Own-source revenue is more effective in lifting living standards in Indigenous communities than government funding, according to a study released Tuesday by the Fraser Institute.

The study is the based on the Statistics CanadaB次元官网网址檚 latest Community Well-Being Index, published every five years to measure income, health and education. The latest index published earlier this year, extending the data from 2001 to 2016.

B次元官网网址淔or decades, governments in Canada have poured money into first nation communities in an effort to improve the quality of life, and yet many communities have seen their living standards decline,B次元官网网址� said Tom Flanagan of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary and author of , Gaining Ground, Losing Ground: First NationsB次元官网网址� Community Well-Being in the 21st Century.

Of the 21 first nations across Canada with the biggest improvement in community well-being, 11 were in B.C.: Halfway River, McLeod Lake, Witset, Nadleh Whuten (Fort Fraser), TkB次元官网网址檈mlups te Secwepmec (Kamloops), Matsqui, Shuswap, LeqB次元官网网址檃:mel (Deroche), Uclulet, Blueberry River and Prophet River. Two are in Alberta: Enoch Cree (Stony Plain) and Fort Mackay.

Flanagan notes that TkB次元官网网址檈mlups, Matsqui, Shuswap and LeqB次元官网网址檃:mel B次元官网网址渁re in a special category because three quarters or more of the people who live on the reserve are not status Indians. These first nations have sought prosperity by leasing land to outsiders for residential or recreational real estate.B次元官网网址�

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Most of the rest gained improvement via B次元官网网址渃ommunity capitalism, or band-owned enterprisesB次元官网网址� including oil and gas field services and forestry.

Five of the fastest-improving communities are in northern B.C., B次元官网网址渨here the provincial government has an elaborate program of consultations, negotiations and revenue sharing with with first nations for resource development, including forestry, pipelines and hydrocarbon exploration.B次元官网网址�

Those found to have lost ground in community well-being from 2001-16 include Soowahlie (near Chilliwack) and Wuikinuxv (Rivers Inlet) in B.C. and Beaver and Whitefish Lake in Alberta.

B次元官网网址淎 common characteristic for the first nations that are losing fround is the low level of own-source revenue,B次元官网网址� Flanagan says. B次元官网网址淣ot surprisingly, these first nations are not making as much use of off-ramps from the Indian Act as are the ones that are rapidly improving their community well-being scores. None in this group has established a tax system.B次元官网网址�

Remoteness from urban locations is a factor in the declining group, with some having no year-round road connection to a service centre. Only two, Soowahlie and Eagle Lake near Dryden, Ont. are less than 50 km from a town or city.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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