Urban Aboriginal Youth: An Action Plan for Change

The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

SIXTH REPORT

The Honourable Thelma Chalifoux, Chair
The Honourable Janis G. Johnson, Deputy Chair

October 2003

THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON ABORIGINAL PEOPLES

The Honourable Senators 

(*Ex officio members) 

Clerk of the Committee
Adam Thompson  

Analyst from the Research Branch, Library of Parliament
Tonina Simeone 

Note:   The Honourable Senators Catherine S. Callbeck, Gérald J. Comeau, Ethel M. Cochrane, Michael Forrestall, Elizabeth Hubley, Brenda M. Robertson, Gerry St-Germain, P.C., Charlie Watt and Lois Wilson also served on the Committee.

Extract from the Journals of the Senate, Tuesday, 29 October 2002:

    The Honourable Senator Chalifoux moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Milne :

    That the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, pursuant to the input it has received from urban Aboriginal people and organizations, be authorized to examine and report upon issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth in Canada.  In particular, the Committee shall be authorized to examine access, provision and delivery of services; policy and jurisdictional issues; employment and education; access to economic opportunities; youth participation and empowerment; and other related matters;

    That the papers and evidence received and taken on the subject and the work accomplished by the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples during the First Session of the Thirty-seventh Parliament be referred to the Committee; and

    That the Committee report to the Senate no later than 27 June 2003.

    The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Extract from the Journals of the Senate, Thursday, 3 June 2003:

    The Honourable Senator Chalifoux, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C.

    That, notwithstanding the Order of the Senate adopted on 29 October 2002, the date for the final report by the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples in its study of issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth be extended from 27 June 2003, to 30 October 2003.

    After debate,

    The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Paul C. Bélisle
Clerk of the Senate

Extract from the Journals of the Senate, Thursday, 27 September 2001:

    The Honourable Senator Chalifoux moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Christensen :

    THAT the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, pursuant to the input it has received from urban Aboriginal people and organizations, be authorized to examine and report upon issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth in Canada.  In particular, the Committee shall be authorized to examine access, provision and delivery of services; policy and jurisdictional issues; employment and education; access to economic opportunities; youth participation and empowerment; and other related matters;

    THAT the Committee report to the Senate no later than 28 June 2002; and

    THAT the Committee be authorized, notwithstanding customary practice, to table its report to the Clerk of the Senate if the Senate is not sitting, and that a report so tabled be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.

    The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Extract from the Journals of the Senate, Tuesday, 11 June 2002:

    The Honourable Senator Chalifoux moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Milne :

    That notwithstanding the Order of the Senate adopted on 27 September 2001, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, which was authorized to examine issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth, be empowered to present its final report no later than 19 December 2002.

    The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

 Paul C. Bélisle
Clerk of the Senate

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

LIST OF RECOMMENDED ACTIONS BY PART

PART I: INTRODUCTION
REFRAMING THE CURRENT DIALOGUE
THE COMMITTEE'S APPROACH
REPORT OUTLINE 
OTHER RELEVANT INQUIRIES
DEFINING "URBAN" AND "YOUTH"
CONCLUSION

PART II: SETTING THE CONTEXT
INTRODUCTION
THE GENERAL PICTURE
WHERE DO ABORIGINAL PEOPLES LIVE?
WHO ARE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES?
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
CONCLUSION

PART III: THE CONTEMPORARY
JURISDICTIONAL FRAMEWORK
THE CURRENT AMBIGUITY
FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
EMERGING TRENDS
THE PORTABILITY OF RIGHTS
GETTING BEYOND JURISDICTION: THE ISSUE OF POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
RECASTING THE CURRENT APPROACH TO POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
REFORM OF THE POST-SECONDARY STUDENT SUPPORT PROGRAM

PART IV: PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
KEY PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY
     1.1 Support for Community-based Urban Aboriginal Initiatives
    1.2 Involve Youth in Decision-making Processes
    1.3 Foster Community and Youth Capacity Building
    1.4 Funding Certainty and Flexibility
    1.5 Coordinated and Holistic Approach
    1.6 Aboriginal Service Delivery
    1.7 Culturally Appropriate Programming and Status Blind Service Delivery
    1.8 Suggestions for Mainstream Service Providers
    1.9 Conclusion: Key Principles for Effective Service Delivery

