Good morning.
I want to particularly thank the clerks for their assistance in bringing us here today. They were very diligent in helping me make the submission and coordinate our participation here today.
From 1996 to 1997, direct transfers by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs to Canadian first nations increased by about 0.59% per capita per year. This figure was well below inflation of about 2.36% per year over that period, below the growth rate of federal government revenues at 4.21%, and below the growth rate of gross domestic product at about 4.81%. Over that 13-year span of 0.59% growth in real per capita transfers, if you subtract inflation, you get a net contraction of government sector spending in first nations economies of 1.26% per year.
The effect of a 1.77% real deficit per year over 13 years is a 26% deficit in the current year. The net social debt from these ongoing deficits is manifested in first nations housing, education, and in general quality of life outcomes.
The funding arrangements are based upon a formula calculated by the department, which allocates according to a trickle-down availability of funds from the main estimates and an internally calculated formula. The effect of the long-term fiscal disparity is an annual recurring deficit.
The current financial transfer arrangements lack transparency, they lack predictability, they lack sustainability, and they in no way reflect an equitable exchange of value compared to the lands described in Treaty No. 8.
A history of the treaties lays it out this way. The British North America Act from 1867 contains specific provisions for the equitable treatment of first nations people. This was an extension of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by the crown of the British Empire. The guiding principle of equitable exchange with first nations and other aboriginal people around the world was formed by the crown of Britain through more than 200 years of experience in managing the greatest colonial empire in the history of the world. For whatever reason, the crown of Canada has not abided by this time-honoured policy, to Canada's great economic and social detriment.
The equitable principles contained in the Constitution Act, 1982, and the Royal Proclamation are there to assist the long-term well-being of all citizens, not just first nations citizens.
The British Empire understood, through experience, that it did not benefit trade and peaceful commerce to marginalize the aboriginal society.
How are we for time?