Inuit not getting fair share of aboriginal money

DENISE RIDEOUT

OTTAWA — Inuit organizations blasted the federal government last week for aboriginal programs that do a lot to help First Nations but leave Inuit scrambling for dollars.

Representatives from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization, and Pauktuutit, the Inuit women’s association, told a committee of federal government officials that Inuit feel they’re second-class citizens in their own country.

On May 2, the two Inuit organizations went to Parliament Hill, where they presented their case to the House of Commons standing committee on finance, an MPs’ committee that’s asking groups for their opinions on the federal budget.

Both Inuit organizations argued that while the federal government puts money into programs and services for aboriginal people, too much of it is strictly for First Nations.

“Inuit see a move within government to a one-size-fits-all approach to aboriginals,” said Whit Fraser, who works on policies and programs for the ITK.

Fraser said proof of that mentality is evident in the federal government’s programs for fetal alcohol syndrome. In the 2001 budget, for example, the government allotted millions of dollars to help children suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. But the money only went to children living on First Nations reserves.

“Inuit don’t live on reserves,” Fraser pointed out.

He said ITK believes the federal government is simply lumping all aboriginal people together, without recognizing they have different social problems and require unique programs.

“There is no national strategy for what Canada wants to do in the North,” Fraser said.

“There needs to be Inuit-specific programs. We urge the government to address the needs of all aboriginal people, and not forget the Inuit.”

Pauktuutit, which represents Inuit women across Canada, said Inuit rarely benefit from the pots of money set aside for aboriginal people.

“We get left out. We have been fighting this for a long time,” said Veronica Dewar, Pauktuutit’s president.

While the federal government has funded programs for First Nations victims of sexual abuse, Pauktuutit doesn’t even have enough money to determine how many Inuit women have suffered from abuse, let alone devise programs to help them, she said.

The fact that Inuit live in remote regions of Canada doesn’t help the matter, Dewar said. The isolation means they don’t have the same access to programs available to people outside of the North.

“Not all Inuit have access to programs and education that are taken for granted in southern Canada,” she said. “For us to access post-secondary education means we must leave our communities to attend colleges and universities in southern Canada.”

Even health-care services, such as diagnostic equipment, are rare in northern hospitals. In Nunavut, she said, there is one mammogram machine for the entire territory.

“Many women aren’t diagnosed with the cancers that specifically affect women until it’s too late to save their lives,” she told the committee.

The two national Inuit organizations suggested the federal government take a closer look at its commitment to helping aboriginal people and devise programs that are geared specifically toward Inuit.