Chapter 3 - Advancing Reconciliation

Clean, safe drinking water. Homes that aren’t overcrowded or unsafe. Communities that care for and support children and families, and that are able to carry on valued languages and traditions. The chance to get a good education and a good job, and have a say in how one’s community is governed.

These are things that everyone in Canada should have, yet they are also things that, for too many Indigenous Peoples in Canada, remain out of reach.

Across the country, Indigenous Peoples, non-Indigenous Canadians, and the Government are working hard to improve the quality of life of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Together, we are making steady progress—advancing reconciliation and forging a new relationship based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership.

For example, where it took Canada more than 40 years to negotiate 40 Indigenous land and rights agreements prior to 2015, a new approach is delivering positive results for Indigenous communities. More than 75 new Recognition of Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination discussions are underway and 29 preliminary agreements have been signed.

Investments in housing, early learning and child care, health, mental health and infrastructure have all helped to close the gap between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. These investments are not only the right thing to do, but they make economic sense. The National Indigenous Economic Development Board estimates that closing the economic gaps between Indigenous Peoples and the non-Indigenous population could boost Canada’s gross domestic product by 1.5 per cent each year.

There is much more work to be done to advance reconciliation, and many more steps to take.

Budget 2019 represents the next step in the ongoing path toward reconciliation and a better future for Indigenous Peoples—and all Canadians.

Part 1: Redressing Past Wrongs and Advancing Self-Determination

The Government is working closely with Indigenous Peoples to better respond to their priorities, to better support their plans for self-government, self-determination, and their work of nation rebuilding. That’s why the Government has taken concrete measures to remove impediments to negotiating agreements that recognize Indigenous rights and address past grievances.

For example, Budget 2018 announced that Indigenous participation in the negotiation of comprehensive claims would no longer be contingent on the use of loans—instead, the Government would directly support groups in these negotiations through non-repayable contributions. Budget 2018 also provided $101.5 million over five years to support Indigenous groups pursuing their own path to reconstituting their nations through a new Nation Rebuilding Program.

Budget 2019 builds on these measures to further support the priorities of Indigenous communities, to chart a path forward together with all Canadians.

Advancing Reconciliation by Settling Specific Claims

The Government is committed to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and to redressing past wrongs related to Canada’s failure to discharge its legal obligations to First Nations. The specific claims process helps right past wrongs and address longstanding grievances of First Nations through a voluntary process to seek resolution of claims through negotiations, rather than through the court system.

Working with First Nations, as of March 4, 2019, the Government has settled 68 specific claims since November 2015—more than a 40 per cent increase over the number of specific claims settled in the previous three and a half years (2012-2015). However, there is more work to do.

The current funding to support the settlement of specific claims was to expire in March 2019. To support negotiated settlements of specific claims in a timely way, Budget 2019 proposes to renew and replenish funding for the Specific Claims Settlement Fund for a further three years, starting in 2019–20.

Budget 2019 also proposes to provide additional support of $40.0 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, to First Nations to help research and develop their claims.

Forgiving and Reimbursing Loans for Comprehensive Claim Negotiations

The use of loans has been a longstanding barrier to Indigenous participation in negotiations and to concluding subsequent agreements, as debts from prolonged comprehensive claim negotiations can make it difficult for Indigenous groups to move forward with other priorities, such as economic development initiatives or service improvements. Forgiving and reimbursing loans will allow Indigenous communities and governments to use their resources to strengthen their communities and improve the quality of life of their members.

Budget 2018 ended the practice of funding comprehensive claims negotiations through loans and replaced them with non-repayable contributions.

To support Indigenous communities’ ability to invest in their own priorities, and to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to recognizing Indigenous rights, Budget 2019 proposes funding of $1.4 billion over seven years starting in 2018–19, to forgive all outstanding comprehensive claim negotiation loans and to reimburse Indigenous governments that have already repaid these loans. Forgiving and reimbursing loans will allow more than 200 Indigenous communities to reinvest in their priorities like governance, infrastructure and economic development that will increase health and well-being for all community members.

Part 2: Strengthening Governance Tools

Supporting Strong and Successful Self-Governing Indigenous Communities

The Government recognizes that Indigenous Peoples have an inherent right to self-government as an existing Aboriginal right under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. In 2016, the Government committed to working with self-governing Indigenous communities to co-develop a new self-government fiscal policy as part of a collaborative fiscal policy development process. The Government is delivering on this commitment by working with self-governing Indigenous communities to develop evidence-based costing methodologies that will more accurately reflect these communities’ funding requirements.

