$349B needed now to close infrastructure gap by 2030, Assembly of First Nations says in report
The cost of closing the onreserve infrastructure gap will top half a trillion dol‐ lars by 2040 unless the fed‐ eral government acts now, the Assembly of First Na‐ tions says, joining a chorus of voices warning Ottawa is at risk of missing its tar‐ gets.
Canada must invest $349.2 billion now to ensure First Nations and non-Indige‐ nous communities have ac‐ cess to similar infrastructure by 2030, the national advo‐ cacy organization said in a re‐ port released Tuesday.
Closing that gap by 2030 is one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's signature pledges on reconciliation -a promise the assembly's leader said the Liberal gov‐ ernment now risks breaking.
"Without immediate and decisive action, First Nations are at risk of facing more than 60 more years of inade‐ quate access to infrastruc‐ ture, housing and digital con‐ nectivity," National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement released Tuesday.
The assembly, which rep‐ resents more than 600 First Nations chiefs from across the country, co-developed the report with Indigenous Services Canada and consult‐ ing firm BTY Group.
The Closing the Infrastruc‐ ture Gap by 2030 report en‐ compasses housing, schools, water plants, roads and other assets, including ports, wharves, clinics and digital connectivity.
It ties the enormous defi‐ cit to decades of underfund‐ ing, federal failures and un‐ fair distribution of wealth. The report also serves as a comprehensive budget pro‐ posal, and promises the infu‐ sion of $349.2 billion would create more than 3.2 million jobs and boost Canada's GDP by more than $1 trillion.
Woodhouse Nepinak said the government now has all the data it needs and can no longer make excuses for un‐ derfunding and neglect, since the report bears Indigenous Services Canada's seal of ap‐ proval.
"Promises have been made and must now be kept," she said.
Coming out of a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill following the report's release, the minister of Indigenous Services stood by the 2030 target.
"That's certainly still the goal," Patty Hajdu told re‐ porters.
But to reach it, all orders of the government and the private sector must work to‐ gether, she said, adding that in some cases there are prac‐ tical challenges aside from money that may rule out in‐ frastructure work right now.
"This is a big, big lift," she said.
"It's not just obviously the investment of money."
Nevertheless, the assem‐ bly forecasts the cost will on‐ ly grow without action in the coming years due to economic pressures includ‐ ing inflation, construction costs and fuel prices coupled with the continued deteriora‐ tion of already substandard infrastructure.
"Our report shows that, due to the government of Canada's inaction, the timeline to close the gap is expected to be delayed to the year 2040 and the cost to close the First Nations infra‐ structure and housing gap in 2040 will increase to $527.9 billion," Woodhouse Nepinak said.
The estimate does not dis‐ cuss the infrastructure gap facing Métis and Inuit.
In a report of its own, na‐ tional organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami estimates it would take $75.1 billion spread over 35 years to close the gap in Inuit regions.
Report follows federal housing announcemen‐ ts
The assembly's report lands just a week before the tabling of the 2024 budget, and fol‐ lows a string of Trudeau-gov‐ ernment pre-budget an‐ nouncements aimed at im‐ proving affordability and in‐ creasing housing supply in municipalities.
However, some of the proposed policies have drawn fire from some pre‐ miers who accuse the prime minister of reaching into areas of provincial jurisdic‐ tion such as municipal zoning and building regulation.
Reserves, on the other hand, are under federal juris‐ diction. Last month Auditor General Karen Hogan lam‐ basted the Trudeau govern‐ ment for failing to meet onreserve housing needs.
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In a scathing report, Hogan found Ottawa is at high risk of not closing the housing gap by 2030 and has, through outdated fund‐ ing formulas, already short‐ changed First Nations in the three Prairie provinces out of $274.3 million collectively.
Calling these findings deeply troubling, the national chief said, "It's clear the gov‐ ernment of Canada is falling short of its 2030 deadline on providing adequate housing, which is a human right, and First Nations deserve more than failed promises."
In an analysis of its own released last year, the federal New Democratic Party said the government is on pace to miss the 2030 target by be‐ tween 58 and 141 years.
NDP MP Niki Ashton, who represents a northern Mani‐ toba riding with several First Nations, called the reported underfunding of housing in First Nations in her province "the stuff of lawsuits." She described the assembly's re‐ port as damning.
"The Liberal government has talked a good talk on rec‐ onciliation. They've talked about how the relationship with Indigenous peoples is the most important relation‐ ship for them," Ashton said.
"And yet what do we have to show for it? An almost $350-billion infrastructure
gap. That is the opposite of reconciliation."
A spokesperson for Hajdu defended the Liberal record, pointing to the 105 longterm, on-reserve boil water advisories in place under the Harper Conservatives, which the Liberals have reduced to 28.
"Undoing centuries of colonialism and discrimina‐ tory funding cannot be done overnight, but we are making progress," wrote spokesper‐ son Jennifer Kozelj.
The Conservatives did not respond to a request for comment on the report.