The unprecedented expansion of federal Indigenous spending - " As Canada limps into a potentially multi-billion-dollar crisis involving outstanding Aboriginal land claims, it comes just as federal spending on “Indigenous priorities” has already reached all-time highs. As recently as 2024, the federal government was spending twice as much on Indigenous priorities as it was on the military. In fact, an explosion in Indigenous spending is largely responsible for the unexpected 2024 budget deficit that led to the ouster of then prime minister Justin Trudeau. When the Liberals first took power in 2015, their own estimates showed that total federal government spending on what they deemed “Indigenous priorities” was about $11 billion. Within 10 years, this had nearly tripled. By 2024, internal Department of Finance estimates were showing that planned “investments in Indigenous Priorities” were set to hit $32 billion... A breakdown by the website Canada Spends notes that in fiscal year 2024, 12.25 per cent of all federal monies were spent by one of two federal agencies: Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. This was compared to just 6.71 per cent spent on the military. In 2023/2024, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada reported “actual expenditures” of $16.3 billion. Indigenous Services Canada, in turn, posted “actual expenditures” of $46.5 billion. Together, it came to $62.8 billion for the year. In the most recent census, 1.8 million Canadians self-identified as Indigenous, although this represented a range of everyone from Inuit to on-reserve First Nations to Canadians of Métis heritage. If $62.8 billion was to be divided equally among the 1.8 million, however, it would come to about $35,000 per person. According to Canada Spends, Canada cumulatively spent a total of $243.8 billion on Indigenous priorities between 2014 and 2024, with much of that being due to the expansion of Indigenous spending under the Liberal government. For context, if Canada had kept to the spending levels of 2014, even when adjusting for inflation the decade-long total would have come to about $145 billion. The difference of $99 billion is roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of Manitoba. Put another way, it would take Manitoba’s entire annual economic activity just to cover the increase in federal Indigenous spending since 2014. The massive expansion of federal spending on Indigenous priorities hasn’t been a secret. In fact, it’s been an explicit line item in multiple budgetary and policy documents. The last budget tabled under Trudeau, for instance, wrote that “spending on Indigenous priorities has increased significantly.” All the extra spending has been coming from two basic directions. First, a generalized increase in all manner of grants and transfer payments, as well as a new latticework of federal programs on everything from Indigenous languages to mental health supports to shellfish harvesting and funding to locate burial sites at former residential schools. For example, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was alone budgeted at $2.2 billion over five years. Meanwhile, the Liberal campaign promise to lift on-reserve boil-water advisories had cost $6.3 billion as of 2024. While 150 advisories have been lifted over the length of the program, 39 remain in effect. The second major driver of heightened Indigenous spending has been an unprecedented surge in land claims and other settlements. The largest of these was a court-ordered $23.34 billion settlement agreed in 2023 to compensate decades of underfunded on-reserve child welfare services. The Liberal government has also been very active in settling land claims and otherwise “providing compensation for past harms of colonialism.” Between just 2020 and 2025, Ottawa paid out $15.1 billion to resolve 229 of what it calls “specific claims.” Essentially, First Nations grievances against Ottawa for not meeting treaty obligations, often in relation to the administration of land... In late 2024, Ottawa’s Fall Economic Update would post a surprise federal deficit of $62 billion — way higher than the $40 billion that had been originally forecast. This overage precipitated the resignation of deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, and, ultimately, the caucus revolt that led to the early 2025 resignation of Trudeau. According to the update’s own text, the unexpected deficit was mostly due to “significant unexpected expenses related to Indigenous contingent liabilities.” The total for those “significant unexpected expenses” came to $16.4 billion, roughly three quarters of the unexpected overrun."
The unprecedented expansion of federal Indigenous spending : r/canada - "When you pair this with decline in living standards and lowered life expectancy for indigenous peoples in this county you really have to ask whether any of this is helping"
"I had a meeting a few years ago with the chief of a very impoverished northern FN and the guy showed up in a private helicopter. It isn’t hard to figure out what’s happening."