To help ensure that Indigenous governments have the fiscal capacity to govern their people, communities, land and resources effectively, Budget 2019 proposes to invest in a new co-developed collaborative self-government fiscal policy including:

• a new approach for governance funding;
• a new life-cycle funding model for the maintenance and replacement of community infrastructure; and
• an interim approach to land and resource management responsibilities.

Better Information for Better Services

All governments—including First Nations governments—need access to timely data and information. With better information, governments are better able to make informed decisions, and deliver the high-quality services their citizens expect.

To ensure that First Nations have the information they need to serve their members well, Budget 2019 proposes to provide $78.9 million over seven years, starting in 2019–20, with $13.7 million per year ongoing, to permanently fund the Surveys on Indigenous Peoples and the First Nations Regional Health Survey. These surveys provide important information on education, health, employment and language proficiency—information that is needed for decision-making in First Nations communities and for designing programs and services tailored to community needs. These surveys are conducted under the leadership of the First Nations Information Governance Centre, in collaboration with Statistics Canada.

Core Governance Support for First Nations

In Budget 2018, the Government committed to undertaking a comprehensive and collaborative review of programs and funding that support First Nations governance. That review is currently underway. At the same time, a number of First Nations communities need additional support to build their governance capacity to effectively serve their communities.

To help with this critical need, Budget 2019 proposes to provide $48.0 million over two years, starting in 2019–20, to directly support communities in greatest need obtain the expertise, advice and tools required to govern their communities and deliver critical programs and services.

Part 3: Closing the Gap

"It’s time for a new fiscal relationship with First Nations that gives your communities sufficient, predictable and sustained funding. This is a promise we made, and a promise we will keep."

With Budgets 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Government began the important work of increasing investment in Indigenous Peoples and their priorities—starting with a commitment to establish a new fiscal relationship, and supported by total investments of more than $16.8 billion to address areas of critical need in Indigenous communities. This resulted in planned funding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis growing from just over $11.0 billion in 2015–16 to more than $15.0 billion in 2021–22—an increase of 34 per cent in total funding.

Building on these previous commitments, Budget 2019 proposes to invest a further $4.5 billion over five years, beginning in 2019–20, to continue efforts to close the gap between the living conditions of Indigenous Peoples and the non-Indigenous population, bringing total planned federal government investments in Indigenous programs to more than $17 billion in 2021–22, an increase of 50 per cent compared to the year the Government was elected. Through significant investments the Government has lifted the 2 per cent cap on funding.

Part 4: Better Services for First Nations and Inuit Children

All children in Canada deserve a real and fair chance to reach their full potential, no matter where they live. For too long, First Nations and Inuit children have faced systemic barriers that have made it difficult for them to access the services they need. The Government is working with First Nations and Inuit partners to eliminate these barriers and help give children in these communities the good education, quality health care and culturally relevant social supports they need to succeed.

Together, the Government and First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation partners co-developed Indigenous child welfare legislation, Bill C-92: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families, to help address the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system. The proposed legislation affirms the rights and authorities of Indigenous Peoples over child welfare services to create laws and policies to help keep children safe, within their families and communities.

Continuing Implementation of Jordan’s Principle

Jordan’s Principle helps ensure that all First Nations children can access the health, social and educational services they need, when they need them. In 2016, the Government took a new approach to implementing Jordan’s Principle, and respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ Call to Action 3, aimed at reducing the gaps in services between First Nations children and other children in Canada. This included an initial investment of $382.5 million over three years, to establish the Child First Initiative. Since July 2016, more than 214,000 requests for services have been approved, giving First Nations children access to life-changing services including speech therapy, educational supports, medical equipment, mental health services, and more.

To ensure that First Nations children continue to have access to the services that they need, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $1.2 billion over three years, beginning in 2019–20. During that time, the Government and First Nations will continue to work together to develop a long-term approach to improving services for First Nations children, based on Jordan’s Principle.

