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| Reserving judgment: Prime Minister Paul Martin... - Friday, April 23, 2004 at 09:13 |
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reserving judgment: Prime Minister Paul Martin and aboriginal leaders spoke this week of a new future for Canada's aboriginals, but they won't create that future by clinging to the ideas of the past. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The most entrenched of those old ideas is the Indian reserve. A think-tank report, "Apartheid -- Canada's Ugly Secret," was released just prior to this week's aboriginal summit in Ottawa. Its recommendation that Canada scrap the reserve system should not be dismissed out of hand by either the government or aboriginal leaders. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Centre for Aboriginal Policy Change, which prepared the report, didn't use the word "apartheid" gratuitously. Canada's reserve system was conceived as part of a racist policy that once restricted the movement of aboriginal people, denied them the right to vote and even regulated what they could drink and what pets they could have. Reserves will probably always be haunted by the authoritarian spectre of the Indian agent. But aboriginal leaders still cling to the reserve concept. "Reserves are all that is left of the land we used to occupy and possess, so we're not about to give up reserves," says Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Reserve land is usually not owned by aboriginal people, but by the Crown, and held in trust for aboriginal bands. This is paternalism, not autonomy. The taxpayers federation report argues that, without individual property rights, wealth creation is an uphill battle. But it also acknowledges that common ownership of land is valued in some cultures. So it recommends that reserve land be transferred to the aboriginal people living on it now, who would then decide whether to own the property individually or in common. The taxpayers federation has taken an interest in this issue because the federal government spends about $7.5 billion a year on aboriginal affairs, for which even the government admits it may not be getting the best value for its money. Also, aboriginal people living on-reserve are not subject to the same tax laws as most Canadians. Rates of unemployment, suicide and infant mortality are high on reserves. And aboriginal people who move off-reserve often have little to bring with them to help them start a new life. Some band councils have succeeded in fostering business and wealth, while some reserves have no resources to manage. On others improper management of resources has prevented any improvement in quality of life. The new Independent Centre for First Nations Government might improve accountability. But more fundamental change may be needed. Reserves remain vastly unequal: some are little pieces of the Third World, others are dotted with satellite dishes and swimming pools. Poverty among aboriginal people is a complex problem, and the simple act of getting rid of reserves is unlikely to solve it. But any solution is unlikely to work with the current reserve system in place. Mr. Fontaine and others spoke this week of scrapping the Indian Act and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. If aboriginal leaders are sincere about moving forward, they should also take a long, hard look at reserves. |