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Billions needed to close gap for Canada’s reserve system
A new report says the federal government should be open to private sector funding for reserves to help close infrastructure gaps more quickly.
The study by the Conference Board of Canada says the isolated location of many reserves substantially raises the cost and complexity of infrastructure construction projects, their operation and maintenance.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada calculated the cost of addressing infrastructure issues on reserve is expected to reach 9.7 billion dollars by 2018.
Officials say closing the gap between life for Canadians off reserve compared to the life indigenous people are living in Canada on reserve is a huge undertaking and that the public sector is not in a position to assume financial responsibility for the full cost of amending that situation.

National MMIWG Inquiry phase set to begin soon
Officials for Canada’s National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls say they are set to move forward with the inquiry.
Families and survivors have been voicing concerns and frustrations with the time its taken to get the inquiry started.
Appointed officials have been setting the inquiry up for the past five months and are expected to give an update on the process at a press conference today on how the public can participate.

Provincial organizations call for Sixties Scoop justice
Ontario’s Public Service Employees Union is calling for Justice for survivors of the 60’s Scoop.
Workers from the union have joined with CAS workers and a national survivors network to work together to press for justice from Ottawa.
Between 1965 and 1984, Canadian government officials forced more than 16,000 Indigenous children from their homes and communities and placed them into either foster or adoptive care in non-indigenous homes that were predominantly white.
Government officials often claimed that the children’s parents were unfit to raise their children, but rarely offered any evidence.
Coordinators for the effort say justice is long overdue for Sixties Scoop Survivors and say they will work to educate and develop policies so history doesn’t repeat itself in Ontario and nationwide.

Indigenous patients facing prejudice in Canadian health care
A recent study says indigenous patients face barriers to their health care in Canada because of the attitudes of health care professionals toward indigenous people.
The study found diabetes patients were likely to experience struggles in receiving care, and linked those struggles to the ongoing impacts of colonization.
Researchers said indigenous patients regularly reported being stereotyped or mistreated, often overhearing discriminatory conversations while in waiting rooms or clinics.