SERVICE DELIVERY REFORM: THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS

BUILDING ON SUCCESS:
THE URBAN MULTIPURPOSE ABORIGINAL YOUTH INITIATIVE

PART V: THE NEEDS OF YOUTH
A MULTITUDE OF PRESSURE POINTS

THE NEEDS OF YOUTH
     1.1 Urban Aboriginal Youth Centres
    1.2 Urban Transition Programs
    1.3 Sport, Art and Recreation
    1.4 Education: Addressing Drop-out Rates
    1.5 Health and Sexuality: Aboriginal Youth Teen Pregnancy
    1.6 Exiting Gang Life: The Need for a Safe Place to Go
    1.7 Substance and Alcohol Abuse: The Need for Aboriginal Youth Treatment Centres
    1.8 Employment and Training: Long-term Strategies Required

CONCLUSION: THE WAY FORWARD

PART VI: FUTURE DIRECTIONS

APPENDIX I: FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR URBAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLE

APPENDIX II: LIST OF WITNESSES

APPENDIX III: OTHER WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED

ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For the past eighteen months the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples has been examining issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth in Canada with a view to developing an “Action Plan for Change.”  The Committee held 44 meetings.  Most of these meetings were public sessions during which the Committee heard from over 128 witnesses.  In addition, in March 2003 the Committee travelled to Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver during which the Committee heard from several Aboriginal organizations and service providers and conducted a series of Aboriginal youth roundtables.

Canada has not adequately met the needs of Aboriginal^([1])  youth living in urban areas.  The Committee’s report, however, is not intended to be yet another study on Aboriginal people.  The recommendations contained in this report map out short and long term strategies that address the aspirations of youth, laying out the foundations upon which their potential can be nurtured, supported and realized.  To be successful in achieving these goals, the Committee believes that solutions need to be proactive and preventative, rather than coming into action only when a problem or need becomes acute.

The Committee feels that its recommendations meet the objectives the Committee set for itself at the outset of its work:

• to formulate a detailed and concrete plan of action to support the social, cultural and economic well being of urban Aboriginal youth; and

• to develop a strategy for reform that is proactive, positive and forward-looking.

The Committee’s report makes 19 recommendations.  Together, these recommendations form the basis of the Committee’s Action Plan for Change; grouped into the following four areas:

• Policy and Jurisdiction

Recommendations on restructuring the current jurisdictional and policy framework that currently limits federal government responsibility (and the majority of programs and services) strictly to First Nations people living on reserve.  Recommendations, particularly in the area of post-secondary education and Métis rights, break with past policy by moving beyond status-based restrictions and in recognizing that current Aboriginal geographic identities must be reflected in federal policy initiatives.

• Program and Service Delivery

Recommendations to enhance the ways in which urban Aboriginal programming is conceived, designed and delivered.  Key principles for service delivery reform are detailed.

• Partnerships

Recommendations that strengthen the federal role in providing leadership on urban Aboriginal issues and facilitating intergovernmental mechanisms to address policy and program concerns of urban Aboriginal people and youth.

• Urban Aboriginal Youth Initiatives

Recommendations to provide a weave of positive supports for Aboriginal youth living in, or coming to, cities.  These measures move away from the current “crisis intervention model” and instead seek to create real opportunities for Aboriginal youth in order that they can contribute meaningfully to their communities and broader society as well.

ACTION PLAN HIGHLIGHTS 

   1.1  Short and Medium Term Actionable Items 

·        Remove status-based restrictions to make post-secondary student support available to all Aboriginal youth, including the Métis and non-Status Indians.

·        Establish a national “clearing house” of Aboriginal youth programs and best practices.  This must be available to service providers, community organizations and governments.

·        Establish Urban Aboriginal Youth Centres in urban centres with a significant Aboriginal youth population.

·        Provide culturally appropriate urban transition programming for Aboriginal youth who move to urban centres, linking services, wherever possible, to communities of origin.

·        Create a national Urban Aboriginal Youth Sport and Recreation Fund.

