Loading articles...

Study on Indigenous benefits

Last Updated Jun 21, 2017 at 12:00 pm MDT

Representatives of many first nations groups watch as the flag for Treaty 7 is raised in front of City Hall in Calgary on Thursday, March 23, 2017. The flag was raised to represent respect, trust and formation of bringing people together. Representatives of all different aboriginal groups came to watch the flag rising along with other citizens. (Photo by Chelsey Harms/660 News)

A new study finds governments in Canada are facing a challenge dealing with the population growth of those who associate as being Indigenous.

The federal government and courts have broadened the standards as to what qualifies as being Indigenous, which has led to a 275 per cent increase in the population between 1986 and 2011.

The study, Incentives, Identity, and the Growth of Canada’s Indigenous Population was authored by Tom Flanagan with Fraser Institute who said there is continued pressure to loosen criteria even further.

“Then there is countervailing pressures from some of the First Nations that say, ‘Hey, wait a minute,’ the benefits of government spending are being diluted by being spread around among too many people including a lot of people that don’t live on a reserve and never will live on a reserve,” Flanagan said.

He posed the question, “should government be paying for special benefits for these people if they are not effectively part of a particular community? I mean, this is a big philosophical question: to what extent do we want to use taxpayers’ money to pay benefits to people simply on the basis of ancestry?”

Flanagan says he does not suggest solutions in the paper, he is simply pointing out an issue that will need to be dealt with in the near future.