Jeff Rud, Times Colonist

Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The 700-member Ditidaht First Nation has filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court, seeking declaration of aboriginal rights and title over a portion of its Vancouver Island traditional territories.

The Ditidaht filed their claim in Victoria, naming the B.C. and federal governments, the five First Nations in the Maa-nulth Treaty, Western Forest Products and Teal Cedar Products as defendants.

Victoria lawyer Bob Freedman, speaking for the Ditidaht, said B.C.'s approval of the Maa-nulth deal was the "last straw." The Ditidaht say some of their territories and rights are being infringed by the treaty. They also seek compensation for lost profits from natural resources and other land use.

The suit lists the Ditidaht's claim area as stretching from Pachena Point to Bonilla Point on Vancouver Island's west coast and reaching as far inland as Logan Peak.

The legal action "asserts exclusive aboriginal title to not only the area of infringement created by the Maa-nulth Treaty, but a substantial portion of the West Coast Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, along with the Carmanah Walbran Provincial Parks.''

"The focus of the [suit] is on the failure of Canada and B.C. to deal honourably and fairly with issues the Ditidaht have been raising for years -- economic issues, forestry, the impacts of parks,'' Freedman said.

jrud@tc.canwest.com

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

Mon Jan 21 2008

CENSUS data released last week showed what many of us already knew. Canada's aboriginal population numbers more than one million, or four per cent, with about half living in urban areas. Just take a look around -- banks, shopping malls, movie theatres -- we're all over the place.

Winnipeg is the aboriginal capital of Canada, with just more than 68,000 Winnipeggers, or 10 per cent of its population, being Métis, Inuit, non-status or Treaty Indians. Compared to the other provinces, we're at No. 1 ranking, too. We make up 15 per cent of Manitoba's population -- about 175,000 people.

Those numbers are probably even a little higher since some aboriginal people are very mobile and didn't fill out census forms. And keep in mind many First Nations people down east don't participate in censuses at all, based on their political beliefs that they are sovereign nations.

But what does it mean for us to be one million strong? Well, a couple things come to mind.

Probably the most glaring: Stop ignoring us.

There are now more than one million reasons to stop passing the bureaucratic buck. Even if you don't support "aboriginal funding" because of some mistaken belief it's a waste of taxpayers' money and not a fiduciary obligation backed up by the Constitution, then look at it from a purely economic standpoint.

Investing in aboriginal people is like building a bridge. It only makes sense to put in the proper supports and use the right tools to build a strong bridge that will last.

If you take shortcuts and use cheap materials, then that bridge likely won't last very long.

This is why many aboriginal people are undereducated and why First Nations communities are lacking when it comes to basics like clean water, housing and access to quality education.

Housing and education access aren't great when you move off the reserve either. The feds need to genuinely support needs that have never been adequately served in the first place.

We've come a long way, but there's still lots of catching up to do.

Without supports -- education, day care, affordable housing, family support -- the cycles of poverty that have been going on for decades will continue.

Delaying land claims and urban reserve development isn't supportive. Failing to raise education funding to match population growth isn't supportive. Putting urban aboriginal strategies to increase aboriginal participation in the labour force on the backburner won't help either.

Quit ignoring us.

Federal, provincial, municipal and aboriginal leaders -- let's get this going. Governments work well together when collecting money, so work together when it comes to spending on the future.

When aboriginal people don't succeed, everyone loses.

We need to do our part, too. It's never too late to go back to school or train for a better job. Push our kids to graduate and get a good education. Strive to be strong, healthy families and communities.

Spending now means we all benefit later. When the baby boomers retire, who's going keep the economy and services that support our province going?

Aboriginal people -- Métis, Inuit and First Nations -- of course. We are poised to become the backbone of this province's economy. We can do it. We will do it. But whether it happens slowly or quickly is up to you.

colleen.simard@gmail.com

Published Date: 2008/1/21 0:10:00Article ID : 3476

Version 1.00

By Keven Drews

The Ahousaht First Nation will ask one of B.C.’s largest aquaculture companies to relocate a Clayoquot Sound fish-farm raising Atlantic salmon.

The Central Region Board heard late last week that the Ahousaht First Nation will not support Mainstream Canada’s application to renew a fish-farm tenure at Dixon Bay.

Angus Campbell, a board member from Ahousaht, delivered the news, just as his colleagues learned wild-salmon returns in Clayoquot Sound are at “alarming levels,” and a program set up to monitor sea lice has yet to interpret four years of raw data.

Campbell said his band is concerned with the low wild-salmon returns in the Megin River, and it wants the Mainstream farm moved elsewhere so it can determine cause.

“There is something wrong in the Megin,” he said. “The salmon count is down compared to past years. We support salmon farms but in this area we’d like to see what the difference may be.”

Dixon Bay is located off Shelter Inlet, north of Flores Island, on the way to the Megin River.

In 2007, only 13 chinook returned to the Megin, 43 to the Bedwell/Urses, 112 to the Moyeha and 226 to the Tranquil, according to documents provided to the board.

Meantime, 653 and 7,535 chinook returned to the San Juan and Nitnat Rivers, respectively.

In a report to the board, Peter Ayres, the CRB’s secretariat, called the returns “alarming.”

The board also received an email from Josie Osborne, a registered professional biologist, stating data collected by the Clayoquot Sound Sea Lice Monitoring Program between 2003 and 2007 must still be analyzed.

The program is run by Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries, the Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht First Nations, as well as Creative Salmon and Mainstream Canada.

Osborne, however, indicated sea lice infestations may be related to salinity.

“There is virtually no sea lice infestation near most of the Creative Salmon farms because the surface water is of very low salinity, and in fact the infection rates are so low that the Tofino Inlet has pretty much been dropped from the program,” she wrote.

Board members, nonetheless, criticized the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for allowing wild-salmon stocks to drop to such levels.

“We’ve let it go far too long,” said Roland Arnet, a board member from Tofino. “I criticize federal fisheries for most of this.

“I believe they have had the mandate to protect the natural runs and they haven’t. I still think we should be very, very careful about fish farms, particularly those raising Atlantic salmon, a species that is not native to B.C.”

Arnet said the only people who are saying sea lice isn’t a problem are fish farms and federal fisheries officers.

“Maybe in the future you won’t have to worry about it because wild salmon will be gone.”

Mike Kokura, a board member from Port Alberni, warned his colleagues not to count on DFO.

“If you’re waiting for the federal government to solve something for you, you’re going to be waiting for a long, long time,” he said. “They destroyed the fishery on the east coast and they are destroying the fishery on the west coast.”

