Report shows significant gap in education, employment

The significant education gap between First Nations people and the general population is directly affecting the employment opportunities for Aboriginal people, particularly in Saskatchewan, according to a report recently released by Dr. Eric Howe, a University of Saskatchewan economics professor. The study Employment of First Nations People: Saskatchewan Lags Behind referenced 2006 Census data (the 2011 Census did not use long form for data collection), which found 58.6 per cent of Saskatchewan’s First Nations adult population did not have a high school diploma, compared to 29.9 per cent of the population at large. “Our employment record of First Nations people is—frankly the word is appalling,” Howe told CBC News. “We have a big labour shortage in Saskatchewan right now and we need people to fill those positions,” Jim Reiter, minister of government relations and minister responsible for First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs, said. “While we need to do a lot of work in the Aboriginal community to decrease the unemployment rate, there is jobs for both First Nations and immigrants as well.” The most recent Statistics Canada reporting indicates that the First Nations labour force has shrunk by nearly 1,600 jobs over the last year and that the Métis labour force has shrunk by 400 jobs. NDP employment critic Cam Broten contends that the Saskatchewan Party’s decision to cut the Aboriginal Employment Development Program in the next budget will lead to further Aboriginal unemployment.