While the entire report is a must-read for anyone interested in poverty in Regina, one particular statistic jumps out at me. Check out this quote:

In 2001, the estimated child poverty rate in Canada was 15.6 per cent while that of Saskatchewan was 17.6 per cent. Yet, the poverty rate among First Nations children ages 0-14 living off-reserve in Saskatchewan in 2000 was 55.9 per cent, while the corresponding number for Regina was 61.3 per cent. The incidence of poverty
among Métis children ages 0-14 living off-reserve in Saskatchewan in 2000 was 36 per cent, while the corresponding number for Regina was 45.7 per cent.

Shocking numbers, but I am wondering, has anyone seen more current numbers? If you have, please contact us, or leave a comment below!

There’s a new buzz word that I really dig that’s being used to describe this conundrum – eco-discrimination. The hot topics of the day, such as the unanimous (albeit grudgingly) support in the Saskatchewan Legislature of nuclear power, or the equally hot debate surrounding Regina’s new stadium, often neglect that massive amounts of discrimination go into decisions like these. Especially when it comes to location – and the consequences are grave.

There’s a reason that Regina’s landfill is located just outside the city, right by our penitentiary. No one wanted a damn landfill in his or her neighbourhood. The consequences? Environmental standards require that garbage dumps be built on top of at least 8-10 feet of clay when they’re in proximity to a water supply or aquifer. Regina’s landfill is built above only 2 feet of clay, putting an aquifer that supplies vast numbers of Regina citizens with water at risk. It was viewed as the only acceptable place… and we will pay the price.

Mosaic Stadium, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was built in one of the lowest income communities in Regina. Why? Because these citizens had little means of protesting it – unlike the successful protests that prevented the stadium being built elsewhere. Moreover, let’s set aside the accompanying noise levels for a moment. Stadiums have the ability to bring communities together with sport and cultural events – if they can afford to go to them. So, how nice for little Timmy or Suzie, getting to watch all the people going to events in the stadium across the street that they don’t have the money to attend. Does anyone else see the irony here?

As a last example of eco-discrimination, take the Saskatchewan government’s newfound collective support for nuclear power. Numerous Indigenous communities are bracing themselves for the inevitable battle for environmental and human rights. The fact remains that many lucrative, beneficial, yet environmentally invasive projects are situated incredibly close to Indigenous communities whose opinions are neither valued nor wanted by industry or government. One needs only to look to natural resource industry for existing examples.

Location matters – both of those making the decisions, but also the communities that will be affected. We must think critically about why certain locations are chosen for projects like stadiums and power plants, and who comprises the communities that live in proximity. Eco-discrimination takes many forms, but the underlying commonality is that it takes advantage of communities with little recourse to defend their rights. If you are in favour of Regina’s new stadium or prospective nuclear power plant, I ask you – whose backyard should they be built in?

With stats like this, is it any wonder that one in four Aboriginal children live in poverty?

Aboriginal unemployment/underemployment should be a major concern to the powers that be in Canada. However, it sometimes seems like Aboriginal economic development is a far lower priority for Canadians than it should be. Is it really that much easier to watch Save the Children commercials when they are filmed in Africa?

With this in mind, I would like to propose a way to dramatically increase the Aboriginal employment rate. Currently, if a person with status earns income on a reserve, that income is not taxable. That is good, but it is not good enough. You need investment to create income and sadly, the investments are not coming in fast enough to feed a population boom. So, why not make investment income on reserves totally tax free as well?

Here is an example. Joe has $250,000 to invest, so he starts a business on a reserve. That business meets strenuous requirements for Aboriginal job creation and is approved of by the community in question. Therefore, any profits that Joe makes are completely tax free. If his business profits 8% of his investment, he will take home $20,000 and not have to pay a nickel in tax. If he turns around and sells his business for $5,000,000, again, he will not have to pay a cent of tax.

Sounds like a pretty good deal for Joe, doesn’t it? What does that do for the community? Well, let’s say that Joe hires 6 people and pays out a total of $159,840 in salaries (this is the equivalent of $216,000 off reserve). Some of this money will be spent on the reserve and other industries (fueled by other tax free investments) will start to spring up. As the money supply increases, both unemployment and poverty will decrease.

My gut tells me that I will I will be labelled as a meddler, or an apologist or a neo-con for writing something so business minded. That is fine because none of them are true. I am just a guy who really loves the free market and who gets really angry when little kids go hungry. Tell me what you think…

 It’s a day of pride! No matter what you take away from this brief post, know that I love Canada passionately – for this is true. We have so much beauty, so much prosperity as a whole. Don’t think that I didn’t toast my country with a pint tonight… I did! I’m one of the luckiest people of in the world because I get to wake up in Canada; and I’m certainly very privileged.

 However, July 1^st is also a day of reflection. Canada has a repugnant, violent, and often invisible history. Canada was not founded by noble pioneers that lived off the land in the face of all odds. Nor was it a mosaic of culture or a project of multiculturalism that succeeded. Canada was founded on the violent misappropriation of Indigenous land. It was founded on the backs of those people that still experience marginalization and poverty to this day.

 Do I toast my country on the eve of its birthday? Sure. Do I remember that I only have as much privilege as I do because of colonialism, both historic and contemporary? You better believe it.

 I would argue that our legal system is designed to serve certain people and not others. Take the most basic of facts – if you are going to enter into a court case, you need time and you need money. Competent lawyers cost a lot of money; hell even incompetent lawyers cost a lot of money! Planning a court case and then going to court takes an incomprehensible amount of time – most of which is spent being apprehensive and stressed out. Most people simply can’t afford the time and money it takes to see a court case through – which can take years.

 The very succinct point that I’m trying to make is that when rights are violated, some people have more recourse than others do. The impoverished are only one of those demographics that feel the intolerable sting of injustice. It leads to less dignity and recognition of the inherent humanity in the person/people to which the infamous scales of the law do not tilt toward. It’s just a thought… ; D