Al Anderson, also a board member from Tofino, blamed fish farms for poor salmon returns.

“Clayoquot Sound has had the least logging on the Island,” he said. “We have one of the most pristine areas in the world.

“We should have really good salmon returns here. The only fact that’s different here is we have one of the highest concentrations of fish farms anywhere.

“Those numbers seem to me to indicate something that has to do with fish farming.”

Ayres told board members he discussed the issue with representatives from DFO.

“They do recognize the numbers are dangerously low,” he said. “They’re looking at unspecific but significant actions.”

Ayres also told members that DFO may be looking at other “causal factors” such as the pressures wild salmon are facing from commercial and sports fisheries.

Ayres said salmon are exposed to significant commercial pressure in the Gulf of Alaska, and as they move down the West Coast of Vancouver Island they also come under pressure from B.C. commercial and sports fishermen, too.

“We’re at the bottom of the chain in Clayoquot Sound.”

At the same time, he said, salmon enhancement programs in Clayoquot Sound are not getting the same level of assistance other programs may be getting.

The board tabled Mainstream Canada’s application and is awaiting a formal letter from Ahousaht. They also decided to write to the Clayoquot Sound Sea Lice Monitoring Program, urging the evaluation of sea-lice data.

The CRB was set up under the Interim Measures Agreement and allows First Nations and non-First Nations to manage resources and lands jointly until treaty negotiations are completed.

Mainstream Canada is owned by Norway’s Cermaq, which also has operations in Scotland and Chile.

Keven.drews@westcoaster.ca

Small is beautiful when it comes to hosting historic birthday bashes

Donna Barnett, Special to The Province

Published: Sunday, January 20, 2008

How do you celebrate a historic milestone for a province or community and make it a hit? Use the same rules as any truly successful house party does: Keep it manageable, make it real and remember most guests will hang out in the kitchen.

Communities from Hope to Barkerville have two reasons to throw a party in 2008.

It's the 150th anniversary of the Fraser River Gold Rush and the proclamation of the Crown colony of B.C.

It's also the 200th anniversary of Simon Fraser's journey down river.

Quietly, away from all the fuss over Quebec's 400th anniversary, these communities -- where B.C.'s modern history was forged -- have been making their own plans for 2008.

There are no international stars to boost attendance, and they can hardly be called extravaganzas.

But from the kick-off of the Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run in Quesnel this month to the Lillooet New Year's Eve Pow-Wow in December, there will always be a party in somebody's kitchen this year.

Keeping it manageable means many small-scale celebrations all along the corridor we call The New Pathways To Gold.

These community-based celebrations amount to one big, continuous party covering the entire year. It keeps the cost down and helps ensure these festivities are sustainable in the future.

Making it real means inviting everyone to the party.

In the past, this province has celebrated centenaries from a Eurocentric point of view, leaving many folks without an invitation.

By celebrating the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, a multicultural event involving First Nations, Chinese, Blacks, Kanakans, Mexicans and many others, we get a more inclusive picture of our history and a bigger invite list.

Using this philosophy, The New Pathways To Gold Society (with the help of BC150) has helped stage two preview events in 2007. In both cases, we worked with local communities, First Nations, all levels of government, small business and corporations.

In Yale, Canada Day in the Canyon was a big hit in a small community. The Fraser River War symposium in Lytton brought together both native and non-native British Columbians to share stories and reshape our thinking about the history of this province.

One of the best things about these celebrations is marking the moment when the modern chapter of B.C. history connected with the 10,000-year past of our First Nations.

Many of the native communities in the corridor are inviting visitors to come to their traditional celebrations this year to help the reconciliation process -- and to tell the stories of 1808 and 1858 from their perspective.

We invite everyone to experience our "small is beautiful" philosophy in 2008.

We promise our parties will be manageable and real. And you're welcome to hang out in the kitchen if you want.

Contact Donna Barnett, mayor of 100 Mile House and a director of The New Pathways To Gold Society, at

dbarnett@dist100milehouse.bc.ca

© The Vancouver Province 2008

The Times

Published: Friday, January 18, 2008

Steven Point has spent a great deal of time on UCFV campuses over the past few decades and in many contexts: first as a student, then as instructor, alumnus (having been granted an honorary degree in 2000), proud parent to a graduate and spouse of an instructor, and now as the province's newest Lieutenant Governor.

UCFV president Skip Bassford welcomed His Honour to campus earlier this week for a reception to recognize and celebrate his recent appointment.

Nearly 100 people from the extended UCFV community attended the event in order to meet the Queen's official representative in B.C. and his Chatelaine (Her Honour, Mrs. Gwen Point, a faculty member at UCFV).

"We are proud to see our friend, colleague, and neighbour in this important role," said Skip Bassford. "His Honour has been an effective and strong community leader for us in the Fraser Valley for many years. His work on behalf of the Stó:loM people in education, human rights, treaty negotiations and building bridges between all communities has gained him a great deal of respect. He has given and continues to give tirelessly of himself so that our communities can thrive and grow."

As always, Point captivated his audience with his thoughtful remarks.

He recalled the early days of UCFV decades ago, when the institution occupied several temporary buildings in Chilliwack and, while the world has changed a great deal since then, he questioned whether change and progress are indeed the same thing.

"Change is inevitable," he said, "but progress is when we as a collective unite to live better lives. This is the measure of the growth of a society."

He likened the world to a classroom, noting that "we all have lessons to learn. We must learn them, apply them to our lives, and when we become elders, pass them on. It is as teachers that we reach the highest plane in our lives."

He then reflected on how a university is a place that passes along knowledge to students, but also builds citizens and transforms society, conveying the basic social values that never change.

Point took the opportunity to share his real name--Xweliqwal tel --with those gathered to celebrate his appointment, and noted that it means "Speaker of the House." A consummate storyteller, he then reminded the audience that we are all one people and must help and respect each other, wear our cultural regalia with pride, celebrate our differences, and acknowledge that "we need each other from time to time."

UCFV community members were especially pleased when Point then mentioned how proud he was to wear UCFV colours on his academic robes when participating in ceremonial events at other post-secondary institutions.

First elected chief of the Skowkale band at the age of 23, His Honour has worked his entire adult life to advance the cause of treaty rights.

At the same time, he has promoted understanding and harmony between Stó:lo people and the thousands of newcomers who have settled in their traditional territory. Over his career to date, he has been a provincial court judge, chief commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission, and National Aboriginal Achievement Award recipient. He served as elected Chief of the Skowkale First Nation for 15 years, and as tribal chair of the Stó:lo Nation and Grand Chief of the Stó:lo Tribal Council.

