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Attawapiskat merely a symptom of Canada’s broken relationship with First Nations

By Chris Hild Jan 5, 2012

A west coast First Nation home - representative of the “hundreds of Attawapiskats” across Canada

The housing crisis in Attawapiskat has attracted new attention to the tenuous relationship between Canada and its First Peoples. The federal government is receiving harsh criticism from both national and international watchdogs, which has encouraged organizations like the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and others to publicize that “hundreds of Attawapiskats” exist across the country. All of these groups hope to motivate the federal government to change its dysfunctional relationship with First Nations and address the root causes of the overwhelmingly poor housing conditions on reserves.

The lack of healthy housing is a serious issue for First Nations communities. Canadian census data from 2006 reveals 40% of homes require major repairs (defective plumbing, electrical wiring, and/or structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings), while the Canadian average is just 7%. A 2010 report shows that the federal government has displayed a serious lack of oversight in how funds have been spent on reserve housing. Part of the problem is that the government too often fails to follow through in implementing its own plans. For instance, an Evaluation of the 1996 On-Reserve Housing Policy, written in 2008, noted that two of its three major recommendations still had no date for implementation. Would 12 years be accepted as an appropriate timeframe to evaluate a policy in any other part of government?

Unfortunately, housing statistics in BC show the same trends. BC Stats reports disturbing commonalities among various regions within the province; for example, 4.7% of homes within the city of Comox require major repairs, in contrast to 22.7% of homes in its neighbouring First Nation community. In Fort Nelson, 12.3% is required for the city and 39.3% for the First Nation. Creston is 7.2%, while its neighbour First Nation is 25%. Masset is 16.5% versus 43.8%; and the list goes on and on. As a point of reference, 7.4% of homes in BC overall require major repairs.

The real cause behind the housing issue in First Nation communities is the broken relationship with government. The 125-year-old Indian Act is at the heart of this issue, which has been described as “a 19th century relic” by AFN’s National Chief, Shawn Atleo. He and other political leaders are looking to essentially abolish the act and past policies involving residential schools, reserve systems and overall “continuation of the colonial attitude” taken in its relationship with Aboriginal Peoples. A clear example of the broken relationship is the federal government’s choice to report an inflated Attawapiskat housing figure ($90 million) in order to assign blame and express displeasure when a more accurate figure of housing transfers to the nation would be only $5.8 million. Further, its immediate solution to appoint an expensive ($1,300/day) third party auditor to control the community’s finances added insult to injury. Not surprisingly, this decision was met with immediate and lasting community discord.

While a better relationship with government will be critical in the long term, fortunately there are some positive examples of organizations working with First Nation communities to address the housing crisis. The AFN’s partnership with Mike Holmes and Habitat for Humanity is not only raising awareness at the national level, it is building valued housing stock and skills within the communities. Five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island have been partnering with Ecotrust Canada in their Standing Tree to Standing Home initiative to not just build healthier housing but create jobs and incorporate local materials and culturally appropriate design. Because these initiatives focus on skills transfer and a holistic view of housing construction as a component in community building, these are hopeful examples of doing more than just tackling the symptom of poor on reserve housing. What these programs don’t have, however, are the resources to scale to the national level. The government is realistically the only way to do that.

So yes – the housing challenge on First Nations reserves is expansive, daunting and steeped in hundreds of years of government paternalism and neglect. That being said, the time for blame and passing the buck has long since passed. It has been two and a half years since the federal government formally apologized to First Nations for the injustice and harm wreaked by the residential school system. Now is the time to add action to that sentiment and re-invent the relationship the government has with First Nations. It will take political will, creativity, and yes – consistent funding, to create a new way forward. Canada certainly has the creativity and the money. What’s needed now is for the federal leadership in Ottawa to make this a priority and realize that the old ways of doing things are a large part of the problem.

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