·        Develop a national strategy with specific measures to address high school dropout rates among Aboriginal youth, including measures targeting parent awareness.

·        Implement a public awareness campaign for youth and pre-teens to address sexual health and practices, pregnancy and parenting.

·        Dedicate resources to community-based youth programs which promote sound parenting skills.

·        Ensure culturally appropriate Safe Houses are established in high-risk cities for youth who wish to exit gang life.

·        Remove status-based restrictions so that the federal government’s National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program can be accessed by all Aboriginal youth, irrespective of status.

·        Establish culturally appropriate Aboriginal youth substance abuse treatment centres in urban areas with a significant Aboriginal youth population.

·        Ensure employment and training programs provide long-term strategic training for Aboriginal youth in accredited programs.

·        Dedicate additional financial resources to the urban and youth component of the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy.

·        Encourage partnerships between the private sector and Aboriginal youth.

·        Extend and expand the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres (UMAYC) Initiative.

   1.2  Medium and Long Term Actionable Items 

·        Recognize the portability of First Nations rights and develop guidelines to ensure equitable access to programs and services for residents living off reserve.

·        The federal government must enter into formal negotiations to clarify and resolve outstanding jurisdiction and rights issues concerning the Métis people of Canada.

LIST OF RECOMMENDED ACTIONS BY PART

PART THREE:
THE CONTEMPORARY JURISDICTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, in collaboration with First Nations:

·        Develop procedures and guidelines recognizing the portability of rights of First Nations people.

·        Guidelines and procedures must include estimates for the necessary financial resources required to provide equitable access to programs and services to resident and non-resident members.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

·        The federal government must ensure the eligibility criteria for the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) be broadened to include all Aboriginal groups irrespective of status.

·        The budget for the PSSSP must be enhanced to correspond to the increased levels of applicants that will result from the removal of status-based restrictions.

·        Funding for the PSSSP must be appropriately indexed to correspond to rising tuition fees and the growth in the Aboriginal youth population.

PART FOUR:
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES 

·        The federal government must conduct a thorough review of programs available to Aboriginal youth, identifying gaps and duplication in programming.

·        The federal government establish and appropriately fund a national date base to act as a “clearing house” to collect, share, monitor and disseminate information on successful youth programs, initiatives, best practices and youth role models.

·        Governments, service providers, community organizations and youth should have access to the “clearing house.”

·        Based on the information collected, annual reports should be prepared to assist governments and service providers develop and support more effectively Aboriginal youth programming in urban areas.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government should ensure the following principles are applied to programs that they fund for the delivery of services to urban Aboriginal youth:

·        Involve to the greatest extent possible urban Aboriginal youth or their appropriate representative organizations in the identification of needs, priority setting, program design and service delivery.

·        To the greatest extent possible, programs be developed locally with a high degree of Aboriginal involvement and ownership.

·        Funding be guaranteed for sufficient time as to allow the program to achieve its objectives.

·        There be flexible funding arrangements to minimize the administrative burden on participating Aboriginal organizations.

·        To the greatest extent possible, and where appropriate, funding be provided directly to urban Aboriginal service providers in order to lessen administrative costs;

·        Resources should be dedicated to Aboriginal youth capacity and leadership building.

·        Explore the potential for pooling program funding with any complementary federal programs, other levels of government or appropriate organizations.

·        Include evaluation processes that incorporate community feedback.

·        Identify the extent to which programs overlap or duplicate services provided by other levels of government and action proposed to address this, if required.

·        Where programs are delivered by mainstream agencies with a significant Aboriginal client base, strive to employ appropriately trained Aboriginal staff and provide non-Aboriginal staff with cross-cultural training.

·        Provide sustained funding for pilot projects that have demonstrated success and integrate these initiatives into departmental practice.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

By virtue of its fundamental, constitutional and fiduciary relationship with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples:

·        The federal government should take a leadership role in coordinating multi-lateral program and policy initiatives for urban Aboriginal people.

·        The federal government, through the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, should act to facilitate the development of formal intergovernmental mechanisms to address the broad policy concerns of urban Aboriginal people in Canada and break down existing silos in program development and service delivery.