Published Date: 2008/1/17 0:10:00Article ID : 3452

Version 1.00

By Tara Brautigam

The Canadian Press

From overcrowded shacks to spacious suburban-style homes, Canada’s aboriginals live in a nation divided.

As a group, they are less affluent than the rest of the population, and the financial disparities that separate aboriginals themselves are vast.

On the Six Nations of Grand River Reserve, the largest and perhaps wealthiest of all First Nations in Canada near Brantford, Ont., signs of relative affluence are everywhere. Newish vans travel the well-paved streets as families enjoy the benefits of a modern health clinic, hockey arena and even horseback riding for recreation.

Skip over to the mean streets of Winnipeg’s North End community of William Whyte, and the graffiti-scarred homes with their broken windows and bedsheet curtains, put a starkly different view of aboriginal life on view.

The first measures of the relative fortunes of aboriginals across Canada revealed by the 2006 census was released this week by Statistics Canada. Figures revealed that the share of natives living in crowded homes has declined to 11 per cent from 17 per cent in a decade, although nearly one in four still lives in homes they say are in need of major repair.

Aboriginals are four times as likely as the rest of the population to live in crowded conditions, and three times as likely to live in a crumbling home.

But housing varies enormously from one aboriginal group to another as well as within aboriginal groups.

The Inuit living in Canada’s North are less crowded than they were a decade ago, but still 40 per cent of Inuit children live in crowded homes, more than six times the proportion among non-aboriginal children. Hospitalization rates for Inuit children with severe respiratory tract infections are the highest in the world, and research has shown that crowding, along with poor ventilation in Inuit homes plays a significant role.

Among First Nations, there was some improvement in living conditions on reserve over the past decade, especially in Ontario and Quebec. Off reserve, conditions varied wildly.

The Metis also experienced a decrease in the share of people living in crowded, dilapidated homes, and the worst conditions are experienced by rural Metis living in the Prairie provinces.

Overcrowding and the need for home repairs were most common in Canada’s western and Prairie cities: Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg were four to 11 times more likely to live in crowded conditions than their non-aboriginal counterparts.

In contrast, those living in Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto were less likely than non-aboriginals to live in crowded homes.

At the Brantford Six Nations recreation centre, Joanne Lickers, an administration team leader for Six Nations Parks and Recreation, says people are well aware of the amenities they have that aboriginals lack.

“They appreciate their facilities,” said Lickers, herself an aboriginal.

“They don’t take it for granted.”

Standing next to the reserve’s hockey arena, which was given a major facelift in 2005, Lickers points out two baseball diamonds across the field. Nearby is a stable for horseback riding.

Commercial buildings are clean and well-maintained. The reserve also boasts a comprehensive health-care system for its approximately 23,000 community members.

Along with a local federally run clinic with four full-time physicians, the community recently opened the White Pines Wellness Centre, a band-run clinic offering programs like early childhood development, mental health services and nutritional programs.

Walking through the bright two-storey building _ which smells of fresh paint and features skylights and a small indoor garden _ acting centre director Alana Hill says the clinic will soon offer dialysis treatment so diabetics won’t have to travel off reserve.

About 15 years ago, the band’s suite of health services comprised of two programs and employed six staff.

“Today we are 232 staff providing approximately 22 wellness programs,” she said, adding that the health centre has an annual operating budget of $14 million and services more than 4,000 community members.

In Winnipeg’s William Whyte district, where 40 per cent of residents are aboriginal, Donna Moose, a 32-year-old mother of five on social assistance, is desperate to leave her two-storey century home.

“It’s become a hotel for mice, which really sucks. I hope that I find a place before she starts crawling,” Moose said, cradling her cooing four-month-old baby girl.

“There’s no way I’m letting her crawl on these floors.”

Her unfinished basement, with its windows sealed to deter thieves, is mouldy, and Moose suspects the home has problems with its foundation. Cracks of varying sizes mark the walls of many rooms.

Moose is on a waiting list for a home that will provide more room for her expanding family; her 14-year-old daughter will become a mother herself this spring. But the family could be waiting for another two years.

“It’s a struggle to try and find good housing,” she said.

But improved housing alone doesn’t necessarily translate into better social conditions.

In December 2002, the Innu of northern Labrador left their one-room shacks in Davis Inlet for Natuashish, a $152-million federally funded settlement of 680 residents with insulated housing, a health clinic, a skating arena and school.

Five years later, the reserve continues to grapple with the substance and alcohol abuse problems that followed with the move.

“We have some things that we didn’t have in Davis, like running water, warm housing, a new school,” said John Nui, deputy chief of the local band council.

“But ... obviously we have a lot of problems still.”

Erin O’Sullivan, a senior researcher with Indians Affairs, said that doesn’t surprise her.

“That’s what happens when you build people new houses and put them in there and don’t give them the skills and income bases to maintain that housing,” O’Sullivan said.

O’Sullivan co-authored a 2004 federal study that measured well-being among First Nations by examining income, education, labour force activity and housing as indicators.

It found that housing and income were the most influential factors in determining well-being among this population.

Statistics Canada plans a series of releases over the coming year examining other factors including income rates and education.

For now, Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, an aboriginal studies professor at the University of Toronto, said it’s clear there is no consistency in the quality of life for aboriginals on and off reserve, and that living conditions vary further from southern to Northern Canada.

“They’re expected to live in these boxy little houses and have running water ... which are all challenges in the North because of the temperatures,” Wesley-Esquimaux said.

“You can’t put a Popsicle stick factory into a community like that because it doesn’t resonate with them.”

(Additional reporting by Tamara King in Winnipeg and Jered Stuffco in Toronto)

Vancouver Sun

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008

Canada's first nations have compared themselves with some justification to a Third World country within Canada.

The Assembly of First Nations looked at the United Nations Human Development index for 2001 in which Canada ranked as usual in the top 10. Using the same criteria, first nations communities in our country would have ranked 76th.

This week a release of data from the 2006 census illustrated another difference between first nations and the rest of Canada, a difference that renders even more urgent the need to close the gap.

As Canadians as a whole grow older, the average age of the descendants of our first peoples is decreasing. Half of the more than a million people who reported aboriginal ancestry are 25 or younger. First nations are also growing as a percentage of the entire population.

At the same time, little headway has been made on the raft of issues that separate the majority of Canadians from the other country within.

