Utoo Radio - March 26, 2024 - The national leader of the Assembly of First Nations is pressing the federal government to act on two Auditor General reports issued Tuesday. Indigenous housing and policing are still lacking, according to these findings.
The 2021 Census found that First Nations residents have greater rates of crowded and damaged homes than non-Indigenous residents. The likelihood of living in such conditions is four times higher for First Nations people and six times higher for housing that needs urgent repairs.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said the findings provide clear direction for revisions.
Since 2015, reserve housing conditions have not improved, the report says. According to a recent Assembly of First Nations assessment, over 55,000 new housing units are needed and 81,000 need repairs.
In 2019, the Trudeau administration pledged to close the First Nations housing gap by 2030. However, a report suggests that Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation may not be supporting First Nations enough to attain this goal.
The government is missing the 2030 deadline, says Woodhouse Nepinak.
"The housing crisis and infrastructure gap in our communities is a significant factor contributing to homelessness among First Nations," she said.
In a recent study, Auditor General Karen Hogan noted that First Nations housing plans have failed for two decades. The Attorney General's fourth report on Indigenous housing since 2003 shows that many concerns remain.
A recent Auditor General report expressed concerns regarding the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program. The federal and provincial/territorial governments collaborate on this 1991 initiative to protect First Nations and Inuit communities.
Public Safety Canada, the federal department responsible for the program, failed to engage with Indigenous communities to provide policing services that met their needs, according to a recent assessment. RCMP posts supported by program agreements are hard to fill, according to a research. First Nations and Inuit communities aren't getting the assistance they need.
A shocking $13 million in 2022-23 program monies went unspent, according to a report. Public Safety Canada may not be able to distribute over $45 million in funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
"By not fulfilling some of their responsibilities under the program, Public Safety Canada's and the RCMP's actions are not aligned with building trust with First Nations and Inuit communities and with the federal government's commitment to truth and reconciliation," said the Auditor General.
Woodhouse Nepinak says the model is ineffective.
"The speaker emphasized the importance of reforming First Nations policing to prioritize public safety and address the challenges faced by these communities due to the current funding formula," said.
Edward Lennard Busch, executive director of the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association, thinks self-administered First Nations police forces should receive unspent First Nations and Inuit Policing Program funds.
