The Hon. James Bartleman's Speech on National Aboriginal Day - 2005

Address by the Hon. James K. Bartleman, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Ryerson University, Toronto, June 21, 2005 / National Aboriginal Day

Canada Newswire Service

TORONTO, June 21 /CNW/ - National Aboriginal Day is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of aboriginal communities in Ontario and across Canada. It is a time to treasure rich traditions and appreciate the contributions made by elders, leaders, artists and all individuals who value their aboriginal heritage. And it is a time to look forward to changes which will help these communities not only to survive, but to thrive.

I would like to take this opportunity to look at the current situation of Canada's aboriginal peoples.

According to the Canadian Policy Research Networks 2004 report:⁽¹⁾Canada's aboriginal population is growing almost three times as fast as that of the rest of the country, is much younger than the general population, and is increasingly urbanized the poverty rate among aboriginal peoples in the 12 largest cities is between two and four times the rate for non-aboriginal people more than 50% of aboriginal children live in poverty suicide rates are five to seven times the rates for other Canadians.

The most recent census, carried out by StatsCan in 2001, shows that nearly one million people, or 3.3% of Canada's population, identify themselves as North American Indian, Mtis or Inuit. Of the 62% who reported they were North American Indian, more than one-fifth live in Ontario.

In 2003, Statistics Canada released some data from The Aboriginal Peoples Survey, a post-census investigation, which gave us a snapshot of the well being of Canada's non-reserve aboriginal population. While it documented ongoing challenges in the areas of health, education, housing and language, it also reported gains in health and education levels overall.

For example, seven out of ten respondents aged 15 to 24 rated their health as very good or excellent, which is almost identical to levels within the total Canadian population in the same age group. The report also found a growing percentage of aboriginal young people who had completed post-secondary studies - 37%, up from 32% in 1996 - compared to 58%, up from 52%, for the total Canadian population.

For those with an interest in aboriginal affairs in Canada, there were no real surprises in the Statistics Canada report. We know that, here in Ontario, there is a growing middle-class among urban aboriginals, with Native Canadians making major contributions in the fields of medicine, law, the arts, education and business.

However, it is also true that this burgeoning middle-class is overshadowed by a poorly educated underclass of urban Natives. And, as I have seen during visits to 48 First Nations communities over the past three years, there is also an enormous disparity in living conditions and educational levels between First Nations communities in Southern and Northern Ontario.

A report on Aboriginal Communities in Northern Ontario, prepared for the Training Boards of Northern Ontario in February 2004,⁽²⁾ pointed out that the industrial and occupational structure of aboriginal communities in Northern Ontario, which comprises almost 89% of Ontario's landmass, differ from those of the rest of the province, with lower educational levels and average income.

Even in the North, there are noticeable differences between communities with year-round roads and those in "fly-in" areas, where the only access is by plane or over ice roads in winter. These latter areas account for more than half the landmass of our province. In fly-in regions, living conditions are at Third World levels and suicide rates are high, especially among the young.

At the same time, literacy levels are low, because books are expensive in areas where every item has to be flown in from the outside.

Despite, or perhaps because of, these harsh realities many First Nations communities place a high value on their heritage and culture. Traditionally, they have passed on their history and lore to future generations through the oral tradition of storytelling.

As Niska, the Oji-Cree medicine woman in Joseph Boyden's remarkable novel, Three Day Road, recalls of her father, "sometimes his stories were all that we had to keep us alive."

It is vital that young aboriginal people stay in touch with their heritage and culture. But storytelling is not enough any more.if they are to make their way in the world. To succeed in today's global economy, Canadian children are learning computer skills, math and sciences. But, as the Auditor General pointed out in her November 2004 report, aboriginal children lag so far behind, that it will take as much as 28 years to close the gap between the numbers of Native versus non-Native high school graduates.

There are many well-meaning Canadians - Native and non-Native alike - who care deeply about the situation in aboriginal communities, on a national, provincial and local level.

The Romanow report on Canada's health care system and the Rae report on post-secondary education in Ontario both singled out the need for new approaches to aboriginal health and education issues. At the federal, provincial and municipal levels, governments are launching extensive new initiatives and want to work with aboriginal leaders to tackle the challenges facing aboriginal communities, on and off the reserve.

Initiatives such as the Ryerson roundtable and the Toronto Star series on "Ontario's Forgotten Children" by Louise Brown and Ren Johnston are helping to channel a groundswell of public goodwill into concrete action to help those who live in Northern Ontario's aboriginal communities.

But it is important not to forget how much Native communities are doing to tackle their own problems. As one of the Toronto Star articles pointed out, in the midst of the poverty and despair, there is also hope and determination, with community leaders launching local educational reforms and literacy initiatives.

National Aboriginal Day is an opportunity for all Canadians to celebrate the contributions of First Nations, Mtis and Inuit people to our country and our province. And even more importantly, it is a reminder to young aboriginal people that their heritage and culture are a proud and strong foundation on which to build their future.

⁽¹⁾ Urgent Need, Serious Opportunity: Towards a New Social Model for Canada's Aboriginal Peoples, Frances Abele. April 2004

⁽²⁾ by Chris Southcott, PhD, Lakehead University

For further information: Nanda Casucci-Byrne, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Tel. (416) 909-7552,