·        Intergovernmental mechanisms must include and engage appropriate urban Aboriginal organizations.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

By virtue of the success of the Urban Aboriginal Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre (UMAYC) Initiative and its importance to urban Aboriginal youth, the federal government, through the Minister of Canadian Heritage, should:

·        Continue its support for the UMAYC Initiative by committing sustained, long-term funding for the initiative.

·        Funding allocations for the UMAYC Initiative should be increased so that urban Aboriginal communities and youth are better able to build upon its successes.

PART FIVE:
THE NEEDS OF YOUTH 

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, in collaboration with its provincial counterparts and appropriate urban Aboriginal youth representatives and agencies, should provide capital funding for the establishment of Urban Aboriginal Youth Centres in urban communities where there is a significant Aboriginal youth population.  Centres should be located in areas where they can be readily accessed by youth.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, in collaboration with appropriate Aboriginal organizations, should establish community-based, culturally appropriate urban Aboriginal youth transition programs.  Efforts should be made to link Aboriginal youth transition services to reserve and rural communities.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, through the Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport, should establish and fund an Urban Aboriginal Youth Sport and Recreation Initiative.  The Initiative should promote sport and recreation programs that are:

·        Community-based, delivered and designed.

·        Sustainable and long-term rather than of limited duration.

·        Designed to build the capacity Aboriginal youth through instruction in recreation programming, leadership development and life skill training.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

• The federal government, through the Minister of Canadian Heritage, should provide dedicated and sustained funding for arts programming targeted specifically to Aboriginal youth in urban areas.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, in cooperation with provincial, territorial governments and Aboriginal organizations, develop a strategy to reduce the Aboriginal youth truancy rate in schools.

Such strategies should include those targeting:

·        Aboriginal parents and highlighting to them the benefits of their children’s regular and ongoing attendance at school.

·        Elders, and other community leaders, in the planning and implementation of such strategies on behalf of Aboriginal youth.

·        Specific measures to address high drop out rates during critical transition periods.

·        Specific measures to promote Aboriginal culture and history in mainstream educational institutions.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

·        The federal government, through the Minister of Health, must act to ensure that off-reserve and urban Aboriginal organizations benefit equally from the federal government’s FAS/FAE Initiative.

·        Federal funding allocated for the FAS/FAE Initiative must be increased rather than redirected from reserve communities in order to meet the needs of urban Aboriginal communities.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, through the Minister of Health, and in collaboration with appropriate Aboriginal organizations and youth representatives should:

·        Design and implement a public awareness campaign for Aboriginal youth and pre-teens to address youth sexual health, encourage healthy sexual practices, and the prevention of teen pregnancies.

·        Support community-based education initiatives for youth and pre‑teens on sex, sexuality, pregnancy and parenting.

·        Dedicate sustained resources for community-based youth programs that promote parenting skills.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The federal government, in collaboration with provincial and municipal governments, and in consultation with Aboriginal organizations, support the establishment of Safe Houses to assist urban Aboriginal youth exit gang life.  Initiatives should be targeted to “high-risk” cities.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

·        The federal government should act to extend its National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program to include all Aboriginal youth, irrespective of status, residing in urban areas.

·        Funding should be allocated for the establishment of urban Aboriginal youth treatment centres where there is a significant Aboriginal population and be located in areas where they can be readily accessed by youth.

·        Treatment centres and services for youth should be age and culturally appropriate.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

·        Federal programs aimed at increasing labour market participation of Aboriginal youth be should be designed to provide long-term, strategic training in accredited programs for youth.

·        Funding allocated to the youth and urban component of the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy should be increased.

·        The federal government, in collaboration with all principal stakeholders, facilitate forums and initiatives to encourage partnerships between urban Aboriginal youth and the private sector.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

·        The federal government, under its Urban Aboriginal Strategy, develop and fund specific initiatives for young Aboriginal people on the basis that they are one of the most “at risk” groups.

·        These initiatives must be designed and developed in collaboration with urban Aboriginal youth.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

The agencies and departments of the federal government involved in coordinating and implementing the recommended actions contained in this report prepare an annual review of their actions and progress in this regard and table it before this Committee.