According to the latest data, just six in 10 aboriginal children 14 and under live with two parents, compared to eight in 10 in the non-aboriginal population. They are seven times as likely as non-aboriginals to be raised by some other relative or in a foster home.

Once they grow up, they can expect to earn less than other Canadians, live in poorer housing, experience more health problems and die younger.

As one of his great goals, Premier Gordon Campbell has taken on closing the gap in the standard of living between first nations in this province and other British Columbians within 10 years.

But Campbell's good intentions alone are not nearly enough to move the mountains that have to be shoved aside for his "new relationship" to translate into real hope for a better life.

It has not helped that the federal government has shown little interest in making first nations issues a priority. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision early on to treat the Kelowna Accord as a meaningless political gesture still rankles with first nations' leaders.

But even if Harper were more interested in seeking solutions, they would not be easy to find. The last attempt by the Liberal government in Ottawa to revamp the deeply flawed Indian Act foundered on opposition from entrenched interests within first nations themselves.

The slow-moving treaty process in B.C. has revealed that one of the largest hurdles is a lack of capacity within first nations to move forward with complex changes.

All these hurdles suggest that meeting Campbell's goal seems unlikely. What remains certain, however, is that in a country where employers are forced to look offshore to find skilled workers, the poverty and opportunity gap between first nations and the rest of Canada shames us all.

Don't Pay: Premier

Allison Hanes, National Post, with files from Canwest News Service 

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008

In a Canadian precedent, a First Nation has created its own bureaucracy to collect royalties, approve plans and set environmental standards for any development on its traditional lands -- a swath of prime Southern Ontario real estate.

The four-month-old Haudenosaunee Development Institute set up by the Six Nations in Ontario has sent letters to municipalities and is also approaching developers privately to hammer out deals, with the implied alternative being the kind of economic disruption that has blocked highways, rail lines and housing developments in the province.

"This is a first in Canada for a [First Nation] to say we are going to take this matter into our own hands, because historical evidence would suggest the governments of Canada and Ontario are either unwilling or incapable of finding creative solutions," said Aaron Detlor, the administrator of the HDI, which was created by the Six Nations Confederacy Council.

But the province has said the HDI has no authority, municipalities up and down the Grand River are ignoring it and at least one home builder has likened its demands to a mob-style shakedown.

Yesterday, Premier Dalton McGuinty said no one should be paying development fees to the HDI. "We don't recognize development fees being charged by anyone but municipalities. I understand there is a land claim here that predates Confederation, and I think everybody understands there is a fundamental issues of difference here between First Nations community and the federal government, but I think we also need to understand there is a way to resolve these things, there is a table there. "My advice to anybody is not to pay those [development fees]."

The territory in question is the Haldimand Tract, stretching from Lake Erie to Grey County. It encompasses 10 kilometres on either bank of the Grand River and takes in large chunks of such cities as Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford and the outskirts of Hamilton.

The Six Nations claim rightful ownership of the land, which it says was granted to forefather Joseph Brant in 1784, and never legally surrendered. They are now gearing up to assert jurisdiction over the entire Haldimand Tract.

"What we're doing is not any different in terms of process to what municipalities do," said Mr. Detlor, a lawyer by training. "We have some different objectives in terms of the level of environmental protection that we're seeking, as well as ensuring that the land provides for the perpetual care and maintenance of the Haudenosaunee, as was originally intended."

Kim Fullerton, a lawyer who has handled many aboriginal land claims cases in Ontario, has never heard of an organization quite like it. "It's radical. It's audacious," he said. "I think what you're really seeing is that First Nations are saying that they want to participate in the economic mainstream and they want a share in the benefit of what's being done on their land.... It's going to be very interesting to see how it finally gets resolved, whether the governments are going to make room for the First Nations to collect fees on their land."

Renata D'Aliesio, with files from Michelle Lang, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2008

With Help Wanted ads a staple of Alberta businesses, more and more are turning to a relatively untapped source of labour: aboriginals.

"It is the largest untapped labour market in the country," said Heather Douglas, president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. "It is also the youngest and fastest growing."

Statistics from the latest national census released Tuesday bear that out.

The aboriginal population has grown by 45 per cent since 1996, outpacing the eight per cent growth in the non-aboriginal population. The median age for aboriginals was 27, with nearly half aged 24 or under.

For non-aboriginals, the median age was 40.

While aboriginals have youth and growth on their side, the community on and off reserves faces higher unemployment rates and has more high school dropouts.

Many aboriginals and businesses see Alberta's buoyant economy -- and labour shortage -- as an opportunity to turn these figures around.

With local hospitals grappling with severe staff shortages, the Calgary Health Region has hired Michelle Audy to help recruit and retain aboriginal employees.

Audy, 30, an aboriginal who moved to Calgary from Winnipeg for the position about a year ago, said the health authority has established a goal of diversifying its workforce to mirror the percentage of aboriginals in the Calgary area.

"Alberta is now engaging (aboriginals) because of the boom," she said. "The aboriginal workforce can definitely help subside the labour shortage."

Lance Pasqua, a 23-year-old aboriginal man who grew up on reserves near Regina, moved here last April, enticed by the province's strong economy. He is enrolled in business administration at Calgary's Bow Valley College.

"I heard about all the jobs and opportunities," said Pasqua, who works part-time as a drywaller.

"I have cousins who moved here and now they're doing good, too. They found jobs right away."

The energy industry is eyeing people like Pasqua.

Facing a shortage of 100,000 workers within eight years, Brian Maynard, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry has identified aboriginals as an under-represented resource, along with foreign workers, women and people with disabilities.

"Obviously, the easiest worker to hire for our industry is someone local in the area," Maynard said. "Many aboriginals are in Western Canada and the north," home of the oilsands in Alberta.

"It's a natural fit."

Fostering cultural awareness in the workplace is important to ensuring aboriginal workers are successful and don't encounter racism, Audy said.

"Our protocols are different. Our family values are different," she noted.

"I guess the racism stems from the prejudice and ignorance."

Audy is working to create a committee within the health region to improve aboriginal awareness. At the same time, she's building awareness of careers at the health region by visiting native communities.

Last summer, she recruited a Tsuu T'ina teenager to work with the region's Healthy Babies program.

The girl had just completed Grade 11, and hopes to become a pediatrician.

"This job put her in that environment," Audy said.

