Exploring Theme: "Financial Issues"

National Association of Friendship Centre CEO Jocelyn Formsma speaks at the organization’s summit last year. Photo submitted Canada’s National Observer: Friendship centres, which serve the needs of urban Indigenous people, are increasingly important in responding to climate disasters.  They have even led emergency responses — like the local friendship centre did at Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, coordinating...

National organizations estimate immense needs in advance of 2024 federal budget CBC Indigenous: As the Trudeau government prepares to release this year’s federal budget, Indigenous organizations estimate it would take more than $425 billion to close the infrastructure gap in their communities by the government’s 2030 goal. While the bulk of that staggering sum comes...

‘This is not reconciliation,’ says Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick CBC Indigenous: A Manitoba First Nations leader is demanding answers from the federal Indigenous affairs ministers after their departments tabled plans this month to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, while forecasting a multi-billion-dollar decrease over three years. Cathy Merrick, grand chief of...

‘It is a bit concerning that they have increased so much,’ parliamentary budget officer says Brett Forester · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2023 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 8 hours ago CBC News: The Canadian government likely owes Indigenous people almost $76 billion for currently filed land claims and lawsuits, recent official reporting says — a sum that’s...

NDP MP Lori Idlout rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick  Canada’s National Observer: NDP members are voting against Ottawa’s fall economic statement to protest gaps in funding for Indigenous Services in the midst of an infrastructure crisis. On Thursday, Lori...

Minister’s office stands by target but her department, citing $349B estimate, seems less sure CBC Indigenous: Canada’s Indigenous Services minister is standing by the Trudeau government’s pledge to close the infrastructure gap in Indigenous communities by 2030, even as her own department — citing a nearly $350-billion cost estimate — seems a little less sure....

Minister says no cuts proposed to programs or services CBC Indigenous: Indigenous Services Canada should be spared from proposed federal spending cuts aimed at saving a government-wide $15.4 billion over the next five years, say two New Democrat MPs. “Not only should Indigenous Services not be cut, but we need to see further investments,” said...

NationTalk: From: Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson – OTTAWA – The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has sent a service improvement request to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), asking it to update its information for Indigenous Peoples on Canada.ca. Right before the CRA began the 2023 tax-filing season, the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) reviewed the CRA’s web pages...

MNC says it believes money ‘misused,’ which Manitoba group denies CBC News: The Métis National Council (MNC) is mapping the path of a disputed multimillion-dollar transfer of federal money for a veterans legacy program from council coffers to the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) in a bid to regain control of the cash, recent court filings...

CBC News: The Canada Revenue Agency must do more to build trust and prevent discrimination when interacting with Indigenous clients, according to a report that became publicly available last week. The report, prepared by Earnscliffe Strategy Group, sought to gather data on Indigenous Peoples’ experience when engaging with CRA tax services and accessing benefits and credits. Its...

Less than 43 per cent of households on reserve had access to high-speed internet in 2021 CBC News: High-speed internet access on First Nations continues to lag well behind the Canadian average, according to a recent report, prompting calls for more government subsidization of internet access. “Ideally, it would be something similar to our highways...

RoseAnne Archibald welcomes money for MMIWG supports despite frustrations CBC News: The Assembly of First Nations national chief is calling the prime minister a “performative reconciliationist” and wants an economic new deal for First Nations following the delivery of a 2023 federal budget that she says continues a long-standing pattern of underfunding First Nations. RoseAnne...

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami looking for 35-year, $75B commitment for community infrastructure CBC News – The Canadian Press – Prominent Indigenous organizations are making major requests of the federal government in its upcoming budget, seeking billions in investments for infrastructure and economic development. But with affordability issues at the top of the agenda and Finance Minister...

Canada’s paternalistic mindset toward supporting Indigenous communities just doesn’t work. A damning Parliamentary Budget Office report revealed a gaping disconnect between the government’s aspirations and the amount of money spent on the one hand, and the actual consequences on the other. Globe & Mail: Ken Coates – McDonald-Laurier Institute Despite a decade of dramatic increases...

Upstream – Failure to reduce the level of poverty among Indigenous children. Tracking Indigenous child poverty and non-Indigenous child poverty trends between Census 2006 and Census 2016, it’s clear that these differences have not markedly changed over that 10-year period. “Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada” co-authored by the Assembly of First Nations...

Deferring the budget decision to fund the National Council for Reconciliation until AFTER the next election. The Interim Board of Directors appointed in Dec. 2017 submitted their interim report to Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs on June 12, 2018. The 2020 fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020 will be almost five...