Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The legacy • 195median income for non-Aboriginal workers ($18,962 versus $27,097, respectively). 50The gap narrows when Aboriginal people obtain a university degree, which they doat a far lower rate. 51 Not surprisingly, the child poverty rate for Aboriginal children isalso very high—40%, compared with 17% for all children in Canada. 52 The income gapis pervasive: non-Aboriginal Canadians earn more than Aboriginal workers no matterwhether they work on reserves, off reserves, or in urban, rural, or remote locations. 53The proportion of Aboriginal adults below the poverty line, regardless of age andgender, is much higher than that of non-Aboriginal adults, with differences rangingfrom 7.8% for adult men aged sixty-five or older, to 22.5% for adult women aged sixty-fiveor older. 54 The depth of poverty is also much greater, with Aboriginal peoplehaving an average income that falls further below the poverty line on average thanthat of non-Aboriginal adults, and their poverty is more likely to have persisted for asignificant period of time. 55Call to Action7) We call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a jointstrategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal andnon-Aboriginal Canadians.Funding inequitiesPresent-day Aboriginal education in Canada is made up of a mix of models. Thefederal government funds schools on reserves, with the actual operation of thoseschools often delegated to the local First Nation. Aboriginal children who do not liveon reserves are educated through the provincial or territorial school systems. In addition,there are a few education systems completely run and managed by First Nationsthrough self-government and other types of intergovernmental agreements.There are approximately 72,000 students attending 518 First Nation schools. 56Despite those numbers, many children must still leave their homes and familiesbehind if they wish to obtain a higher education, even at the high school level.Since 1973, the Government of Canada has claimed that it is committed to devolvingcontrol of education to First Nations people. 57 However, the interpretation of“Indian control” offered by the Government of Canada bears little resemblance to thevision of First Nations. The government’s version of the term has entailed the devolutionof federal education programs to First Nations, without the benefit of adequatefunding or statutory authority. 58 Indeed, when devolution began, it was designed tooccur without any additional expense. This meant that former Indian Affairs-operatedschools, which were already substandard compared with provincial norms, were