Searching for Visions II*

These kids they’re gonna be okay
When they’re ready, they gonna take us places we never dreamed of
Man, the universe is coming at them
A million miles an hour
Incredible dreams they must have
The worlds they have travelled already
These young travellers they’ll be okay
And when they’re ready
The stories they’ll tell us
The worlds they’ll take us
I can hardly wait

Duncan Mercredi – 1995  

URBAN ABORIGINAL YOUTH ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE

PART I:  INTRODUCTION

Imagine how you would feel to be set adrift alone
in a kayak in the Arctic Ocean …

Mr. Franco Sheatiapik Buscemi,
National Inuit Youth Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

For many young Aboriginal people, cities have been their only home.  Some are second and third generation urban dwellers.  Despite systemic barriers and personal challenges which they may face, many manage urban life successfully.  For other Aboriginal youth, city life can be an overwhelming experience.  Their foothold is uncertain; their future uncertain.  While cities may seem to offer great promise, countless arrive ill-prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, and promise eventually falls to despair.  Unfortunately, this is a familiar scenario faced by many young Aboriginal people who come to cities seeking to improve their lives:

It is like looking through stained glass; the promise of moving to a city is so rich – there is employment; there are opportunities.  It is a huge difference.  I come from a town of 7,000 people.  The prospect of a better or a different life in the cities is one that is very promising.  However, when you get to the city you find out that even to be a waiter you need experience.  Even to be the low man on the totem pole, so to speak, you still need the experience and the relevant training.  The people and the youth I have met have come to the city in search of that promise.  It is not there.  Many of them become stuck in the city over a period of time.  They follow their bad habits in the city.([2])

Far too often the lives of these young people become just another negative statistic.  We must resist the temptation to read these figures idly and search ourselves for a deeper understanding of the real suffering and pain that exists behind those numbers.  These youth may well be our doctors, poets, artists, leaders, and educators, and unless we come together to address the structural inadequacies that underpin those grim statistics, they will be lost to their communities and to us forever.  Minus their potential, we are diminished.  Moral imperative, our own self-interest, and simple compassion compel us to ensure that another generation of Aboriginal youth will not be prevented from realizing their promise.

When we first began our examination into issues affecting urban Aboriginal youth, we could not have imagined the unshakeable resilience displayed by many of these young people in the face of so many daunting challenges.  We were impressed by their strength, their quiet determination, their honesty in talking so frankly about their lives, and their sincere desire to overcome their circumstances, however difficult it may seem at times.

A report released by the National Association of Friendship Centres and the Law Commission of Canada argued that the aimlessness of Aboriginal youth, so often manifested in street crime and youth gangs, is more a failure of Canadian society to provide alternative structures than a reflection of the youth themselves.([3])  Add to this the fact that the social distress many urban Aboriginal youth experience is a complex interplay of a number of factors.  As one witness told the Committee, the lives of Aboriginal youth “are profoundly influenced by both historical injustices and current inequities.  Issues facing youth are rooted in a history of colonization, dislocation from their traditional territories, communities and cultural traditions, and the inter-generational impacts of the residential school system.”([4])

Recent demographic studies have shown that Aboriginal women, children and youth in cities face particular challenges and are among the most vulnerable.  This suggests that program and policy measures aimed at improving the condition of urban Aboriginal people should consider those segments in greatest need.  Special consideration should be placed on developing policies and coordinating efforts that respond to the circumstances of Aboriginal women, youth and children in cities.  We believe that the federal government must assume a lead role in facilitating, planning and coordinating these efforts.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for governments to ignore the myriad of challenges, needs and issues facing the urban Aboriginal population.  Not only do Aboriginal people constitute a significant percentage of urban populations, especially in the western provinces, but on the whole they have higher rates of joblessness, less formal education, more contact with the justice system, and are in poorer health than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

The urban Aboriginal landscape is extremely complex.  The continued significance of reserve and rural life to urban Aboriginal residents is evidenced by a pattern of frequent circulation from reserves to urban areas, rather than permanent settlement.  Further, the implications of a growing and youthful urban Aboriginal population – both socially and economically marginalized – is also a matter of significant public policy concern.  As noted by Peters and Graham, “positive futures for urban areas are intricately tied to positive futures for Aboriginal people.”([5])

I am convinced that by focusing on a problem, one cannot always solve the problem.  One needs to have a sense of what people are trying to achieve and how one wants to move forward.

