Despite tripling the money spent on FNs since 2015, their living standards have barely improved. Why?

[blackbird]

The federal government has spent an avalanche of money on FNs since 2015, but the living standards on reserves has barely improved.  Where is all this money going?  There should be a deep investigation into this and determine exactly where every dollar has been going.  This is not helping FNs or the taxpayers of Canada.

"

An Avalanche of Money: The Federal Government’s Policies Toward First Nations

Since 2015, the federal government has significantly increased spending on Indigenous Peoples.

The annual Indigenous budget has almost tripled from 2015 to 2025, growing (in nominal dollars) from roughly $11 billion to more than $32 billion.

In addition, class actions have been settled without litigation, with estimated liabilities reaching $76 billion in 2023, while specific claims have been settled at a rate four times higher than by the previous government, leading to a significant transfer of land and money to First Nations.

From 2016 to 2021, the gap in Statistics Canada’s Community Well-Being index, which measures the socio-economic well-being for communities across the county, between First Nations and other Canadian communities was reduced from 19 to 16 points. This reduction was due chiefly to an increase in reported income of First Nations people living on Indian reserves.

Closer analysis shows that this increase in income was due mainly to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), introduced in 2016. First Nations people benefit relatively more from this new program because they have lower incomes and more children than other Canadians.

First Nations’ Own Source Revenue derived from business activities is increasing less rapidly than government transfers, making First Nations more financially dependent on the federal government.

Simply increasing money transfers to First Nations does not necessarily produce improvements in measured well-being.

Improvements in well-being can come from general policies, like the CCB, that are not targeted at First Nations."

An Avalanche of Money: The Federal Government’s Policies Toward First Nations | Fraser Institute

The federal government has been and is the one in the driver's seat.  They are responsible.  This should be closely investigated and action taken to correct the problems.  This is also just another example of anything the government touches turns to dirt.

[CdnFox]

Check and see if the lives of the Chiefs got any better, or the lives of the consultants the gov't hired to look into indigenous issues. 

You didn't think the money was for the first nations PEOPLE did you?

[Venandi]

23 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

You didn't think the money was for the first nations PEOPLE did you?

If I did the math right (always a challenge for me) the budget works out to just under $18,000 for each native holding status in Canada.

In addition to whatever other benefits they may be entitled to under law (CPP, OAS etc), why not just give them the money, shutdown the department and let them govern themselves however they see fit.

Individual reserves could be empowered to tax their own residents based on the previous year's residency and have the appropriate amount deducted from the yearly (individual) payment and submitted directly to the band.

Edited October 24, 2025 by Venandi

[herbie]

B.C. MLA's bill to prohibit land acknowledgements in schools fails 1st reading

 

[I am Groot]

Because most of that money never gets to the natives. It's sucked away by corruption, going to a variety of Liberal friendly contractors, consultants, businessmen, and lawyers.

[Nefarious Banana]

Bill  C-27 'First Nations Financial Transparency Act' . . . brought in by the Conservatives under PM Stephen Harper.

Destroyed in the first few days of the Liberal government under PM Justin Trudeau.

Billions creamed off the top . . .