Federal budget goes over better than provincial: Indigenous leaders
- EFN Staff | March 28, 2017
Indigenous leaders had more positives to say about this year’s federal budget than Saskatchewan’s provincial budget, both of which were released on Wednesday March 22nd, 2017.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde says last year’s federal budget for Indigenous funding was $8.4 billion and has increased by $3.4 billion this year over two years. After speaking with other chiefs across Canada Bellegarde said they cannot remember a time when Indigenous people had that amount of funding.
“It’s good to have that amount of resources allocated,” he says. “Twenty years of neglect and our issues being put to the side, there’s huge demands and needs of housing, education, water, infrastructure and healthcare. The gaps exist because of neglect.”
The budget increase will be going into investing in more housing on-reserve across Canada and to hopefully reduce the number of boil water advisories in many Indigenous communities. Bellegarde welcomes the $90 million for post-secondary students as the waitlist reaches up to 10,000 students waiting for funding for school – a waitlist that has lingered for many years.
“If we don’t start addressing these issues, the gap is going to keeping getting bigger and bigger,” he says. “The challenge now is making sure they get out in a very effective manner so they have a substantive impact and bring a transformational change for our people.”
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron responded to the Federal Budget in a media release that FSIN is optimistic for the investments in education, health, justice and infrastructure.
“We at the FSIN have always said that making investments in the education and health of our young people must be a priority, and we see some positive commitments from the federal government toward [Indigenous people],” he says. “Dollar for dollar, we know that paying for the education of First Nations people is the most lucrative investment you can make.”
Turning to the provincial budget, First Nations and Metis will be looking at $210 million in program funding, which is a 1% increase from last year’s budget. Chief Cameron says FSIN is disappointed in the funding cuts to Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), which will have an impact on First Nations students.
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Trent Wotherspoon calls the Brad Wall government completely dishonest, saying they lied to the people of Saskatchewan.
“This budget is totally not fair…massive hikes to the taxes that Saskatchewan people pay,” he says. “A deceitful and reckless selloff of a Crown Corporation that provides services to an entire province.”
The Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) service will be discontinued after May 31st of this year due to decline in passengers. It was a decision that will leave many without a much-needed service and more than 230 without a job.
Warren McCall, the MLA for Regina Elphinstone-Centre, says a number of lies from the Saskatchewan Party government was happening long before the current budget was released.
“This is a government that made a bunch of bad choices and the problem is it’s not them that’s going to be paying the price for it, it’s the people of Saskatchewan,” he says. “Families are going to pay increased taxes, they are going to have a lot of hurt laid on them through healthcare and education…. it’s a sad day in that regard.”
NDP Athabasca MLA Buckley Belanger is disappointed in the Sask. Party government’s lack of investments for the communities in the North.
“Coming from Northern Saskatchewan, a lot of communities are dealing with the price around youth suicide,” he says. “Everything from the NORTEP program, they announced they are cutting the jobs, careers, counselling services in Northern Saskatchewan. That hurts as well.”