Good morning, everyone. It's my pleasure to be here.
I've been with the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission for the past 20 years, half of the time in the community of Kanesatake, a Mohawk community of which I am a member, and I've been with the regional level in Kahnawake for the last almost 10 years, so this is near and dear to my heart.
I'd like to thank you for this opportunity you've given me to address some of the important issues related to first nations employment and training.
FNHR is responsible for the development of the labour market in 29 first nations communities in Quebec. We also have four urban centres as well for the off-reserve population in the cities of Montreal, Quebec, Val-d'Or, and Sept-Îles.
The First Nations Human Resources Commission has been around since the RBAs and the AHRDS, generations one and two, and now the ASETS, and over the years we've been a natural counterpart of the province with regard to employment and training of first nations.
It's important to note, however, that if this allows for better dovetailing with other labour market stakeholders, it does not necessarily reduce the size of the challenges we face. It goes without saying that chronic underfunding and administrative overload are issues that we cannot ignore. Every year our service points—and there are 33 of them—must refuse clients due to lack of funds before the end of the fiscal year, and in some places as early as the third quarter.
Analysis shows that between 1999 and 2014, the cumulative reduction in budgets provided by HRSDC to the FNHRDCQ will have reached $16.8 million. If we express this amount in constant 1999 dollars and take into account inflation, this equates to a cumulative loss of $46.8 million in purchasing power. Even including the additional funds received from HRSDC between 1999 and 2012, losses in purchasing power had already reached $22.9 million at March 31, 2012. Given the high population of first nations between 1999 and 2012, our capacity for intervention represents only 51% of its 1999 capacity, decreasing money allocated towards a working-age individual from $614 to $314.
Regarding the administrative burden of the new ASETS, I will simply note that the number of reports requested by HRSDC and Service Canada throughout the year, the quality of new information to be provided, the number of amendments to be made, and the number of actions and decisions to explain and justify ensure the continuous increase in the workload related to accountability. We wonder if there is no limit to what the federal government will require in return for the funding provided through ASETS. Worse still, the latitude given to those who require and validate these reports and who are responsible for interpreting the requirements as we go along also seems unlimited.
The irony here is that all these measures that are meant to ensure the profitability of the ASETS end up reducing its effectiveness, since the impact of accountability measures is mostly felt on the front line, in our service points, where the lack of human resources continues to lead to the difficult choice between quality services and administrative duties.
We are aware of the strict guidelines that must be implemented by the department considering the size of its investment in the ASETS, but if having a balance between control and flexibility is a principle of good governance, it is also the basis of any mutually beneficial relationship. Considering what we have achieved so far and what we expect to achieve in the coming years, it would be in everyone's interest, including the department's, if we were to be seen as a true partner and not as some dependent entity. Repeated evaluations—all positive—over the last 15 years, at the very least have helped strengthen and renew our relationship so it can become one of equals.
We also wish to emphasize here that our ability to build partnerships with third parties in order to increase external investment in first nations employment and training has improved in recent years, but greater federal involvement remains necessary.
Partnerships represent an investment in the order of $2.7 million from third parties—provincial departments, the private sector, non-profit organizations, and other federal programs—in addition to the $17.9 million obtained from HRSDC under the ASETS for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which is an increase of 15%. This means that for every $100,000 invested by HRSDC in our organization under the ASETS, over $115,000 is invested in the training and employment of aboriginals and first nations.
It should be stated here that despite the increased funding through partnerships, the organization remains largely underfunded. These additional funds are tied to specific objectives within the frameworks of specific agreements, mostly non-recurring, and many local and urban needs remain unanswered.
That being said, let us now address our main subject, which is the role of each party—federal and provincial governments, the private sector, educational institutions, and aboriginal organizations involved in employment and training—in our efforts to favour aboriginal employment in high-demand or low-skill occupations.
We saw earlier that there is better dovetailing between the FNHRDCQ and other actors in the labour market, but an organization like ours is regularly thrown into a state of jurisdictional uncertainty. On one side is employment training under provincial jurisdiction, and on the other is the federal government's fiduciary obligation to aboriginal people. For years, Quebec and Ottawa have referred us to one another, forcing us to take care of our own business. But the relationship with the province is changing, due in part to the current economic situation, with shortages of labour and land development. The private sector needs labour and our people need to live on and from the land. In some more fortunate regions marked by major economic development, agreements have been made with big business to train and hire first nations workers, but this does not guarantee that the workers will remain employed, since they often face resistance from other workers regarding culture and language, when it is not outright racism. We need to work with unions and employers to implement awareness programs for workers and social integration of our participants. Efforts have been undertaken by us with the Université du Québec in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region to adapt one of their programs to meet our needs.
When there are encounters between potential employers and service points, the questions we are asked are how many trained and certified workers we have and how many participants are ready to register in vocational training. In other words, how many have the required prerequisites and have expressed an interest? This is where underfunding prevents us from establishing labour force profiles for each community. Yet this was part of the financial plan FNHRDCQ submitted in March 2010. I've given you copies of these reports. This was the directional plan we submitted when talks of the new ASETS were coming. That directional plan was scrapped in favour of the generic formats imposed by the department. In any case, the issue of academic prerequisites and vocational training is crucial.
With regard to high-demand jobs to provide quality services tailored to the needs of aboriginal participants and in accordance with the empowerment principles that lead to self-determination, the FNHRDCQ established its own institutions in the fields of adult education and vocational training. They were based on the recommendations of the two studies conducted with the help of the department of education.
The problem remains with the funding of these institutions. Although they play a vital role in our employment integration efforts, and although they represent an investment in the economic development of the province and the country, it is extremely difficult to obtain financial commitments from departments for the implementation and sustainability of the centres. Ms. Mary Ann Desjardins will speak to this issue in a few moments.
I would like to conclude my presentation by establishing a link between low skills and high-demand jobs. From the point of view of an organization that works daily with clients, we all know that a significant portion of our population is uneducated. I have already stressed the importance of the social integration of indigenous workers in the industries.
In a world where each party is willing to invest at the level of its interest, the FNHRDCQ would obtain a firm commitment on the part of unions, employers, educational institutions, and various levels of government to develop a training system, either in the workplace or in the area of cooperative education. This would recognize prior learning and accreditation so as to route the workers hired for low-skilled jobs toward high-demand occupations. This would provide individuals with an opportunity to find a job, remain employed, and improve their work situation in a gradual and natural manner.
I'd like to thank you for listening to me. I'd like to say that in our experience in trying to integrate our people through adult education and vocational training...it's a really long process to take them from where they are to where they want to be. As I said, it's robbing Peter to pay Paul, and choosing one client over the other.
I really hope that what I'm telling you and what Mary Ann will present will change the next agreement. We're already strapped within this agreement, and we're really hoping that you will ask us to help write the next agreement, because we know the needs of our people; we know the challenges that exist. The most important thing we need to do is to be the ones to help them. With social integration, as I mentioned, it's easy to take a client through an institution where it's a one-on-one learning process. Real integration is challenging when it's in a social environment, taking a youth from an isolated community into a workplace that isn't ready to receive him or her.
I would like to thank you.
