Thursday, August 11, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Helping Canada’s Indigenous peoples during COVID-19: Ken Coates in the Toronto Sun

April 1, 2020
in Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources, Columns, COVID-19, In the Media, Indigenous Affairs Program, Latest News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

Indigenous peoples will be hit disproportionately by the health, economic and social consequences of COVID-19, writes Ken Coates. 

By Ken Coates, April 1, 2020

Indigenous peoples will be hit disproportionately by the health, economic and social consequences of COVID-19. Overcrowding and poor health-care systems leave many vulnerable to the disease itself. Job losses and project delays are adding to the economic crisis. Complications in government policy-making and program delivery will have a detrimental impact as well.

Serious disruption has already occurred in Indigenous territories. What is up for discussion is how best federal, provincial and territorial governments can support First Nations.

Many Indigenous communities moved quickly to shut down movements in and out of their towns. They have taken protective measures and have made sure elders are cared for and food supplies are properly distributed. But these communities have limited resources, constrained authority and an over-reliance on the federal government.

The federal government moved quickly to authorize additional funds for Indigenous communities. Community leaders responded that the amount of money was too small. There were worries, too, that the standard government processes would add to the time needed to secure the money and the expense of managing it.

The Trudeau government needs to demonstrate that a new foundation in Indigenous affairs is in operation. Here are areas where substantial change could occur quickly.

Ottawa needs to expand the amount of funding available to Indigenous communities. These people and their governments have a worrisome combination of pre-existing crisis and extreme vulnerability to the current crisis. Indigenous communities deserve financial reassurance.

The government should move quickly to implement greater Indigenous control over financial matters. The emergency funding should be allocated directly to Indigenous organizations. Indigenous groups have earned the confidence and trust of government. Communities struggling with administrative challenges can work directly with Indigenous Services Canada.

Indigenous workers have made dramatic advances in terms of employment, particularly in the natural resource sector. Many are now unemployed. While income replacement is a top priority, we need to keep Indigenous workers in active employment.

Canada is going to spend billions of dollars on national infrastructure projects in the next year or two. This will be a central part of the government’s stimulus program. The government could make a high-profile national statement about the priority attached to Indigenous peoples. Projects that address major Indigenous needs — water systems, internet, housing, road repairs and the like — should be prioritized. Furthermore, the model of Indigenous business tackling problems independently or in collaboration with non-Indigenous businesses could be mobilized.

To give Indigenous peoples the chance to build a prosperous future, the government should institute a moratorium on additional regulation and interference with the resource economy.

That would mean a suspension of Bill C-69 and a withholding of the proposed legislation on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples. Working with Teck Resources to restart the Frontier mine when market conditions warrant would send a strong economic boost to Indigenous communities.

Indigenous groups and the federal government could also spend time rethinking the expensive and time-consuming approach to settling legal challenges. The country has been slow in dealing with the hundreds of claims associated with Indigenous rights. The costs to communities in terms of legal and specialist fees, leadership time, and community inconvenience have been more than considerable. Surely Canada can do better.

Canadians now understand that the coronavirus presents existential threats to Canada’s economic, social and even political future. On the Indigenous file, the government has to move quickly to head off the immediate health care crisis, offset the major economic disruptions, and indicate that Canada is serious about putting Indigenous-government relations on a new track. The time for action is upon us.

Ken Coates is a Munk senior fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Tags: COVID-19indigenous affairsIndigenous PolicyKen CoatesNatural Resource Economy
Previous Post

Economic recovery from COVID-19 is going to take a while — but there is room for hope: Jack Mintz in the Financial Post

Next Post

Anastasia Lin on “A New Cold War With China” | Debate Speech before the Oxford Union Society

Related Posts

NATO member countries are targets of Putin’s military aggression and must act accordingly in Ukraine: Eugene Czolij for Inside Policy
Europe and Russia

While Russia threatens the world with nuclear war, we might be well into it: Yevgeniya Gaber for Inside Policy

August 9, 2022
Wage growth will make it difficult for the Bank of Canada to squeeze out inflation: Philip Cross for BNN Bloomberg
Multimedia

Wage growth will make it difficult for the Bank of Canada to squeeze out inflation: Philip Cross for BNN Bloomberg

August 9, 2022
Canada is a country without a centre, without a purpose: Ken Coates in the National Post
Columns

Canada is a country without a centre, without a purpose: Ken Coates in the National Post

August 9, 2022
Next Post
Anastasia Lin on “A New Cold War With China” | Debate Speech before the Oxford Union Society

Anastasia Lin on "A New Cold War With China" | Debate Speech before the Oxford Union Society

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.