, while laudable, is taking steps to correct 'an embarrass- ing and shameful past' with First Nations people. Untitled-2 1 2016-04-12 2:57 PM

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