Clearly, the problem was they didn't get enough money
Christie Blatchford: Why are the people of Kashechewan still living on a flood plain? - "Near as I can tell, all that’s changed in the intervening years since Pope wrote his report is INAC’s name; it became Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, and then, two years ago under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was halved into two separate departments... Among the shameful facts he found (and he is a lawyer): Kashechewan received, back then, “between $18 and 22 million each year in public monies,” mostly from the feds via INAC, but also from the Ontario government, Health Canada and the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council. “This is a significant amount of money for a community the size of Kashechewan,” he noted, mildly in the circumstances. (That sum, according to the First Nation’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, sat at about $33 million from INAC and almost $10 million from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Affairs.) Yet, Pope said, “the Kashechewan First Nation has routinely advised INAC that the budgeted funds are insufficient to meet the needs of the community… INAC has replied that (the allocation) is “done fairly and as best as can be done given finite financial resources... Homes in Kash were substandard, or met few federal or provincial standards for building, fire, electrical. They were also poorly maintained by the occupants, but he found out why — there were no housing bylaws, no one responsible for enforcing standards, no direction on what to do with garbage. Policing by the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service” was inadequate, and no effort was made to curb widespread “out-of-control conduct.” The quality of education was measurably declining... Pope had a team canvass every house in Kash, in both English and Cree. “A significant majority,” he said, believed that it was in the best interests of their children and families to move away from the river and the traditional lands. Pope recommended the move be to the outskirts of Timmins, with the proviso that the people retain the use and any revenue sharing possibilities of their traditional lands. The new houses, he said, should be privately owned. A community centre and recreation facilities should be built. “The young people of Kashechewan will be the greatest beneficiaries of a new era of intellectual and occupational advancement and fulfillment. “This was the determining factor for many band members in deciding to relocate.” So, why are they still there, governments, and that’s governments of all stripes? Why are those beautiful kids not getting all the opportunity other kids get? It’s all enough to make your head explode."
From 2019
‘These are things that nobody should go through’: no end in sight to water crisis in Kashechewan First Nation - "As Kaschechwan First Nation navigates a water crisis, families are having to get by with one case of water bottles per day... Evacuations have become a way of life for Paulmartin and others in the community. Because Kaschewan is located in a flood plain, along the Albany River, it floods every spring."
From 2026. Clearly, relocating them permanently would be ethnic cleansing
Parasites confirmed in Kashechewan’s water supply, dozens ill : r/northernontario - "When you have the resources you train people. That didn’t cut it in Walkerton. This has been going on for 20 years; at some point a finger must be pointed."
"They also received 1.7 million last year alone to fix/upgrade their water systems. copied and pasted from another post "The Kashechewan First Nation has received significant federal funding for infrastructure, including an estimated $242 million (adjusted) from 2006-2024 for water, roads, etc., plus over $50 million annually, with recent funding including $1.7 million for water plant upgrades and $8.4 million for relocation planning, highlighting ongoing challenges despite substantial investment.""
"Another 242 million will do the trick"
Parasites confirmed in Kashechewan’s water supply, dozens ill : r/northernontario - "Look at their community on Google Earth/maps. They built in a river delta, then to reduce flooding a massive dyke was built around the town. Here is a report from 2006. It discusses the options of either moving the community 30km north, staying put, or buying an old lumber town 30 minutes away from Timmins. In December it was announced that another $8.6 million dollar study was going to be launched to determine what should be done. The community believes they will have better economic opportunities by moving 30kms to the north.... If the link doesn't show up in Reddit. Google kashechewan relocation report. https://homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/OIDA%20IJSD%2008-04-15.pdf Their nation has had at least 20 years to build a 30km road to North yet appear to have done nothing to help themselves. They could assign members of the community to be responsible for certain infrastructure, but why bother when it gets replaced when broken?"
Clearly, they need even more money
B.C. shelves Indigenous heritage conservation measures after strong political backlash - The Globe and Mail - "It was the latest backtrack on Indigenous issues from the provincial government. Almost two years ago, the NDP cancelled planned amendments to the Land Act, which would have allowed the province to share its decision-making powers over public lands with Indigenous groups. The measures would have covered access and use of public land, which encompasses 94 per cent of the province, and had impacts on forestry, among other endeavours. But the public outcry over the BC Supreme Court Cowichan decision that recognized Aboriginal title for the Cowichan on lands in Richmond this past summer, which has introduced legal uncertainty about the ownership of some private property in city, has forced the NDP to back down. “We have moved so far to the right. I think the government is being cautious,” said Mr. Phillip, who is also a member of the First Nations Leadership Council... He said making “intangible heritage” protected under the Heritage Conservation Act without any further definition would make bad legislation worse. The overhaul of the Heritage Conservation Act was aimed at giving First Nations more say in decisions about what needs to be protected and how, and at expanding the definition of heritage by including sites that don’t have any artifacts but have been identified as sacred in songs, stories or legends of First Nations. Oral histories have increasingly been taken seriously as evidence by courts and researchers in recent decades, but Mr. Gardner said the proposed new act had no definition of how much evidence would be needed to certify a site as sacred. “What does it mean? What is the standard?” he asked. “Because of its subjective nature, it would create a significant challenge.” Mr. Eby defended his government’s approach to Indigenous consultation, but said no one thinks the current Heritage Conservation Act is working. He noted the act has led to years-long delays in rebuilding the village of Lytton, which was razed during a ferocious wildfire in 2021. But he also defended the principle of the current act, despite news that, under provisions of the current, unchanged act, a Kamloops homeowner is facing more than $100,000 in legal and other expenses after a landscaper doing some work found two skulls – possibly dumped there at some time in the past as part of fill – on his property."
