The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Aboriginal Canadians continue to be marginalized in society. Many Aboriginal rural and remote communities in Canada are struggling to create employment opportunities for their members but a lack of physical infrastructure to access markets, the inability to secure venture capital for economic development and an inadequate level of human capital to participate fully in the economy are all hindrances to success. Moreover, lower levels of Aboriginal human capital participation can be partially explained by the fact that many Aboriginal communities do not have access to quality education programs, and, of those that do, finding ways to keep the Aboriginal youth interested in school can be very difficult. This reality extends into urban areas as well: while Aboriginal Canadian education levels tend to be slightly higher in urban settings than in rural areas, they are still well below those of the population at large. Simply put, fewer Aboriginal Canadian youth complete high school. It is not surprising, therefore, that, with nearly 50 per cent of Aboriginal Canadians having less than a high-school diploma, the Aboriginal unemployment rate stands at 20 per cent - three times the Canadian average. Let's put that into context: the last time Canada experienced unemployment rates this high was in the dirty '30s. It's time for a change. Investment in human capital can be up to three times as important to a country's economic growth, over the long run, as investment in physical capital. Improving Aboriginal Canadian education levels, therefore, makes sense as a high government priority. However, increasing access to education services is only part of the solution: the real challenge lies in ensuring Aboriginal youth stay ? and perform well ? in school. How can this be accomplished? Education service providers need to work with the student's support networks ? the parents, the family, the elders and the community ? to convince Aboriginal youth of the value of staying in school. See 'Support' P.# Con't from P.# Effective methods of communication ? which occurs in the public education system through parent-teacher interviews and community consultations ? should also be established between the educators and the Aboriginal students' support network. All parents want to be involved in their child's education to a greater or lesser degree. One major difference when it comes to Aboriginal students is simply the size of their support group. Aboriginal students who have strong community ties tend to have larger support networks, which necessitates greater educator involvement. At the other extreme, urban Aboriginal Canadians are more likely to come from single-parent families, and may also be disenfranchised from Aboriginal communities and culture. This produces an entirely different dynamic among the students, parents and teachers. Students must also be made to understand the connection between education and employment. Career counselling, internship placements and workplace training programs at the high-school level can provide the incentives Aboriginal students need to stay in school, ease their transition from school to work, and provide them with the valuable experience that employers seek. However, we must also consider the social conditions Aboriginal Canadians must deal with. Aboriginal youth are more likely to reside in low-income neighbourhoods, and children attending public schools in these neighbourhoods tend to do less well when compared to children attending schools elsewhere. It follows that Aboriginal Canadians are disproportionately disadvantaged as a result of the institutional deficiencies of public education. Aboriginal Canadians are also more likely to reside in over-crowded living quarters, have poorer health status and earn lower incomes. These factors will inevitably affect Aboriginal students' performance: crowded living quarters mean smaller study space, poor health conditions lead to missed school days, and lower incomes translate into more time spent making ends meet, and less time spent studying. There are other factors besides education which have an impact how Aboriginal Canadians fair in the workforce. For instance, they may face difficulties in making the transition into urban settings. The approximately 50 per cent of Aboriginal Canadians who reside in urban areas confront a significant challenge accessing employment and social services, and in establishing a relevant support network. Aboriginal Canadians also struggle to retain their culture and identities in the workplace. Training in cultural awareness does, in fact, improve Aboriginal employee retention rates, but small and medium sized employers simply do not have the resources to implement Aboriginal specific employment policies. The complexity of the issues confronting Aboriginal Canadians cannot be overstated. Numerous factors influence how Aboriginal Canadians fare in society and, regardless of the outcome, Aboriginal issues extend into most fields of specialization including health, justice, education, employment, economic development, human rights, inter-governmental relations and social equality, to name only a few. The pervasiveness of Aboriginal issues in everyday life in Canada means that, in one way or another, every Canadian will likely be confronted with the unique challenges facing Aboriginal Canadians. It is the outcome of these interactions that will dictate the success of Aboriginal Canadians in society.
