Status quo budget concerns Aboriginal leaders
Mark Arcand is worried about the Saskatchewan Party government’s decision to maintain the status quo rather than address problems plaguing First Nations and Metis people across the province.
“I don’t see any improvements to help the incarceration rate, children in care, the education piece (or) health initiatives,” the Saskatoon Tribal Council chief said Wednesday in an interview.
“Let’s be honest: In regards to our First Nations communities, we still need a lot of those services to help deal with the residential school effects and if we put the dollars up front it will help … alleviate some of those issues.”
The provincial government committed $200.2 million to First Nations and Metis programs and organizations in its 2018-19 budget, which aims to shave about $230 million off a $595-million deficit.
That represents a reduction of 1.5 per cent, or $3.1 million, from the 2017-18 budget, delivered just over a year ago.
The money flows through 13 government ministries, including Social Services ($34.8 million), Immigration and Career Training ($27.8 million), Advanced Education ($17.2 million) and Corrections and Policing ($15.2 million).
Almost all of those ministries plan to keep funding at 2017-18 levels next year. The largest reduction came from the Ministry of Government Relations: $74.9 million in 2018-19, down from $77.6 million last year.
Virtually all of that cash is returned to First Nations under the province’s gambling agreement, which is based on casino revenue from the previous year. The agreement was renegotiated last year, and is set to expire in 2037.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations attributes the decline to a softer economy, but Government Relations Minister Warren Kaeding said the province doesn’t have a good explanation for why gambling revenue decreased last year.
Speaking about the government’s overall approach to funding First Nations programs and organizations next year, Kaeding said most ministries “held the line” established by the 2017-18 budget.
“As we go through the budgeting process, we continue to look at where our most urgent needs are, and certainly First Nations and Metis is one group that we certainly don’t want to be shortchanging in any way, shape or form,” he said.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron acknowledged the province’s fiscal situation but questioned how the government will fulfil the inherent and treaty rights of Saskatchewan’s fastest-growing demographic by cutting funding.
“It’s going to make (it) a little tougher to get things done. However, it’s not going to stop our First Nations from doing the best we can with what little we have,” Cameron said in an interview Wednesday.
Both Cameron and Arcand called on the provincial government to spend more time working with Indigenous leaders and communities to determine what their needs are, and then work to address them.
“We want to continue working together in the spirit of reconciliation to make this a better province for all people, First Nations people included,” Arcand said.