Make Poverty History: The First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity

1. Make Poverty History: The First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity RECOGNITION RESPECT SHARING RESPONSIBILITY Take Action Make Your Vote Count Write to Your Political Representative Strengthen Our Message

2. The Shocking Reality • Children • 1 in 4 First Nations children live in poverty compared to 1 in 6 Canadian children • 1 in 8 are disabled; double the rate among Canadian children • Suicide accounts for 38% of all deaths for First Nations youth aged 10-19 • Our Homes • Overcrowding is double the Canadian rate • Mould contaminates almost half of all First Nations households • 12% of First Nations communities have to boil their drinking water • Our Communities • First Nations ranked 68th according to United Nations Human Development Index vs. 8th for Canada • 80% of First Nations peoples have personal incomes below $30,000 per year. • More than half of First Nations peoples are not employed • Life expectancy is 7.4 & 5.2 yrs less for First Nations men and women respectively • Diabetes is 3-5 times and tuberculosis 8-10 times the Canadian average

3. Truth About Spending on First Nations • Per capita spending on First Nations is half the amount for average Canadians (between $7,000-$8,000 compared to $15,000-$16,000) • First Nations population figures are included in CHST calculations but provinces/territories are not accountable for spending on First Nations peoples, and some explicitly exclude First Nations on-reserve by legislation or policy. • The Auditor General of Canada reports that between 1999 and 2004, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada funding increased by only 1.6%, excluding inflation, while the status First Nation population increased by 11.2% • Since 2000, First Nations budgets have declined by almost 13% • By contrast, Canada Health and Social Transfers to the Provinces are growing at an average rate of 6.6% per year  • By 2009-10, CHST will have increased by 33% over 5 years • If the same rate of growth had been applied to First Nations federal spending, the cumulative new dollars received over the ten year period would have been $14.5 billion.

4. Failure to Act • Fastest growing population in Canada • Few opportunities to share in Canada’s prosperity • Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples estimated that the cost of status quo will be $11B annually by 2016 • Royal Bank of Canada concluded that costs of implementing RCAP are more affordable in the long-run than “maintaining the status quo, the truly daunting cost of doing nothing“ (1997) Failure to act on First Nations poverty is the most significant impediment to Canada’s competitiveness in the global economy

5. Creating Opportunities/Building on Success • By 2025, more Canadian citizens will be dependent on the social safety net than contributing to the tax base • Immigration alone cannot compensate for Canada’s population decline • First Nations population on-reserve is growing at a rate nearly three times the Canadian average • Over 50% of the First Nations population is under 23 years old • Harvard University has concluded that all sustained development involves Tribal Governments asserting their right and capacity to govern themselves • Cultural continuity -- community level preservation of cultural past and future control – is related to less youth suicide among First Nations Resources are not enough. Real self-sufficiency by stable First Nations governments is critical.

6. The First Nations Plan • Supreme Court cases of Haida, Taku, and Mikisew establish that resource development projects require consultation and accommodation with First Nations governments • Resource revenue sharing agreements and improved Impact Benefit Agreements provide a stable economic investment climate • The Conference Board of Canada’s 2003 study of business recommended: • Settling land claims and treaty negotiations; • Engaging First Nations-Crown approaches to economic development, capacity building, performance measurement and accountability • Enhancing communication and collaboration between government, First Nations and private industry to match education to business needs • Developing and implementing a process to meet the Crown’s fiduciary duty to consult in the permit and approvals process

7. The First Nations Plan • Creating opportunities and building on our successes so that First Nations citizens contribute fully to Canada’s economic competitiveness. • Achieving sustainability by ensuring that First Nations have adequate and equitable funding capacity to enable their citizens to reach their full potential; • Implementing structural changes that facilitate First Nations control over the content, design, delivery, and management of all our programs and services. • The First Nations Plan is reasonable, achievable and necessary to ensure a productive and competitive Canada for all Canadians.

8. Getting Involved • Sign-up to the campaign at www.afn.ca. • Write to your Member of Parliament. • Host an event to raise awareness. • Come to the Make Poverty History: The First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity national event at the Rogers Centre Pow Wow in Toronto on Friday, November 24th at 2:30 pm. • Contact: Bryan Hendry, A/AFN Communications Director 1-866-869-6789, extension 229 bhendry@afn.ca