A profound challenge

The latest census of Canada’s population tells many stories, and one of the most heartening is the unprecedented growth in the number of Indigenous people.

Over the past decade, their numbers have soared — by 42.5 per cent, according to the census results. That’s a rate four times faster than the growth in the general population. Almost 1.7 million Canadians now have an Indigenous background.

This is the result of at least two factors. Indigenous people have, on average, a much higher fertility rate than others. And more and more people are identifying as First Nations, Métis or Inuit. Increasingly, it’s a point of pride rather than shame.

All this presents a profound challenge to Canada, one that will only grow more urgent over the coming years. By one projection, there will be 2.5 million Indigenous people in Canada within a couple of decades.

Unfortunately, the same census that chronicles the growth in First Nations, Métis and Inuit people also contains a familiar and more troubling story: the persistent and shameful shortfall in services for Indigenous populations, especially children.

Far too many, for example, are in foster care. While less than 8 per cent of Canadian children under 4 are Indigenous, the census shows they make up more than 51 per cent of young children in foster care. This points to profound social problems that many experts trace back to the traumas of the residential school system and the so-called Sixties Scoop.

Indigenous people are still living with the long-term effects of those misguided policies on their families, and Canada still has not fully come to terms with them.

At the same time, the census contains a reminder that too many First Nations and Inuit people are living in substandard conditions. People on reserves, in particular, are putting up with homes that badly need repairs or are too small for their families. This has been going on for decades — yet governments continue to skimp on repairs and expect Indigenous people to endure conditions that other Canadians wouldn’t tolerate.

Indigenous people have been speaking out louder and more forcefully in recent years. Increasingly, they have numbers and the self-confidence that comes with that on their side. Canadians, and especially the governments that speak for them, must stop dragging their heels in meeting this challenge.