Supporting Inuit Children

Due to the remoteness of their home communities and the limited availability of culturally appropriate services, Inuit children face a number of unique challenges accessing health and social services. Inuit families often have to travel far from their communities to receive the services that are typically available to children in other parts of the country. In September 2018, the Government committed to work with Inuit partners to ensure that Inuit children have better access to health and social services within Inuit Nunangat.

To address the immediate needs of Inuit children, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $220 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20, to provide services to Inuit children as work continues with Inuit and other government partners to improve local capacity to deliver services.

Part 5: Preserving, Promoting and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages

Preserving, promoting and revitalizing Indigenous languages is a critical part of recognizing Indigenous identity and strengthening Indigenous communities. To support this work, the Government is advancing Indigenous languages legislation, co-developed with Indigenous Peoples. Introduced in February 2019, Bill C-91: An Act Respecting Indigenous Languages, supports these efforts. It also responds to Calls to Action 13, 14 and 15 made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and supports the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

To support the implementation of the proposed Indigenous Languages Act, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $333.7 million over the next five years, starting in 2019–20, with $115.7 million per year ongoing. This investment will make possible a distinctions-based approach to Indigenous language revitalization projects, will support the creation of the proposed Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, and begin the important work of revitalizing the languages that help to affirm Indigenous identity and experiences.

There are more than 70 Indigenous languages spoken by over 260,000 Indigenous peoples in Canada.

1 in 5 Indigenous peoples over the age of 65 report an Indigenous language as their mother tongue.

However, only about 1 in 7 Indigenous children report being able to carry on a conversation in an Indigenous language. 1 in 10 report an Indigenous language as a mother tongue.

Learning an Indigenous language at home in childhood as a primary language is a crucial element of the long-term viability of Indigenous languages. Elders in Indigenous communities will play an important role in the transmission of Indigenous languages to future generations. Children are the future speakers of Indigenous languages.

Supporting Indigenous Post-Secondary Education

Indigenous Peoples are among the youngest and fastest growing segments of the Canadian population, yet they continue to face barriers when it comes to pursuing post-secondary education and finding good, well-paying work.

Budget 2019 proposes to invest $824.0 million over ten years, starting in 2019–20, and $61.8 million ongoing in support of Indigenous distinctions-based post-secondary education. For more information see Chapter 1.

Part 6: Healthy, Safe and Resilient Indigenous Communities

On Track to Eliminate Boil Water Advisories on Reserve

Everyone in Canada should have reliable access to safe, clean drinking water. Since 2015, the Government has invested nearly $2 billion to build new public water systems in First Nations communities, and repair and upgrade existing systems.

These investments are delivering tangible results. Together, the Government and First Nations continue to reduce reliance on the delivery of bottled water and make progress on eliminating long-term drinking water advisories on-reserve, with the goal of having all advisories lifted by 2021. Since November 2015, more than 80 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted—45 more that were resolved in the previous 4 years.

In communities where reliable access to safe, clean drinking water has been restored, however, a risk remains. Without sufficient resources to operate and maintain water and wastewater systems, it is possible that new drinking water advisories may be issued in future.

To ensure that does not happen and to make sure that previous investments deliver lasting benefits, Budget 2019 proposes to invest an additional $739 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20, with $184.9 million per year ongoing. This investment will support ongoing efforts to eliminate and prevent long-term drinking water advisories—funding urgent repairs to vulnerable water systems, and providing water operator training and support programs, so that First Nations communities can effectively operate and maintain their public drinking water systems.

Safe and Accessible Spaces for Urban Indigenous Peoples

Roughly 60 per cent of all Indigenous people live in urban centres. Through Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP), the federal government supports Indigenous social service organizations that deliver culturally enhanced programs and services to urban Indigenous residents, such as help finding a job, assistance accessing childcare and other support. However, many of the facilities where service providers operate need significant retrofitting, or need to be entirely rebuilt, in order to be able to provide the programs and services that clients have come to rely on.

To ensure that urban Indigenous residents have safe and accessible spaces to access culturally-relevant services, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $60 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20, to support capital infrastructure investments in Friendship Centres, which deliver the majority of UPIP programming, as well as other urban Indigenous service provider facilities.

Improving Emergency Response On-Reserve

First Nations communities face disproportionate health and safety risks arising from emergencies and natural disasters. The result is disruption, dislocation, and for too many people, a disconnection from the land that they call home. On average, people living on First Nations reserves in Canada are 18 times more likely to be evacuated as a result of disasters such as wildfires, floods and severe storms, compared to people living off-reserve.