Population

Total population: 1,070,295

Aboriginal Identity population: 26,575 (2.5%)

Registered Indian population: 9,010

Population by Gender

13,960 women

12,615 men

Group Identity

Metis: 14,775

North American Indian: 10,875

Inuit: 250

26,535 -- Total aboriginal population in private households

1,630 -- Aboriginal female lone parent

310 -- Aboriginal male lone parent

9,955 -- Aboriginal children in census family

160 -- Aboriginal identity language spoken at home

CENSUS DATA UNVEILED

 Latest statistics show population exceeds one million, presenting new challenges for governments over the definition of 'status Indian'

BILL CURRY

With a report from Brodie Fenlon

January 16, 2008

OTTAWA -- Ottawa's power to define who is - and is not - a status Indian in Canada is facing increasing strain in light of new census data revealing a growing number of people identifying themselves as aboriginal.

Statistics released yesterday show the aboriginal population in Canada has grown 45 per cent in the past decade and now exceeds one million people. As a percentage of Canada's total population, aboriginals have increased to 3.8 per cent in 2006 from 2.8 per cent in 1996.

The expanding numbers - both on and off reserves - raise new challenges for provincial and federal governments over the definition of aboriginals and "status Indians," which ultimately determines which level of government, when needed, is directly responsible for serving this population.

Ottawa may soon have no choice but to revisit this highly sensitive issue as the B.C. Supreme Court struck down key parts of the federal Indian Act defining Indians in a ruling last June. Ottawa has appealed the decision, but internal documents show government officials are scrambling to address the possibility of defeat.

"This is kind of a policy time bomb ticking away," said University of Calgary professor Tom Flanagan, who has written extensively on aboriginal issues. While Ottawa has maintained its legal obligations are limited to services for status Indians only, he said these numbers will generate more pressure from non-status aboriginals for change.

Further, as status Indians have children with non-natives, the number of status Indians is projected to decline so significantly that some native communities will no longer have any children that meet Ottawa's definition. A report done for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs projects that within five generations, there will be no aboriginal children who will meet the definition.

"The definition of aboriginal is a problem," said Angus Toulouse, the Ontario regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations. "What many people don't know is aboriginal is a term used to encompass first nations [Indians], Métis and Inuit. Three very distinct indigenous groupings. First nations really want to decide who their citizens are, not the federal government."

In 2006, 1,172,790 people said they were members of at least one of three aboriginal groups: North American Indian, Métis (mixed native-European descent) or Inuit. The Métis population is growing the fastest, almost doubling in 10 years.

While the term aboriginal is a broad one, "status Indian" is defined in the Indian Act through a complicated set of rules based on lineage. The majority of federal spending on aboriginals is targeted toward Canada's registered Indians, of which the census found 623,780 in total and 299,970 who live on a reserve. Twenty-two reserves refused to participate, meaning about 35,000 natives were not counted.

Status Indians living or working on reserves may be exempt from certain taxes and can apply for housing and education programs.

The federal policy largely leaves out the roughly 500,000 Métis and non-status Indians living in the country.

When provincial and territorial premiers emerged from 24 Sussex Friday after their meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, several told reporters they had agreed to work together on matching their growing aboriginal populations with the expanding shortage of skilled labour across the country.

According to Mr. Toulouse, there is a need for both Ottawa and the provinces to fund specific apprenticeship programs for young aboriginal adults who may not have completed high school or university.

"These investments make sense given the Canadian population is aging, retirement rates are rising and first nations population represents a large pool of untapped potential to fill this gap," the regional chief said.

The National Association of Friendship Centres, which provides social services and job training in urban centres to all aboriginals, said the new data show governments need to pay more attention to aboriginals living in cities.

"Any level of government that has a program targeted to aboriginal peoples should ensure that 50 per cent of their clients live in cities. Because if they don't, they're missing the population," said Peter Dinsdale, the association's executive director.

Anil Arora, director-general of the census program branch at Statistics Canada, said the growth can be attributed to three factors: record census participation by these groups, a soaring birth rate driven by an unusually young population and greater pride in aboriginal heritage.

Aboriginal Canadians: What their roots are

While a benefit, the ability of census-takers to identify Canadians who view themselves as aboriginal has brought increasing pressure on Ottawa.

2006

Urban core: 31%

Other urban: 22%

Rural: 21%

Reserve: 26%

2001

Urban core: 29%

Other urban: 22%

Rural: 20%

Reserve: 29%

*****

ABORIGINAL POPULATION 2006

Total population: 1,172,790

ABORIGINAL IDENTITY

2001

Total population: 976,305

Metis: 29.9%

Inuit: 4.6%

North American Indian: 62.4%

Multiple or other identities: 3.1%

2006

Total population: 1,172,790

Total population

Metis: 33.2%

Inuit: 4.3%

North American Indian: 59.5%

Multiple or other identities: 3%

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

By JOHN PAUL

Wed. Jan 16 - 4:46 AM

This week, residential school survivors, mental-health and law-enforcement professionals will gather in Dartmouth for a meeting sponsored by the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APC) – one in a series of sessions intended to help survivors on the path to healing.

APC supported the Assembly of First Nations to negotiate a fair, just and comprehensive agreement with the federal government. The final agreement is the largest settlement in Canadian history and includes payment to survivors to compensate for loss of language and culture, and provides for a more efficient and effective process to deal with serious claims of abuse. More than 150,000 children attended residential schools, many of them in Atlantic Canada.

Since 2005, the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs has provided outreach and information to Atlantic survivors, their families and communities.

Survivors are finally receiving compensation, in the form of Common Experience Payments (CEP). Some survivors, however, have told us that they have been victimized through thefts, assaults, fraud and abuse since they have received their CEP cheques. This has presented a number of challenges.

Many Atlantic residential school survivors are living on fixed incomes. The CEP payments, while being very beneficial to some survivors, may prove difficult for others who have never received a substantial lump sum of money at one time. This is a major issue that is being experienced across the country as First Nations people struggle with the legacy of the Indian residential schools.

As we have worked with the survivors and their families, it has become very clear that there was more to the residential school issue than we had thought. APC, with the guidance of survivors, has decided to address the problems faced by survivors head-on – by providing information, support and services to survivors to help them deal with not only the legacy of abuse, but the challenges faced in the community as they continue to heal.

Since 2005, we have held over 250 sessions in our region, and have touched nearly 1,400 people – both native and non-native. We have worked with government organizations, mental-health experts and many other partners to provided information to survivors and their families. We recently held a front-line workers conference to ensure that our communities have the capacity to provide information about the final settlement agreement and support services available to survivors.

As a result of our ongoing efforts, many survivors are making good decisions and improving their lives. This week the healing process will continue and we are committed to taking a proactive approach to this issue. But we do not expect that this conference will solve the problem. We all clearly understand that the problems facing our communities are serious and cannot be addressed in one session; they will take time.

