It's past time to show some guts, deal with racism

The provincial election has been a snoozefest in Indian country.

There is a lack of policies for change from either of the main political parties. We have both the NDP and Saskatchewan Party tinkering around the edges, basically preserving the status quo, and 20 per cent of the Saskatchewan population has either been ignored or taken for granted.

Saskatchewan's Aboriginal population is a rapidly emerging workforce, and we hold the future of the province in our hands.

And yet the elephant in the room has been ignored in this election. Racial tensions and a lack of equity are holding us all back. For once, I would like to see a political party with the guts to meet the issue of racism in this province head on.

The trial of Gerald Stanley in the killing of Colten Boushie laid bare the racism in Saskatchewan and gave the province a black eye both nationally and internationally. The depth of the chasm between the province's Aboriginal People and the settlers was brought into stark contrast, and two years later nothing has changed.

Rather than tinker with the existing leaky and patched up ship, we need a serious discussion about racism and how it will hold the province back and continue to cost lives, people's futures and money. Holding down a segment of the population is expensive for the cost of health and social services and lost revenue from taxation. We are reaching a point where racism is financially unsustainable.

The combined First Nations and Métis population of Saskatchewan is roughly 20 per cent of the total population. How does this play out in the scheme of things?

Sixty-five per cent of federal inmates are Aboriginal and 75 per cent of the population in provincial jails are Aboriginal. The correctional system has become the new boarding school system of institutionalizing our people and placing them out of sight and out of mind.

Indigenous People have a 15-per-cent unemployment rate compared to seven per cent for the province as a whole. Our unemployment rate is three times higher than the rest of the province, but this counts only those who are actively seeking work. The number of people who have given up and are not actively seeking work is higher.

The low employment rate fosters a child poverty rate that is 70 per cent for the on-reserve population.

While we are 20 per cent of the provincial workforce, we should constitute 20 per cent of the employment in the civil service, the Crown corporations, the universities, the health-care system and so on.

There are lots of jobs where employees can learn on the job (postal workers and liquor store employees pick up their skills on the fly). One can only conclude that we are kept out of the workforce by racist policies or hiring practices.

Back in the 1960s, when Aboriginal People constituted roughly seven per cent of the provincial population, the Liberal government of Ross Thatcher implemented a program called the Indian and Métis Employment Program that hired Aboriginal People in the provincial civil service based on equity. I recall once that Chief Gordon Oakes from the Nikaneet First Nation told me he worked for the Department of Highways for years because of this program.

Racism continues to be a problem across the country. When our people try to better themselves and get a piece of the economy, we are pushed back and demonized for our treaty and Aboriginal rights. The racist control of the East Coast lobster industry is one example. Right now, it may be highly visible and occupy the news cycle, but the attitude and sense of white privilege extend across the country, and Saskatchewan stands out as one of the worst examples.

The next provincial government must deal with racism — it's a disease that is destroying this province.

Clearly Saskatchewan's future depends on the success of the Aboriginal population. Continuing to warehouse our people on welfare and keeping us unemployed hasn't worked and it spells disaster for the future.

This province has reached a tipping point. Either we continue down the road of racism and hate or we get serious about our future and work together to build a province with equity and fairness.