Edge columnist
Arielle hunter
Kalani Mah Leong
When indigenous people are promised many things from the government, but they cannot deliver. Why they are mad and what they want to be changed. Why they continue to fight for there rights. This article is inspired by atp news story about improper budgeting.
Point:
The Indigenous people feel that they are well deserved of more money. Not only do they feel they are well deserved of more money, but they also have recognized issues throughout the Indigenous communities. Housing is a big issue that hasn’t been properly dealt with through the Indigenous lifestyles. For example, during the 2020 global pandemic there had been a shortage of available housing for Indigenous people in their area and on their reserves. Therefor because of this issue many Indigenous families had to create makeshift homes on their reserves. Indigenous people not only have made makeshift homes, but they also commonly don’t have lights. Both issues can cause many safety hazards and could potentially cause life altering events. This can cause a wide variety of injuries and health issues which will not only cost individuals more money, but it also puts them at high risks. Those who at least have a house may not have the resources needed to live comfortably but there is currently over 2000 people on a waitlist for homes. All these issues combined make living situations very difficult and uncomfortable mean while in the city and for nonindigenous we are constantly building new buildings and homes while there are people outside the city who need it more.
The Canadian government has made lots of promises towards the indigenous people and has consistently failed to follow through with their promises. The Canadian government pledged to close the gap in the infrastructure department by 2030 but is no where near closing the gap let alone by 2030. Not only are we far away from closing the gap by 2023 but the Indigenous feel that when looking back at past commitments we have now started to steer away. When interviewed many Indigenous felt that the government was not including them in the plans. The Indigenous people feel as though the government has made many promises to them but have also broken many promises. Since the Indigenous people have been let down so many times and have received broken promises, they have already been disappointed prior to this and I’m sure they don’t feel much better now.
Since many were skeptical of the budget after the prime minister mentioned Indigenous focuses as a priority but never ended up following through, they did analytics on the budget to show if people were right to be skeptical. One analyzed it was shown that there were significant areas where the budget fell short as policing and roads. Although there were many parts that ended up falling short there were two that stood out the most which truly showed how terrible conditions are for Indigenous people. The two that stood out most were housing and water. Housing stood out knowing how many Indigenous people are on waitlists for homes and how many people were left with no choice but to make temporary makeshift homes. Not only is housing an issue but clean drinking water on reserves is a huge issue that should have been dealt with earlier. Unlike in the city many Indigenous communities don’t have access to clean drinking water available to them. After analyzation the budget had received a score of four out of 10 but had been bumped out in the end to a five out of 10 for their $5 billion loan towards natural resources and energy.
Counterpoint:
$57 billion form the government, and they still wish for more. Many of the indigoes people have a lot of worries about the amount of money they are getting. Infrastructure, housings, and school are some of there biggest concerned. According to Canadian government “Freeland’s 2024 budget pledges $9 billion in new cash for Indigenous Peoples, with major line items covering child and family services, education, health, housing and on-reserve income assistance” (gov., 2023). They have already got a lot of money from then government and they and planning on getting more. They are also worried as well because there was not any money put towards the reconciliation part. Even though the government has given all this money and time to them the indigoes people still want the government to pay then for there “friendship.” They are also concerned because they are not able to repair certain things, though the government is only responsible for giving the money not what or how they use it. There also quite worried because their buildings are quite crowded but with their land coming back to them it should not be an issue. They will all so be receiving 22.3 billion in the next five years for infrastructure. So why do they want more?
According to atp news “Ottawa does pledge $918 million over five years for Indigenous housing and community infrastructure but AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said this is not nearly enough.” (Needham, 2024 ). They are getting all this money, but every news site has said they want more. They want more put towards there reconciliation, but they have already given 2 billion to them and are planning on giving 918 million in the next 5 years. Many families also get separate support for their survival of residential schools, they receive any ware from 10, 000 to 200, 000 dollars based on their experience. Families also get support from the government if they need extra support with their children. A lot of money is going towards them as well as they are getting a lot of their land back and now, they want money to form the government to keep their friendship. This year alone as well they will be getting 18 million dollars.
The indigoes people are saying the amount of money they are receiving is nowhere close to what they should be getting, but why is that. The government has given so much, and the indigoes people want more a lot faster. According to CBC news “late last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan to build 3.87 million new homes by 2031 countrywide” (Forester, 2024 ). This plan also includes $4.3 billion for new investment in house, so this leads us again to the question to why do they need so much more if they have already been given so much money. It’s also not the governments job to know and control what they do with the money they just proved it so can’t say it’s not focused on indigoes priorities. This is also best it’s ever been for the indigoes, and they are demanding more, as well as fast but this is going to take time and they are not recognizing this. In 2022 $149.5 million was given to housing and this number has only gone up, this number keeps on increasing over the years and the are giving more. For the small communities they have this is a lot of money.
A way Gleneagle students can relate to this is looking at this event from the perspective of cellphones being banned this up coming September. Many students feel as though their voices aren’t being heard when they are trying to express how they feel about the situation and that is exactly how Indigenous people feel about this budget. When students became aware that cellphones will be banned in schools they wanted to be heard when talking about how its not a negative influence and it doesn’t cause them harm in school quite like how Indigenous people want to be heard when they express their needs and opinions. Overall, there are many ways Gleneagle students could potentially relate to this story but the one that stood out to me was the feeling of being unheard.
In conclusion the indigoes people are mad because they have been mistreated for years and what the government to make it right and they are not doing enough in their eyes to make it right. As we drive deeper in both the good and bad we learn many things such as how much they are paying and why. Why they feel they deserve this money and many reasons why they might need and want it. After many years it is on the right track even if is not a very positive article its still going in the right direction. This article brings awareness to other apices of indigoes struggles. We have learned that they will continue to fight for what they believe. It’s good to look and understand both side of this because the more you know the more you can help. All in all, everyone seems to be on the same paper all though not perfect we are moving to a better future for our kids and their kids.
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