Just as the abuses that were perpetrated against our people didn’t happen overnight, healing cannot happen overnight. We want to ensure there continues to be a focused effort and measures which assist and support the vision of a better future for all our people. We are committed to providing First Nations communities in Atlantic Canada with the protection and support they need to continue on the journey towards healing.

We, as well as the many agencies, government departments and people who support our vision of a better tomorrow, will continue do our best to move in the right direction with everybody’s co-operation and support. Atlantic aboriginals are confident in our future, and we have many successes on which to build. But as we look to the future, we must also ensure that we address the difficult issues that have been a part of our past.

It is not a short or easy path. But it is one we are committed to following, together.

John Paul is executive director, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs.

Attention News Editors:

OTTAWA, Jan. 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Today's release of the 2006 Census by

Statistics Canada indicates that the population of First Nations people has

increased by 29 per cent in the last decade.

    "The First Nations population is growing 3.5 times faster than the

Canadian population," says National Chief Phil Fontaine. "More than half of

the people in our communities are school age or under the age of 25. First

Nations young people are a key component of Canada's present and future

workforce. They need education, training and jobs. Canada is facing critical

labour shortages in all sectors. Like it did with the recent financial aid

package for single-industry towns, the federal government needs to work with

the Assembly of First Nations now to determine what immediate investments are

required that will ensure that all Canadians can access the enormous untapped

potential of our First Nations people and communities. Investing in First

Nations is investing in Canada's future."

    "The 2006 Census highlights the fact that the booming First Nations

population can become a double win or a double-whammy to Canada's economic and

social future. With immediate and ongoing new investments by the federal

government in basic areas of critical need like schools, education, training,

employment, housing and water quality, our young population will have a bright

future and contribute to Canada's future workforce and productivity. If the

government neglects to make those needed investments, Canada will be forced to

bear increased social costs resulting from First Nations poverty and decreased

productivity," added National Chief Fontaine. "It's hard to learn if your

school is falling down around you."

    The Census figures also underscore the need for the federal government to

make more investments in housing for First Nations people because they are

five times more likely to live in crowded homes. The situation is even worse

for those living in First Nations communities. The proportion of homes

requiring major repairs has increased by 44 per cent in the last decade.

    "First Nations are very concerned about being able to properly meet the

needs of our young, rapidly growing population in key areas such as health,

housing, education, training and jobs. The last 12 years of chronic

under-funding by the federal government to core programs and services has

caused serious hardship in many First Nations communities," added National

Chief Fontaine.

    "None of this data should come as a surprise to Canadian governments. The

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Freedoms of Indigenous peoples has

drawn Canada's attention to the problems First Nations face. Concrete and

effective solutions are required," said National Chief Fontaine.

    "Statistics Canada made a noticeable improvement in its reporting by

differentiating between Métis, First Nations and Inuit people in the 2006

Census. However, Statistics Canada confuses a key issue by combining

non-status with status Indians in the majority of its tables to indicate that

more First Nations people are living off reserve and in urban centres. That

number is very misleading because it includes 'non registered Indians' who are

not members of First Nations communities or Indian bands and would likely not

live on Indian reserves in any event," said National Chief Fontaine.

    "In addition, the Government of Canada's Indian Registry indicates that

more than 200-thousand status Indians are not included in the 2006 census.

This discrepancy of more than 25 per cent is potentially harmful and could

have serious negative impacts on future policy and economic decisions if it is

not properly taken into account," concluded National Chief Fontaine.

    The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing

First Nations citizens in Canada.

For further information: Josee Bellemare, Bilingual Communications

Officer, (613) 241-6789 ext. 336, cell: (613) 327-6331, jbellemare@afn.ca;

Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor - Office of the National Chief, (613)

241-6789 ext 243, cell: (613) 298-6382, npine@afn.ca

BRODIE FENLON

Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press

January 15, 2008 at 2:58 PM EST

Canada's aboriginal population has increased 45 per cent over a decade and cracked the one-million mark for the first time since records have been kept, new census data indicate.

In 2006, 1,172,790 people said they were members of at least one of three aboriginal groups: North American Indian, Métis (mixed native-European descent) or Inuit.

The fastest gain in population of the three groups was in the Métis population, which almost doubled in 10 years. Those who identified themselves as Indian increased by 29 per cent, while the Inuit population went up 26 per cent.

Between 1996 and 2006, the aboriginal population increased 45 per cent, a rate nearly six times faster than the 8-per-cent growth for the non-aboriginal population over the same period.

Since 1996, the census has asked native respondents whether they were of aboriginal ancestry, but also whether they identified with that cultural heritage

Aboriginal people accounted for 3.8 per cent of the total population of Canada, an increase from 3.3 per cent in 2001 and 2.8 per cent in 1996. Only New Zealand, where the Maori make up 15 per cent of the population, has a greater share of aboriginals.

Anil Arora, director general of the census program branch at Statistics Canada, said the growth can be attributed to three factors: Record census participation by these groups, a soaring birth rate driven by an unusually young population, and greater pride in aboriginal heritage.

The median age – the age at which exactly half the population is younger and half is older – is 27 for aboriginals, compared to 40 for non-natives. Almost half of the aboriginal population is under the age of 25.

“There's a very significant and disproportional younger population,” said Mr. Arora. “If you look at planning [policy] forward, whether you look at education, child care, housing, etc., those are very important factors that have to be taken into account.”

Just as significant is self identity, particularly with the Métis, whose numbers jumped dramatically. Mr. Aurora suggested several recent court cases on Métis hunting rights and the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which featured the Métis prominently, could have resulted in more people claiming their Métis heritage.

Doug Norris, senior vice-president and chief demographer at Environics Analytics, agreed that much of the overall growth can be attributed to “identity shift.”

“My guess is that half of the growth is real, and the other half is due to [a shift in] people deciding now to consider themselves an aboriginal person,” said Mr. Norris.

“Identity shifts over time with all populations, and the aboriginal population is no different,” he said. “Many people use to claim British ancestry, and today they say they have Canadian ancestry.”

Where aboriginals live

The vast majority of aboriginals – eight in 10 – live in either Ontario or the four western provinces. However, they make up the largest share of the population in the territories and prairie provinces.

The 24,920 aboriginal people living in Nunavut represent 85 per cent of the territory's total population, the highest proportion in the country. Aboriginals account for half of the population in the Northwest Territories, 25 per cent in the Yukon, 15 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 6 per cent in Alberta.

