Thank you, first of all, for inviting us to come here. Wela'lioq .
My name is Valerie Bowers, and I'm the executive director for Mi'kmaq Employment Training Secretariat otherwise known as METS. With me is Karen Pictou, and she's the partnership liaison officer of METS. She is my right-hand person. She is awesome. In these roles we have direct knowledge of the successes as well as the challenges we face for our aboriginal people in Nova Scotia for gaining and sustaining meaningful employment. As you know, our first nations people all have employment issues.
METS is one of the three ASETS holders in the province, and we coordinate and administer training and employment programs and services to the 13 first nations communities as well as the off-reserve population via the Mi'kmaq Native Friendship Centre.
We were established in April 1991. We were formerly known as Pathway Secretariat, and we were incorporated as the Mi'kmaq Employment Training Secretariat in April 1996. We operate under a subagreement model, and we supply a native employment officer in all of the 13 communities as well as the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre. We split the training dollars by population, and the friendship centre is only receiving funding for the native employment officer.
Our funding has never increased since its beginning despite an increase in our population, the cost of training, and the cost of living.
Our population is mainly made up of Mi'kmaq people, approximately 24,175 people of aboriginal descent in Nova Scotia, which has increased 42% since 2001. Of these, 14,239 people are status Indians registered to Nova Scotia bands.
As you are all aware, the first nations population is much younger than the general population here in Nova Scotia, as it is in the rest of the country. With the median age of 25.4 versus 41.6 for the total population, 46% of the total registered Indian population in the province are under the age of 25.
In Nova Scotia, 9,773 status Mi'kmaq people live on reserve. As I mentioned, there are 13 first nations communities in Nova Scotia and 42 reserve locations across the province.
A growing proportion of the aboriginal population resides in Halifax, which accounts for 5,320 people, so that's quite a number of people who moved to the urban centres.
Responsibility for education on reserve is designated to the Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey school board, MK. It's like a school board for all of the province.
Most recent statistics show that of the aboriginal identity population between the ages of 25 and 64, 27% did not complete high school as compared to 19% of the general population. So we still have a big issue of high school completion.
The unemployment rate for people living on reserve in the 2006 census was 24.6% versus 9.1% for all of Nova Scotia. The unemployment rate for the aboriginal identity population was 15.5%. In addition, only 50% of people living on reserve participated in the labour force.
Since the 2004 and 2005 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found that the crown has a duty to consult with aboriginal people regarding decisions or taking actions that might adversely affect their establishments or potential aboriginal rights and treaty rights, our relationship with the Province of Nova Scotia has strengthened, and the Mi'kmaq are starting to gain some traction in regard to being included more effectively in the province's economic landscape.
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs has unified the voice of the Mi'kmaq and is working together for the inclusion of Mi'kmaq people and businesses within the framework of Nova Scotia's economy.
This landmark decision has given the Mi'kmaq a great opportunity to be involved in major economic development ventures with the inception creating spinoffs for our communities.
The Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn negotiation team, the KMKNO office, works for the assembly to negotiate agreements with proponents and continues to ensure the rights and title of the Mi'kmaq are honoured.
The KMKNO office is making headway in their negotiations with industry, and as a result a number of agreements have been signed to date and many more are in development. However, no provincial mandate requires proponents to work with the Mi'kmaq. It can be challenging to ensure our people receive opportunities to participate in the developments on our lands.
METS works closely with KMKNO and together we have created an employment working group team composed of key representatives from aboriginal employment related organizations. The team leads the employment related strategies under each agreement.
I will leave it with Karen.