Campaign launched to Make Poverty History

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Representatives from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) gathered at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge in Saskatoon on Oct. 19 for the launch of a First Nations-specific Make Poverty History campaign.

The goal of the Canada-wide Make Poverty History campaign is four-fold, calling for more and better foreign aid, trade justice, canceling the debt owned by the world's poorest countries and ending child poverty in Canada. The focus of the First Nations campaign is drawing attention to the poverty many First Nation people are living in in Canada.

The AFN's campaign literature includes a number of startling statistics. One in four First Nation children live in poverty. More than one-third of First Nation households with children are overcrowded. Almost half of all First Nation houses are contaminated by mold. About one-third of the First Nation people believe their main supply of drinking water is unsafe.

More than half of the First Nations children in Canada are either overweight or obese, the information goes on to state. Diabetes rates among First Nation people are three times the national average. Tuberculosis rates are eight to 10 times the national average. More than one-third of deaths among First Nation children aged 10 to 12 are due to suicides.

Economically, things are bleak as well. More than half of First Nation people are unemployed, and about half have household incomes below $30,000 a year.

Meanwhile, spending on First Nations is failing to keep up with inflation and a rapidly growing population, with per capita spending on First Nation people sitting at about half of that of the average Canadian.

The cornerstone of the Make Poverty History for First Nations campaign is the First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity, a three-point plan that would help turn around the dismal situation being faced by First Nations people.

The plan calls for creating opportunities to allow First Nations people to become fully involved in the economy, achieving sustainability by guaranteeing First Nations adequate and equitable funding, and providing First Nations with control over content, design, delivery and management of programs and services.

The campaign encourages people to make their voices heard by filling out an online petition on the AFN Web site (www.afn.ca).

"First Nations poverty is the greatest social injustice in Canada," the petition reads. "By signing, you are helping to ensure that First Nations poverty is an issue in the next federal budget and election."

"This campaign is aimed at raising the awareness of all Canadians on the consequences of the Canadian government's failure to act over the past decade, and most especially, since finalizing the First Ministers Meeting Accord on Aboriginal issues just last year," Angus Toulouse, AFN regional chief for Ontario said during the launch of the campaign.

"All Canadians must call for immediate action on the part of the government of Canada to stop the cycle of poverty and support First Nations governments to address this issue for the sake of our future generations."

On the political front, it appears the accord on Aboriginal issues arrived at during the first ministers meeting in Kelowna last year may still have some life in it. A bill calling for implementation of the Kelowna Accord has received second reading in the House of Commons and has been referred on to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.

The agreement, arrived at prior to the last election when the Liberals were still in power, included a commitment to set aside $5 billion over five years to improve the lives of Aboriginal people, funding improvements in areas such as education, housing, health and economic development. When the Conservative Party came into power, they chose not to implement the accord.