Other key findings from Tuesday's data release by Statistics Canada:

• In 2006, 40 per cent of First Nations people lived on reserve, down from 42 per cent in 1996

• Winnipeg has the highest number of urban aboriginals at 68,380, representing 10 per cent of its population, followed by Edmonton with 52,100 (5 per cent), Vancouver at 40,310 (2 per cent) and Toronto at 26,575 (.5 per cent). Other census metropolitan areas with a large aboriginal population include Saskatoon and Regina.

• 42 per cent of aboriginal children under 14 live with either a lone parent, grandparent or relative. Only 58 per cent live with two parents, compared to 82 per cent in the non-native population

Mr. Norris said the high proportion of young aboriginals and the fact more live off reserve in urban areas means that native education will continue to be a key policy issue for federal and provincial governments, especially in the West, where aboriginals make up a greater proportion of the population.

“We hear a lot about labour market changes and labour market shortages. Certainly, the aboriginal population in our western provinces will make up an important part of that [future] labour market,” Mr. Norris said.

Overcrowding and the Inuit

The census also found that the Inuit live in some of the most crowded living conditions in Canada. About 31 per cent live in crowded homes – defined as more than one person per room.

This was down slightly from 1996 when the number was 36 per cent, however a large percentage of Inuit live in homes that are even more crowded. In 2006, 12 per cent of Inuit lived in homes with an average of 1.5 persons or more per room, compared with just 1 per cent of the non-aboriginal population.

The housing crisis is particularly acute in Nunavut.

“If you put it in perspective, the problem is huge,” said Peter Scott, president of the Nunavut Housing Corporation. He said a comparable situation would be if Ontario suddenly required 1.5 million public housing units.

“I've got a little over 4,000 public housing units in my inventory and I need 3,000 more units to address the problem,” he said.

Mr. Scott points to several issues that compound the housing crisis in Canada's newest territory: Nunavut has one of the youngest populations and highest birth rates in the country, resulting in about 274 new family formations each year, he said.

That, coupled with a decade-long drought of federal investment in housing and the nearly complete lack of transitional housing such as boarding homes or low-rent apartments, has made the situation dire, Mr. Scott said.

“We're continuing to fall behind, not even holding our own,” he said. “You almost need to invest $200-million into housing on an annual basis in order to catch up over a 10-year-period.”

There was less crowding among First Nations, but they were still five times more likely than non-aboriginal people to live in crowded homes.

The problem was especially prevalent on reserves, where one in 10 natives lived in a dwelling with 1.5 people or more per room. However, the census also notes that there was some improvement in crowding on reserves, particularly on those in Ontario and Quebec.

In 2006, 28 per cent of First Nations surveyed said they lived in a home in need of major repairs, compared with just seven per cent of the non-aboriginal population.

Language

The language of the Inuit also suffered a setback, according to the new numbers. In 2006, 64 per cent of Inuit reported Inuktitut as their mother tongue, down from 68 per cent in 1996. “Mother tongue” refers to the first language lived at home in childhood and still understood.

Also on the decline is the proportion of Inuit who speak Inuktitut at home. Half of the Inuit reported Inuktitut as their home language, down from 58% in 1996. Although 69% of Inuit surveyed said they could speak Inuktitut well enough to carry on a conversation, this was a drop from 72 per cent a decade earlier.

The news on language was better for North American Indians. The census found the percentage of First Nations people who said they could speak an aboriginal language well enough to carry on a conversation held steady at 29 per cent from 2001 to 2006.

The census recorded nearly 60 different aboriginal languages spoken by First Nations. The top four in order are Cree, Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Montagnais-Naskapi.

Census participation

A record number of first nations people took part in the 2006 census, but some of the country's most populous reserves still shunned it.

While native participation in the census has increased, thousands of aboriginals were not counted because they are homeless, in jail or refused to give their consent.

“We are not Canadian citizens,” said Chief Clarence Simon of Kanesatake, the Mohawk community that stared down soldiers during the 1990 Oka crisis. His reserve is among 22 not included in the most recent census snapshot.

“We are North American Indians. And that is something they have to understand,” he said of Statistics Canada officials who reached out to first nations.

“They already know how many native people are registered.”

Accurate figures are vital because they help set federal funding for native housing, health, education and social services negotiated in treaties.

Many cash-strapped bands mistrust how census data might be used. They also note that Indian Affairs already collects yearly membership numbers.

“Everything under the sun has been studied,” said Chief Don Maracle of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory west of Kingston. “They have statistics on education, on health, numbers, age groups.”

For years, Chief Maracle said, first nations members were denied rights that Canadians take for granted – including the right to vote.

“The mindset of a lot of Iroquoian people is that they will not participate in the census. We're not going to politick with them to change their mind.

“It's not the most pressing issue that council has.”

Unresolved land claims, unsafe drinking water and extreme poverty are higher priorities, he said.

By law, refusal to fill out the information forms calls for a $500 fine or three months in jail. Fifty-two cases were referred to the federal Justice Department and seven people were convicted after the 2001 census.

Mr. Arora, stressed that 98 per cent of first nations members co-operate. His department prefers outreach to legal action, he said in an interview.

Census staff made special efforts to count people in homeless shelters, he added. People in institutions such as jails are counted although specific identity characteristics are not separated out.

Still, sampling techniques allow data to be adjusted to provide good results, Mr. Arora said. “Our estimates are very robust. The argument that we miss a tremendous number – we don't see that.”

Across Canada, the data-gathering extravaganza provides as detailed a picture as possible of the country's social and economic fabric. But despite special efforts to employ native liaison officers and develop products that make use of resulting statistics, aboriginal people were once again under-counted.

Kanesatake, with about 2,000 members, is among the smaller of 22 reserves not reflected in the 2006 census. Others include the Mohawks of Akwesasne and Kahnawake in Quebec, Little Buffalo in Alberta, Esquimalt in B.C., and the Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford, Ont. – Canada's largest band with 22,649 members according to the federal Indian Registry.

Thousands more people weren't specifically noted as aboriginal because they had no permanent address or were behind bars.

“We think it's a severe under-count,” says Peter Dinsdale, executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres. “But that being said, they're still the strongest numbers that we have.”

The census reach is improving, says Nancy Zukewich of Statistics Canada. There were 30 reserves incompletely enumerated in the 2001 census, down from 77 in 1996.

“We just don't arrive on the doorstep once every five years and ask them to fill out a census form,” Ms. Zukewich said in an interview. “We've been developing an ongoing relationship with aboriginal organizations and communities.”

