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.
'First Nations poverty is the single greatest social issue in Canada today,' Angus Toulose, Regional First Nations Chief of Ontario, said in a 2006 speech. 'Poverty breeds helplessness and hopelessness, which results in far too many of our young men and women committing crimes of despair.' Whether it is poverty, lack of opportunity, alienation or a combination thereof, the elevated crime rates frequently experienced in First Nations communities are an open, tragic secret. While the same group of repeat offenders is often behind many of the offences _ as is the case in non-reserve communities _ there is no denying the severity of the problem. That much is illustrated in stark terms by the newly released 2012 crime figures for the reserves surrounding the Flin Flon-Creighton region. The Reminder obtained from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics the figures for four reserves: Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay and Deschambault Lake in Saskatchewan and Pukatawagan in Manitoba. Pelican Narrows had by far the highest crime rate of the four communities with 123,515 violations per 100,000 population. That is eight times the rate in Flin Flon Pelican Narrows also had the highest per-capita rate of violent crime (25,416) and property crime (58,812), among other categories. But for break-and-enters, Pelican Narrows was fourth (2,945). Sandy Bay, a smaller, more remote reserve northeast of Pelican Narrows, had the second-highest crime rate. It recorded 108,127 violations per 100,000 people _ seven times that of Flin Flon. Sandy Bay had the second-most violent crime of the four reserves (24,613), and was also second for property crime (54,799). It had the second-most break-and-enters (3,406). Next was Deschambault Lake, another smaller reserve about 140 kilometres from Creighton. It recorded 62,279 violations per 100,000 people _ four times higher than that of Flin Flon. Deschambault Lake was fourth in violent crime (16,149) and third in both property crime (24,863) and break-and-enters (3,108). Last was Pukatawagan, about 115 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon, with a per-capita crime rate of 53,427. That's three and a half times higher than Flin Flon's. Accessible only by air, rail or winter road, Pukatawagan had the least property crime (18,820) and the second-lowest rate of violent crime (19,270). In terms of break and enters, Pukatawagan had the highest rate (3,820). Of course several factors demand consideration when reviewing this data. Small size For one, the relatively small size of the four reserves means that just a few offences in a category can produce an inflated picture of a particular problem. Pukatawagan may have had a per-capita motor vehicle theft rate six times higher than Flin Flon's, but the crime was rare in both communities, happening five times in Flin Flon and nine times on the reserve. It is also entirely possible, if not likely, that all four reserves are in fact more populated than the government census suggests. This would skew the per-capita crime rates. Residents of the reserves previously contacted by The Reminder agreed that crime is a concern in their communities but did not want all residents to be painted with the same brush. 'It's the same minority of people who go to jail over and over again, and it's not everybody,' said one Pelican Narrows resident who asked that his name not be published. 'We have good people who want a better place to live for themselves and their families.' More aboriginals are getting educated and finding employment, the resident said, adding that there is still a lot to be proud of in his and other First Nations communities. A long-time resident of Pukatawagan said his reserve also has many people who want a better community, but some social problems need to be overcome. The crime rate in Pelican Narrows dropped 13 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011. It was up in both Deschambault Lake (31 per cent) and Pukatawagan (five per cent). Crime held steady in Sandy Bay. (Note: Most per-capita statistics in this article came directly from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. However, in the case of Deschambault Lake, the per-capita statistics were calculated by The Reminder using population figures provided by Statistics Canada).
