Good afternoon.
My name is Manny Jules. I am the chief commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before this committee to address your study on barriers to indigenous economic development.
The city of Ottawa has just witnessed a protest about pandemic restrictions. Many of the protesters were frustrated with their lack of economic freedoms over the last 20 months because of the pandemic. Indigenous people can sympathize with their frustration; we have been in an economic lockdown for 150 years because of colonization. Our economic freedoms were taken away when our jurisdiction, fiscal powers and title were legislated out of the federation and our peoples out of the economy. Our institutions were replaced with a federal bureaucracy. Our freedom was taken, and we became hooked on programs and dependency.
I remind you that it was this institution, the Parliament of Canada, in 1927, that made it an offence for us to raise taksis among ourselves to pay for a lawyer to fight for our land claims, or to build our own infrastructure. Our fiscal powers and lands were taken away. Parliament removed our economic freedom to get decent jobs, clean water, good health care and education, and a better future for our children. Parliament took away our freedom to enjoy the many things you take for granted as citizens of Canada.
I appear before you today to seek economic reconciliation.
I have provided this committee with a paper called “Closing the Indigenous Systemic Economic Gaps”, where we identify and measure six barriers to indigenous economic development caused by colonization. First, we face an infrastructure gap of at least $30 billion. Second, we face an access to capital gap of about $175 billion. Third, we face a fiscal power gap of about $32 billion. Fourth, we face an employment gap of about 75,000 badly needed scientists, engineers, mathematicians, doctors and economists. Fifth, our costs of doing business are four to six times higher than the rest of the country's. Sixth, we face a trade gap of about $12 billion.
Before I go through our proposals to address the root systemic causes of these barriers, let me remind this committee of what doesn't work. You cannot close these gaps with signals of virtue or with a government program. They only treat the symptoms and increase dependency. You cannot close these gaps by expanding the federal bureaucracy. This only raises the costs of doing business and slows innovations. All of these approaches prolong colonization and slow down economic reconciliation.
In my experience, there is only one effective way to close these gaps: We must develop innovative solutions ourselves.
I have spent my life working with leaders, like the late, great Chief Tom Bressette, Harold Calla, Ernie Daniels, Chief Robert Louie, Chief Alan Claxton, Chief Joe Mathias and many others. Together, we have built a three-part indigenous-led innovation system.
Part one is federal legislation that recognizes our jurisdictional space and institutions. These include the First Nations Fiscal Management Act and the First Nations Land Management Act. Part two is first nations having the option to use that jurisdictional space and these institutions. Part three is our institutions developing legal and administrative innovations with participating first nations to occupy jurisdictions to support economic growth and community goals.
Our system has worked well, as over half of all first nations are now using this legislation. We estimate that 80% of all indigenous laws in Canada are passed using this framework. We have supported billions in investment and public revenues. We have improved infrastructure and services for these communities. If you wish to help us remove the barriers to our economies, an effective option is to expand this indigenous innovation system.
First, we are proposing a new institution under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, called the first nations infrastructure institute. This will complement our existing institutions to help interested nations build the necessary environmental and economic infrastructure to support sustainable communities. It will help lower insurance premiums, improve our access to capital and build better infrastructure faster.
Second, we are proposing an increase in fiscal powers to include fuel, alcohol, cannabis and tobacco taxes. We're proposing a first nations resource charge in our ancestral lands. Implementing our fiscal powers is the fastest way to end colonial-era dependency.
Third, we are proposing—