To help First Nations communities prepare for emergencies and better adapt to the threats of climate change, Budget 2019 proposes to make additional investments, including:

• $211.0 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, with $49.4 million per year ongoing to support increased resiliency and emergency management on-reserve.
• $48.0 million over four years, starting in 2020–21, to renew funding for infrastructure projects on-reserve that will protect communities from climate-related hazards.

These additional investments will strengthen the capacity of First Nations communities to prepare for and respond to emergencies, support activities to prevent and reduce the consequences of emergencies, and fund infrastructure projects such as dams and culverts to help decrease the need for emergency response and recovery on-reserve.

They will also support the creation of an Indigenous Fire Marshall’s Office. This would be a First Nations-led institution that would promote fire safety and prevention, undertake public education, enforce local fire safety and building codes, and conduct regular building inspections in First Nations communities.

Finally, as part of the Government’s efforts to strengthen emergency management across the country, Budget 2019 also proposes to invest in expanding the FireSmart program on-reserve.

Improving Assisted Living and Long-Term Care

Members of First Nations communities who live on-reserve and have chronic illnesses or disabilities receive help through the Assisted Living Program, which provides daily living supports that help people maintain their independence and stay in their own homes and communities, close to their families and friends. This program helps over 10,000 people each year, on an income-tested basis, providing services that include in-home care, adult foster care and nursing home care.

With a growing and aging client population, and greater demand for in-home care, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $35 million in 2019–20 to ensure the Assisted Living Program continues to help meet the needs of seniors and people with disabilities. To better support First Nations and Inuit individuals living with chronic illnesses and disabilities now and in the future, Budget 2019 also proposes to provide an additional $8.5 million over two years, starting in 2019–20, to work with First Nations and Inuit communities on developing a new and more holistic long-term care strategy.

Supporting the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy was released in July 2016 and set out a series of actions and interventions at the community and regional level to address the high number of deaths by suicide among Inuit, where the suicide rate remains 5 to 25 times the national average for Canada. To continue to support Inuit peoples and communities, Budget 2019 proposes an investment of $50 million over 10 years, starting in 2019–20, with $5 million per year ongoing, to support ITK’s Inuit-specific approach through the Strategy to address deaths by suicide in Inuit communities.

Supporting Indigenous Business Development

The population of Indigenous Peoples in Canada is growing, and is increasingly younger than the general population. These younger generations of Indigenous Peoples are entrepreneurial and business-oriented, and increasingly recognize economic development as a means to self-reliance and greater autonomy for their communities and their people. At the same time, Indigenous Peoples are underrepresented in the labour market, compared to the general population in Canada. Ensuring that First Nations, Inuit and Métis are able to fully contribute to and share in Canada’s economic success is a critical part of advancing reconciliation and self-determination.

To that end, Budget 2019 proposes to invest $78.9 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, with $15.8 million per year ongoing, to support Indigenous entrepreneurs and economic development. This investment, through the Community Opportunity Readiness Program, will help First Nations and Inuit communities build business plans, and provide funding to expand existing Indigenous-led businesses, and launch new Indigenous-led start-ups.

The Métis Nation represents important Métis communities in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Building on Budget 2016 investments to support the Métis Nation in developing an economic development strategy, Budget 2019 proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, to enhance the funding of the Métis Capital Corporations to support the start-up and expansion of Métis small and medium-sized enterprises.

Engaging Indigenous Communities in Major Resource Projects

As a potential source of revenue, business development opportunities, and good, well-paying jobs for community members, major natural resource projects such as pipelines can offer significant benefits to Indigenous communities. Indigenous people are more likely to work in the natural resources sector than non-Indigenous persons. This can be a significant benefit as the natural resources sector’s average hourly wage is over $38, which is significantly higher than the national average of $27.

Budget 2019 proposes to provide $12.8 million in 2019–20 to Natural Resources Canada to maintain its capacity to conduct meaningful consultations with Indigenous communities on major energy projects and to support Indigenous economic participation in the natural resource sectors.

