September 14, 2005

First Nations and the Throne Speech

"The goal will be to eliminate, within 10 years, the inequities that have plagued First Nations and aboriginal people throughout Canada's history."
Throne Speech, September 12, 2005

The September 12th Throne Speech was 5,354 words long and 678 of them were specifically focused on First Nations. That is a big step for a government that launched a referendum on aboriginal rights in 2001. The June 19, 2001, Throne Speech didn't mention First Nations. The lengthy (6,501 word) July 24, 2001, Speech spoke of the process for a referendum on the government's approach to treaty making, and then went on to say: "As the minister responsible for justice, the Attorney General will ensure the protection of aboriginal rights, and will ensure that the rule of law applies equally for all British Columbians under our country's Constitution." Some might interpret that as suggesting no special status for First Nations not withstanding Section 35 of the Constitution; others might say it was nothing but pandering to those who demanded the referendum on treaty negotiation. That stands in sharp contrast to this session's speech which said: "Your government is committed to forging a new relationship of reconciliation with First Nations in British Columbia and to working with First Nations and aboriginal leaders across Canada to accomplish this ambitious goal."

The Campbell government deserves credit for what appears to be a complete reversal of its position on aboriginal rights. The danger, as is the case with most of the government's goals, is that expectations may be raised beyond the ability of the best intentioned to possibly achieve. Eliminating inequalities within 10 years is a worthwhile objective, but it may be stated because it is unlikely that any of those currently governing will be in office in 2015. That is why it is important to break the 10 years down to shorter time spans with specific goals and measurements for those goals. Exactly what is expected by 2007 or 2009? A 10 year goal cannot be reached unless attention is paid to each step along the way.

The speech stated that: "Rampant poverty, inadequate housing, chronic unemployment, and notoriously low high-school completion rates are measures of our collective failure." The Speech also mentioned high suicide rates, lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, and intolerably high levels of substance abuse. Consequently, in February when the budget and service plans are tabled in the legislature, we should expect government's Strategic Plan and the service plan for several ministries, including the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, to set targets and measurements for the next three years for poverty, housing, unemployment, school completion rates for First Nations and health outcomes.

Currently, the Ministry of Health's service plan has a strategy to reduce inequalities in health for Aboriginal peoples. The only performance measure specific to that strategy is the difference between post-neonatal infant mortality rates for Aboriginal peoples and the general population. Government's February 2005 Strategic Plan mentioned First Nations in the context of certainty for investors. It stated a strategy to: "Conclude treaty and other economic-related agreements with First Nations that promote investment certainty and increase access to Crown land and resources." The plan included strategies to support First Nations police services, to consult prior to Crown land and resource decisions, to improve economic development opportunities, and to establish relationships with Aboriginal communities to strengthen community services and infrastructure; however, the only reference to a key measure for First Nations stated: "Aboriginal capacity building (measure under development)". That's not good enough if the province is serious about eliminating inequalities within 10 years. Strategies and measurements in the service plan for the former treaty negotiation office fail to mention the concerns expressed in this week's Throne Speech and instead set measures in terms of number of blockades and per cent of budget targets met. The Ministry of Education's service plan includes a performance measure of school completion rates; for Aboriginals the 2004-05 base was 47% compared to 79% for the general population. The target is stated as "trend over time improvement". If inequalities are to be eliminated in 10 years, many more specific targets and strategies to meet those targets must be set. There is nothing in the service plan for the former Ministry of Human Resources that deals specifically with poverty amongst First Nations peoples. The Ministry of Children and Family Development's service plan sets out some performance measures specifically for Aboriginal children but those relate to increasing the number receiving services from delegated Aboriginal agencies, not eliminating the differences in the need for protection between Aboriginal children and the general population within 10 years.

In February 2006 the new Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation will table its first service plan. If the government means what it said in the Throne Speech, that service plan must set out strategies and performance measurements that relate to inequalities in poverty, housing, unemployment, school completion rates and health status. Where those performance measurements more appropriately belong in the plan for another ministry, Minister Tom Christensen must; ensure that the appropriate Ministry reflects what was said in the Throne Speech. Most importantly, the overall government Strategic Plan must be re-written to give weight to the language of the Throne Speech. Bureaucrats know that what is not measured, doesn't count. It is not good enough to say "measure under development".