Not giving away your province means you're moving far to the right
Criminalizing residential school debate threatens free speech | Toronto Sun - "A bill before Parliament would see people jailed for up to two years for “condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system in Canada or by misrepresenting facts relating to it.”... New Democrat MP Leah Gazan, with the support of much of Canada’s media, wants to criminalize what she calls Residential School Denialism. But who defines what denialism is and who will be prosecuted and for what? The language in the legislation is fairly vague. Could I be prosecuted if I said there were not 215 children buried at the cemetery at the Kamloops school? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented 51 children known to have died at Kamloops. The claim of 215 unmarked graves is the result of ground penetrating radar, not any documented grave sites, not an exhumation of the graves or fuller study of the site. It’s dangerous to say that someone questioning what really happened, what the true number of deaths is, should be criminalized. Especially if we want to remain a country that claims to uphold freedom of speech... When then-prime minister Stephen Harper stood in the House of Commons and delivered the official apology for residential schools in 2008, the place was packed with survivors. While covering that event as a radio reporter on the Hill, I spoke to many survivors who had horrific experiences with residential schools. I also spoke with people who told me that they were lucky and had a great experience at their school, but they knew that wasn’t the case for all. Should those who say that not every residential school experience was part of a genocidal plot by the Canadian government face criminal prosecution? Since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions final report, the story they told has been twisted. Most students died of common childhood diseases, mostly tuberculosis but also influenza and measles, which also took the lives of countless non-indigenous children as well. Were the disease rates higher among indigenous children? Absolutely, that is a well document fact and occurred for a variety of reasons. But dying of disease if very different than dying of murder, neglect or abuse. Too often now, the narrative is that residential schools were places of clandestine murder carried out in secret by priests and nuns with bodies clandestinely buried – thus the unmarked graves. This is as ridiculous and as false as saying that there were no deaths, that everything is a hoax. Will Gazan’s law, if passed, also criminalize those who exaggerate what happened or distort the truth in the other direction?"
Naturally, left wingers were dismissing this
LILLEY: Truth and reconciliation can’t survive if debate is criminalized - A proposed law on residential schools risks punishing questions and speech instead of advancing reconciliation : r/canada - "No one ever talks about the "okay" schools and priests and teachers and nuns. I work on a reserve in Manitoba and talked to a few elders that went to the Residential school and they straight up said the radar searching that was being done at their specific old school was a waste of time because no one died. They said it wasn't a good school but they admit what school was back then. Go to Murdoch in transcona in that Era and every kid got the belt and strap and was beaten. Residential was the same. But they said they weren't tortured, just forced indoctrination which that issue can be debated but no one was killed or buried."
LILLEY: Truth and reconciliation can’t survive if debate is criminalized - A proposed law on residential schools risks punishing questions and speech instead of advancing reconciliation : r/canada - "Ok, so OOP, that said, if you don’t like your current situation, you should just move somewhere else. You don’t make enough money? Move, get a better education and make more, ok? You don’t have access to medical care. You should move. I feel reconciled by this."
"Yes, this is what many Canadians do. I knew people at work who left places like Newfoundland cause they liked the job market better in Ontario. They still talk about home but they had to do the pragmatic thing. On the flip side, this is a country of immigrants (or settlers, if you prefer). Given the incredibly high rate of foreign-born status in Canada, a ton of us did in fact pack up and move when they didn't like their situation."
"That's the reality. I've moved back and forth across the country three times in my life to pursue better prospects, same with my parents and if you aren't native then someone in your family gave up everything to cross an ocean and start anew life in the dirt so future generations could have it better. But every time it's suggested people get off the rez or out of Toronto young people now act like I'm suggesting they give up a kidney. Ridiculous."
"Is this not your experience with how life works? “Move, get a better education and make more” is like the most common/basic advice for personal socioeconomic improvement."
Of course, a left winger was accusing someone else with "88" in his username of a Nazi dogwhistle, and said if it was his birth year, he should choose a different username
Federal government won’t say whether it will criminalize residential school denials : r/canada - "no one said they're are mass graves they said they have found evidence of unmarked graves and bodies have been found at some residential schools."
""No one..." except:
the New York Times
The Government of the Northwest Territories
The United Nations
NPR
.....
Do you need more? These were all a very simple Google search away. People absolutely did, and many still do, believe that "mass graves" were discovered."