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project is an example of how the Government is consulting meaningfully with First Nations and Métis communities. Government officials, and representatives of Trans Mountain Corporation, have met with nearly all of the potentially impacted Indigenous communities along the route, and have heard important issues. Indigenous people are telling the Government that they want to protect sensitive sites, improve emergency response and safety capacity in their communities, protect the iconic southern resident killer whales and their habitat, mitigate the cumulative impacts of development on land and water, and ensure their communities have the opportunity to benefit economically from the project. The Government has provided federal consultation teams with a strong mandate to accommodate these concerns. The Government will make a decision on the Project once it is satisfied that the Crown has adequately fulfilled its duty to consult.

Supporting First Nations Priorities

Budget 2019 proposes significant investments to advance priorities identified by First Nations including:

• Funding to forgive and reimburse all comprehensive claim negotiation loans, which will allow communities to reinvest in their priorities.
• $1.2 billion over three years to continue to implement Jordan’s Principle and help ensure that all First Nations children can access the health, social and educational services they need, when they need them.
• $327.5 million over five years to enhance the Post-Secondary Student Support Program while the Government engages with First Nations on long-term regional post-secondary education models.
• More than $1 billion over five years to improve essential services on-reserve, such as clean drinking water, fire protection, emergency response and supports for residents with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
• Support for a distinctions-based approach to Indigenous language revitalization projects with $333.7 million over five years to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages.
• $40.0 million over five years to help First Nations research and develop their specific claims and a commitment to renew and replenish funding for the Specific Claims Settlement Fund for a further three years.
• Support for strong and successful self-governing First Nations including investments to support a new co-developed collaborative self-government fiscal policy.
• A commitment to escalate funding for core programs and services provided through the 10-year grant to ensure that funding keeps up with key cost drivers effective April 2020.

Supporting Inuit Priorities

Through the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Government of Canada have worked together to advance important priorities for Inuit such as eliminating tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat, creating a permanent Inuit Health Survey and addressing overcrowded housing. Through Budget 2019, the Government is providing $286.2 million over five years to expand the reach of successful activities and take action in new areas, including:

• $125.5 million over 10 years for an Inuit-led post-secondary education strategy.
• $50 million over 10 years to continue the important work of the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy.
• $220 million over five years to provide important health and social services to Inuit children.
• Support for a distinctions-based approach to Indigenous language revitalization projects with $333.7 million over five years to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages, including Inuktitut and Inuvialuktun.

In addition, Inuit will also benefit from the following measures:

• Funding to forgive and reimburse all comprehensive claim loans, which will allow communities to reinvest in their priorities.
• Support for strong and successful Indigenous self-governments including investments to support a new co-developed collaborative self-government fiscal policy.
• $15 million, over five years to establish a Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund to support community-led food production projects and provide skills training for local and Indigenous food production systems.
• Together with contributions from the Government of Nunavut and Inuit partners, as part of the Budget 2019, the Government announces its commitment to support the construction and ongoing operation of a mental health and substance abuse treatment facility in Nunavut.
• The Government is exploring the potential creation of a marine conservation area in the High Arctic Basin or Tuvaijuittuq (which means “the ice never melts” in Inuktitut)—the last portion of the Arctic region expected to retain summer sea ice until at least 2050. The Government will work with the Government of Nunavut and Qikiqtani Inuit Association to advance this important conservation initiative, while also working to support the development of a conservation economy in the region.

Supporting Métis Nation Priorities

In 2017, the Government of Canada and the Métis Nation signed the Canada-Métis Nation Accord. In this agreement, both parties agreed to work together on advancing joint policy objectives and making real progress to improve socio-economic outcomes for Métis Peoples. Building on the significant investments already made to support Métis Nation priorities in the areas of housing, skills and training, early learning and child care, and governance capacity, Budget 2019 continues this progress on Métis Nation priorities, including

• $362 million over 10 years to support a Métis Nation-led post-secondary education strategy.
• $30 million to recognize the contribution of Métis veterans to the country’s Second World War efforts and to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of all Métis veterans.
• Support for a distinctions-based approach to Indigenous language revitalization projects with $333.7 million over five years to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages, including Michif, the traditional language spoken by Métis Peoples.
• $50 million over five years to enhance the funding of the Métis Capital Corporations to support the start-up and expansion of Métis small and medium-sized enterprises, and up to $100 million to establish an Indigenous Growth Fund to further encourage investments in Indigenous-led businesses by Aboriginal Financial Institutions, including Métis Capital Corporations.