Professor David Newhouse,
Trent University

Past literature identifies the issue of Aboriginal urbanization primarily as a social problem.  Historically, Aboriginal migration to Canadian cities was viewed with considerable apprehension and many clung to the belief that “an Indian’s place is on the reserve.”([6])  Contemporary reality does not bear this out.  Cities are places of deep diversity and home to the majority of Aboriginal peoples.  Many Aboriginal youth are dynamic, contributing members of urban life.  Moreover, in cities across Canada, the achievements of Aboriginal peoples are challenging these archaic beliefs and breaking negative stereotypes, such as those often portrayed in the media.

There is, as many witnesses told us, a need to start a new conversation:  a conversation about achievement, success and vision for the future.  Failure to do so, as one witness explained, perpetuates the false view many Aboriginal youth hold of themselves as inferior and inadequate:

We do not talk in terms of excellence, achievement and success.  When we tell students to survive, they do.([7])

Finally, one young Aboriginal woman talked to us about the serious harm that can be inflicted when forced into a reduced mode of being:

I grew up amongst a bunch of lies.  Once I learned the truth, it opened up a whole bunch of doors for me.  Young people deserve to know this so that we will stop being ashamed of being native.([8])

The projection of an inferior self-image has perhaps been one of the most powerful weapons of the colonizer in its “conquest” of the New World.  The human costs of this assault on the personal dignity of other human beings we reckon to be inestimable.  It has carried enormous social costs and continues to do so today.

The Committee’s Approach

Members of this Committee were moved by the testimony of Aboriginal youth, many of whom have had their lives adversely compromised by negative portrayals of themselves in mainstream institutions.  The transformative potential of positive images can only reinforce a new reality for Aboriginal youth, and open up for them a world in which they are no longer forced to occupy marginal positions.  Rather than stereotyping Aboriginal youth (particularly when in groups) involved in anti-social or self-harming behaviour, we wish to move beyond the near exclusive focus on problems and begin to explore a more constructive approach, one emphasizing the contribution Aboriginal youth now make, and can continue to make, to Canada’s future.

Report Outline

The Committee’s report seeks to address some of the complex jurisdictional, social, economic, and program inequities that keep so many of this country’s Aboriginal youth from realizing a brighter future.

• Chapter 2 of the report sets out some of the salient demographic features of the urban Aboriginal population in Canada and its implications for policy-makers .

• Chapter 3 looks at federal and provincial responsibilities for Aboriginal peoples living off reserve and in urban areas.  The resulting jurisdictional ambiguity, it is argued, negatively affects the level of services received by this segment of the Aboriginal population.  Emerging jurisprudence, demographics and socio-economic indicators underlie the need for a review of federal policy in this regard.

• Chapter 4 presents some of the major challenges facing program development and service delivery for urban Aboriginal youth.  Key principles for service delivery reform are outlined.

• Based on the evidence, chapter 5 discusses the needs of urban Aboriginal youth.  In this section the Committee brings forward a number of recommendations that, it believes, begin to create positive supports around youth, tap into their talents and recognize their worth.

Other Relevant Inquiries

The breadth of our terms of reference did not allow the Committee to examine all the issues as fully as it wished in the time available.  However, many of the issues have been examined in other inquiries and their findings are relevant here.

• The 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples examined the challenges and issues confronting Aboriginal youth and made several recommendations with respect to improving the lives of young Aboriginal people throughout Canada.  Of significance, the Commission identified the need for a coherent nation-wide Aboriginal youth policy to better address their specific needs.  The Commission argued that because a coordinated policy approach is missing, programming tends to be reactive, fragmented and scattered.  “Unless specific needs of young people are considered,” states the Commission, “programs that are inappropriate for their specific circumstances or culture may be initiated, resulting in money being spent but problems remaining unsolved.”
  
  

• Under the auspices of its Urban Aboriginal Initiative, The Canada West Foundation recently released four reports dealing with a range of urban Aboriginal issues.  In particular, the reports identified the key challenges facing urban Aboriginal people and their implications for public policy; highlighted strategies and promising practices in addressing the needs of a growing urban Aboriginal population; and looked at ways in which federal, provincial, and municipal governments can work together with Aboriginal organizations to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal people living in major western Canadian cities.