“We also have ongoing discussions ... about their data needs. And we're making big efforts to try to give information back in a way that's easy to use and understand.”

Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News Service  

Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2008

OTTAWA -- More than half of Canada's aboriginal population now has a postal code that falls in an urban centre.

According to data from the 2006 census, released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, 54% of aboriginal people live in an urban centre, an increase from 50% a decade earlier. Urban areas include large cities, or census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and smaller urban centres.

The aboriginal population is becoming increasingly urban, the latest census shows, and about one quarter of the aboriginal population live in nine of Canada's 33 CMAs.

Winnipeg topped the list of CMAs with the highest number of aboriginal people with 68,380. They represented 10% of the city's total population in 2006. Edmonton had the second-highest number (52,100) followed by Vancouver (40,310).

Canada's largest city, Toronto, has a sizeable aboriginal community of 26, 575 but in a city of more than three million people, they represent only 0.5% of the city's total population.

Alberta's booming city of Calgary had the same number of aboriginal people as Toronto but they accounted for 2% of the total population.

In Saskatoon and Regina, nine per cent of the population identified themselves as aboriginal.

In some smaller cities, aboriginals represented considerable chunks of the total population. They accounted for 36% of the population in Thompson, Man., 35% in Prince Rupert, B.C. and 34% in Prince Albert, Sask.

Relatively few Inuit live in Canada's southern urban centres, Statistics Canada said. First Nations people accounted for 50% of the urban aboriginal population in 2006 and 43% were Metis.

Recruitment rate drops as pool grows; critics call for penalties if government can't reach hiring goals

Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Monday, January 14, 2008

The federal government's multimillion-dollar plan to hire and promote visible minorities has failed and it's time to start imposing tough penalties if departments don't meet hiring goals, critics say.

Despite the government's push, visible minorities are losing ground in the public service, and their under-representation will only become more marked as their share of Canada's population increases.

Staffing watchdog Maria Barrados, president of the Public Service Commission, raised the alarm when she found the recruitment rate of visible minorities fell last year even though overall hiring in departments increased. Despite that hiring spree, recruitment of visible minorities dropped from 9.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent of all hires.

"I was optimistic we could close the gaps more rapidly. I had not expected that downturn and that is quite a significant downturn. ... It means that we have reached a level that we seem to be getting into the public service and we are not going beyond that because all of our recruitment is going up and the proportion is not going up," she told a Senate committee.

In a bid to catch up, Ms. Barrados has asked Statistics Canada to determine how many visible minorities departments will have to recruit "within a reasonable amount of time" so its workforce reflects Canada's labour force. She also launched a series of surveys and reviews to determine why visible minorities can't land jobs in the public service in anywhere near the large numbers that apply.

What's worrisome is that this dip comes at a time when the number of foreign-born Canadians -- who are mostly visible minorities -- in the labour market continues to climb.

Last year's census revealed Canada's foreign-born population grew four times as fast as that of the Canadian-born population during the first half of this decade and accounts for nearly one in five people who live here, a 75-year high.

"One in five Canadians will be visible minorities by 2017. That's like the population of Quebec, which brings a lot of social, economic and political power with it," said Errol Mendes, a law professor at the University of Ottawa.

"This is as much about the economy and sustainability of the public service and the private sector has caught onto this much faster."

Under Canada's employment equity laws, the government must hire women, people with disabilities, aboriginals and visible minorities in proportion to their share of the labour force. Departments are only trailing in the hiring of visible minorities, who make up 10.4 per cent of the labour force but have 8.6 per cent of federal jobs. Women, people with disabilities and aboriginals are hired at rates higher than they represent in the labour force.

On paper, getting more racial minorities into the public service has been a federal priority since the Liberals approved targets in 2000 recommended by the Embracing Change task force. It called for one in five new hires to be a visible minority by 2003. Similarly, one in five promotions into the executive ranks was to be a visible minority by 2005.

But a recent Senate study found the government went backwards and only one in 10 new hires is a visible minority.

Many say the poor showing will ratchet the pressure for new targets and tough penalties to enforce them.

Fo Niemi, the director general of the Centre of Research-Action for Race Relations, said the problem is Canada's laws and policies aren't enforced and there are no consequences.

The Senate's human rights committee echoed that criticism and urged a cut in pay for deputy ministers, such as withholding their performance bonuses, if departments don't hire enough visible minorities. Mr. Niemi, however, said ministers should be "accountable" if departments fall short.

The Embracing Change targets, led by Lewis Perinbam, lost momentum and the Harper government has shown little enthusiasm in pursuing them. Ms. Barrados said those targets are now being reworked and will have to be increased to catch up with the growth of visible minorities in the labour market. (Mr. Perinbam, a longtime bureaucrat, died last month.)

Governments have been bedeviled why visible minorities don't get more jobs because they show such high interest. The commission's studies reveal they accounted for 25.7 per cent of applications, but have 10.5 per cent of the jobs. This discrepancy is larger in some regions, departments and occupations.

Visible minorities are also more educated than most applicants; half have bachelor degrees or higher. Language doesn't seem to be barrier, especially for entry jobs, and neither does the preference for Canadian citizenship.

Ms. Barrados said the commission has been studying the recruitment process for about a year to determine where visible minorities drop out. She said they meet the advertised job requirements; fill in all forms properly and sail through the first screening. She now plans to survey visible minority applicants to ask them why they don't think they landed the jobs.

Mr. Niemi said he suspects the dropoff happens after the interviews, which are often done by panels without visible minority members. The public service has long been dominated by white men and people tend to hire those who look like them, the Senate report said.

"It's natural for people to like to hire and retain those they are most comfortable with. That's the natural rule of selection and why men hire male buddies and work with people from the same cultural group," he said.

Deborah Gillis, vice-president of the research firm Catalyst, said her studies show visible minority managers, professionals and executives in the private sector feel excluded from relationships that often help people get ahead, such as those forged by networking or with mentors and role models. She said many don't feel comfortable going for drinks, paying golf or to see hockey games, especially women. She said nearly half felt they were held to higher performance standards and said who you know was critical to getting ahead.

Ms. Barrados said the big problem is departments aren't strategic in their personnel planning, which should include plans for visible minorities.

She said she hoped that would change now that departments have been ordered to publicly post staffing and business plans on websites by the end of March.

She said the fact that departments rely on term and casual workers as their main pool of talent for permanent jobs also affects the number of visible minorities. These short-term workers are typically hired locally, through networks or contacts. Once hired, they get the inside track on permanent jobs. Visible minorities, however, don't have the same contacts and are also concentrated in big cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.