The federal Liberal government plans to spend $4.5 billion over the next five years to try to narrow the socio-economic gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people 91裸聊视频� part of a plan to keep reconciliation at the forefront of this fall91裸聊视频檚 campaign narrative.
Speaking to reporters inside the budget lockup, Finance Minister Bill Morneau stressed the Liberals have been committed to reconciliation from the beginning of their mandate.
91裸聊视频淚t is a continuation of what we91裸聊视频檝e been doing since Day One,91裸聊视频� Morneau said. 91裸聊视频淚t is driven by the fact that we know in this country, we need to get this right. We91裸聊视频檝e got a lot of work to do and we are going to stay on it.91裸聊视频�
Part of the budget pledge is $1.2 billion over three years 91裸聊视频� $404 million per year beginning in 2019-2020 91裸聊视频� to develop a long-term approach for services for First Nations children.
The policy is named after a Manitoba First Nations boy from Norway House Cree Nation, Jordan River Anderson, who had multiple disabilities. When he was two years old, doctors recommended he move to a special home suited to his medical needs.
He died three years later, after jurisdictional squabbles between federal and provincial governments over payment for his care.
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91裸聊视频淚t should be no surprise that we continue to deal with issues, like Jordan91裸聊视频檚 Principle, that we91裸聊视频檝e been talking about for a long time,91裸聊视频� Morneau said.
The budget also includes plans to invest $220 million over five years, beginning in 2019-2020, to provide services to Inuit children who face unique challenges to get health and social services due to the remoteness of their communities and limited availability of culturally appropriate care.
The Liberal government is communicating in the budget it is serious about its commitment to Indigenous Peoples, said Rebekah Young, the director of fiscal and provincial economics with Scotiabank.
91裸聊视频淲e are looking at almost $5 billion (in new spending) over five years, of a total budget spend of $20 billion,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e are talking about a quarter of the budget.91裸聊视频�
The federal budget also includes plans to move ahead with responding to calls to act from the Truth and Reconciliation that spent six years probing the dark legacy of Canada91裸聊视频檚 residential schools.
The spending plan includes $126.5 million in 2020-21 to establish a national council on reconciliation designed to serve as a permanent reminder of the fraught past between Canada and Indigenous Peoples and to contribute to better understanding of it.
There is also $333.7 million over the next five years earmarked for helping to revitalize Indigenous languages 91裸聊视频� a move that follows legislation introduced in February.
The funding will help create a commissioner of Indigenous languages, the budget said, adding that only one in seven Indigenous children reports being able to carry on a conversation in an Indigenous language.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said there is no relationship more important than the Canadian government91裸聊视频檚 with Indigenous Peoples, though some Indigenous leaders and the federal NDP have raised concerns about the rate of progress on the file.
Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press
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