Other inquiries include:

• The Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres report on Urban Aboriginal Child Poverty and Tenuous Connections:  Urban Aboriginal Youth Sexual Health and Pregnancy.
  

• Taking Pulse:  A special project of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.
  

• Statistics Canada’s 2002 report on The Health of the Off-Reserve Aboriginal Population.
  

• A report by Save the Children Canada on the sexual exploitation of Aboriginal children and youth entitled Sacred Lives.
  

• The March 2000 report of Canadian Council on Social Development on Urban Poverty identifying socio-economic conditions as contributing to urban Aboriginal poverty.
  

• Issues in Urban Corrections for Aboriginal People (1998), a report prepared for the Solicitor General Canada, provides useful information on the specific needs of urban Aboriginal communities.

Too numerous to mention individually, the Committee has benefited greatly by the significant research work undertaken by Aboriginal organizations and agencies across the country.

Defining “Urban and “Youth”

There has been some discussion about the most appropriate definition of “urban” in the context of the Committee’s terms of reference.  Countries differ in the way they classify population as “urban” or “rural.”  Typically, in Canada, a community or settlement with a population of 1,000 or more is considered urban.  For the purposes of this report, we have opted to use the formal Statistics Canada’s definition for census metropolitan areas which reads as follows:  a census metropolitan area (CMA) is a geographic area delineated around an urban core with at least 100, 000 population.

There are 27 CMAs in Canada.  The Committee, however, has focused largely on the following 11 urban centres:  Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and Halifax.  Reasons for this selection is so we may account for east/west regional differences as well as the large concentrations of Aboriginal youth in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay.  Given the magnitude of this undertaking we were unable, in this report, to give as close attention as we might have wished to smaller urban areas – such as Prince Rupert (B.C.) or Prince Albert (SK) – that also have significant Aboriginal youth populations.

Statistics Canada defines youth as those between the ages of 15 to 24 years.  Aboriginal organizations have their own categories for defining youth:  The National Association of Friendship Centres, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and the Métis National Council all define “youth”‘ as being between the ages of 15 to 24.  The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami employs a broader range.  They define “youth” as those between 13 to 29 years.  Finally, the Assembly of First Nations, the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation all define youth as age 18 to 24.

Government programs and services for youth tend to rely upon the Statistics Canada demographic model.  In some instances, this can compromise the ability of youth to access much-needed services because they fall outside the federally recognized age category.  The application of narrow definitions has created gaps in programming, particularly for those youth between 13-15 years of age, and suggests the need for policy-makers to apply broader definitions.

Conclusion

The Committee hopes that its report will contribute to the promotion of a positive dialogue.  It is our strong belief that we must structurally address the ability of Aboriginal youth to make a positive contribution to Canadian society, rather than continue with the perceived notion that they are “problems to be fixed.”([9])  Witnesses appearing before the Committee were asked to identify possible solutions, successful interventions and best practices that would help youth overcome at least some of the challenges they face on a daily basis.  We have been fortunate to benefit, to a very great degree, from their wisdom and wealth of experience.  On that note, we turn to our examination into issues affecting Aboriginal youth in urban areas.

PART II:  SETTING THE CONTEXT

Introduction

The received wisdom in mainstream Canadian thought appears to be that an average Aboriginal person lives on reserve and away from major urban centres.  This image is reinforced by dominant images in Canadian media and popular culture that tend to concentrate on the traditional lifestyles and treaty-rights of Aboriginal peoples, in large part because these issues have serious political and socio-economic implications for non-Aboriginal Canadians.  Inasmuch as it may enter the consciousness of most Canadians, the assumption is that Aboriginal peoples, apart from having their populations concentrated on reserves – and acknowledging an income gap – share the same basic characteristics as other Canadians.  This perception is incorrect.  The marginalization of urban Aboriginal peoples in general, and Aboriginal youth in particular, discussed in this report, reinforces their incomplete and almost invisible profile in the Canadian portrait.  We are encouraged, however, by the increasing prominence given to urban Aboriginal youth issues, particularly in the western provinces, where the population is statistically significant.