"Don't forgot CTV and 'Cree Leaders': https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/cree-leaders-scientists-to-excavate-communal-grave-near-former-alberta-residential-school/"
"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/28/canada-mass-grave-residential-school/
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/31/americas/canadians-mourn-mass-grave-childrens-remains
https://fnhc.ca/statement-on-discovery-of-mass-grave-in-tkemlups/
https://www.ndp.ca/news/country-marks-tragic-anniversary-indigenous-peoples-continue-fight-justice"
Someone dismissed the NDP and the First Nations Health Council as "a bunch of US news organizations"
Federal government won’t say whether it will criminalize residential school denials : r/canada - "mass graves weren't made up. see this is what we're talking about you just repeat bs. it was evidence found of unmarked graves. which only one site was actually dug up . previously many bodies have been found at unmarked graves. stop spreading bs"
"There have been zero bodies found. There were two found about 20 years ago. One 100m from the schoolhouse and the other I can't recall. But to this date, there have been zero bodies found at the places they claimed had mass graves. This is a great example of why we don't let people control a narrative. If you were in charge your ignorance would be legally binding. Now we could get charged if we dont follow the whims of a liar."
"no one site had over 70 bodies found but only 50 could be identified. you see how you just rewrote history by deny it . again it's not mass graves it's unmarked graves. you just tried to control the narrative by lying and not actually seeking out information. you got tricked by denialism"
"Link the article please"
"so you really want me to do all the work for you. I already gave you enough information to find it. i'll be back later to see if you found it on your own and if you haven't you've confirmed you just look up information to confirm your bias."
Typical left wing logic. Say something, deny you said it, claim your assertions are known fact but refuse to provide a source, then accuse others of lying and being insincere. There was some other bullshit but it got deleted by the mods
The sad state of the Skookumchuck Hot Springs (Saint Agnes Well) after being purchased by the Federal government and given to the St'át'imc band only to be permanently closed : r/ilovebc - "From what I can tell, the whole point of the federal government spending $1.7 million purchasing the site and giving it to the St'át'imc band was for them to have a thriving economy rather than completely relying on government welfare. Unfortunately, around COVID-19 the band permanently closed the hot spring and campground to set it aside for cultural/religious use only. Clearly this video shows that nothing has been done and the site and campground has been left to ruins. https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler-news/lower-lillooet-hot-springs-dealt-to-first-nations-2475017 The government has tried many times over the years to kick start an economy in the area. The most recent attempt was the government giving the band nearly $2.5 million to purchase road maintenance equipment so that they could be a position to win sole source contracts with the Ministry of Forests to maintain the FSR system. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024IRR0035-001261 At some point some accountability is needed."
The sad state of the Skookumchuck Hot Springs (Saint Agnes Well) after being purchased by the Federal government and given to the St'át'imc band only to be permanently closed : r/ilovebc - "Stewards of the land"
Thousands of dogs frozen, slaughtered on Manitoba First Nations, rescuer says - "A dog rescuer who has visited a number of Manitoba First Nations is petitioning the provincial government to help remote communities manage stray dogs. Jasmine Colucci, who works for K-9 Advocates Manitoba, carried out dog rescue operations in Dakota Tipi First Nation, Sandy Bay First Nation, Norway House and Long Plain First Nation in January. She took photographs that show frozen dogs, animals lying in heaps with bullet holes in their heads and homeless dogs taking shelter in dumps. "It is honestly like a Third World country," said Colucci, who is a member of Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation in Newfoundland. "There's dogs everywhere — emaciated, skinny, skinny dogs … and they're full of parasites, worms and living off garbage." Colucci has seen dogs chase large rats living in the dumps and she has taken in puppies that were being eaten by the rodents, she said. She and fellow rescuer David Brooker head out to the communities several times a week, responding to calls from band members for help. Their organization is one of several volunteer rescue groups in the province that are overwhelmed by the situation... First Nations chiefs also expressed concern about the situation. Long Plain First Nation Chief Dennis Meeches said he's implemented a rule that prohibits more than one dog per household, but community members do not always follow it. "It's a bit disheartening," he said. The community had a contract with a dog catcher in Portage la Prairie, Man., but that ended when dog owners became upset. "The company chose not to come back to Long Plain because they were being threatened," Meeches said. Now free-roaming dogs are more abundant than ever, Meeches said, and he worries they could attack community members, including children."
Damn residential schools! Time to send them another billion dollars!
Alex Zoltan on X - "HAPPENING NOW: Tara Armstrong proposes a private member's bill to cut off all non-essential funding to any First Nation tribe seeking Aboriginal title over areas including private property. She also calls division on herself to see who won't support the bill. This lady has balls."
Tara Armstrong on X - "The NDP says it’s “stochastic terrorism” to even debate my bill to defund indigenous land claims over private property. They will never push back against the tribes laying claim to your homes. Never."
