Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

• 64 percent were identified as having one or more
disabilities or diagnoses;
• 35 percent had developmental disabilities;
• abuse (39 percent) and neglect (42 percent) were the
main reasons for being taken into care, while seven
percent were in care as a direct result of the disability;
• Aboriginal children were two-and-a-half times as
likely to have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol
Effect compared to Caucasian children, while
Caucasian children were 50 percent more likely than
Aboriginal children to have Attention Deficit
Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or
to be mentally ill. 81
Among the recommendations for future planning, the
report called for better training of child welfare and
protection workers about the specific needs of children
with disabilities and the need to make Aboriginal
children a priority. 82
Aboriginal Children with Disabilities
According to Statistics Canada’s 1991 Aboriginal
Peoples Survey, 31 percent of Aboriginal Canadians have
a disability, which is more than twice the national
average. 83 The disability rate among the Aboriginal
population between the ages of 15 to 34 was 23 percent,
compared to eight percent among the general
population. 84 Reasons for this disparity include unsafe
living conditions, poverty, pollution and contaminants in
the food chain. 85
The federal government provides services to status
Indians on reserve and to the Inuit, while the provinces
provide services to Indians living off reserve, non-status
Indians and Métis. There is also some service provision
by community organizations, such as Alberta’s three
Aboriginal disability organizations. 86 Despite the large
number of Aboriginal people affected by disability,
service delivery is consistently poor or non-existent in
Aboriginal communities. 87 Many Aboriginal people live
in rural or remote areas, so access to community-based
services is even more difficult. 88
Jurisdictional issues also complicate health and social
service delivery to Aboriginal children with disabilities.
Provincial governments have refused to provide services
to Aboriginal people on reserve and the federal
government does not provide all the necessary services. 89
In 1992, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development admitted that it is not doing an adequate
H O W D O E S C A N A D A M E A S U R E U P ?
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job in this area and that the demand for services is
expected to increase. 90 In 1993, the federal Standing
Committee on Human Rights and Disabled Persons
observed that both levels of government appear to have
forgotten the needs of Aboriginal people and that the
“lack of clear departmental responsibilities, an absence
of strong program structures, fragmented service
development and inconsistent standards are all too
evident, despite sincere intentions.” 91
The Committee also expressed concern about a lack of
federal attention to the people most affected by its
programs. The Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development did not consult Aboriginal people
about its five-year National Strategy for the Integration
of Persons with Disabilities, which was launched in
1991. 92 The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
recommended major structural changes to facilitate the
participation of Aboriginal people in its 1996 report. 93
The Federal Task Force on Disability Issues also
recommended that the Canadian government:
...recognize the ways in which it has
contributed to jurisdictional complexities that
prevent Aboriginal Canadians with disabilities
from gaining access to the supports and
services they need and begin to work in
collaboration with provincial governments and
Aboriginal communities to provide flexible,
client-centred services and supports to
Aboriginal Canadians with disabilities. 94
The Standing Committee on Human Rights and
Disabled Persons says that in addition to the transfer
of administrative responsibility for health and social
services from federal authorities to reserves, Aboriginal
community leaders must have information about and
prioritize the needs of persons with disabilities in the
reserve community. 95
Access to Services
Services that promote the independence and participation
of the child with disabilities include education, training
and preparation for employment, health care and
rehabilitation, and play and recreation.
Education
In the 1994 Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy
and Practice in Special Needs Education, international