Increased educational attainment for Aboriginals would improve personal health and wealth – and significantly influence the Canadian economy
December 17, 2009 – Improving educational outcomes for Aboriginals in Canada is the most effective means to alleviate Aboriginal marginalization and poverty, argue the authors of two technical papers on the issue commissioned by Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN). Investing in Aboriginal education would also have a positive and long-lasting effect on the Canadian economy as a whole, the authors conclude.
Investing in Aboriginal Education in Canada: An Economic Perspective by economist and Executive Director, Andrew Sharpe, and senior economist, Jean-François Arsenault at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), examines the strong positive correlation between education, employment and earnings that is well established in social science research, and postulates various positive economic outcomes for the Canadian economy – regionally and nationally – if Aboriginal educational attainment was improved even marginally. Sharpe and Arsenault argue that Canada’s Aboriginal population could play a key role in mitigating the looming long-term labour shortage caused by Canada’s ageing population and low birthrate.
Sharpe and Arsenault estimate that if Aboriginal education and education-specific labour market outcomes reach 2001 non-Aboriginal levels by 2026, all levels of the Canadian government would incur an increase in total tax revenue. In addition, if the average Aboriginal Canadian benefitted from the same social and economic conditions as those enjoyed by the average Canadian, all levels of government could re-allocate significant social program savings toward other programs.
By adding the decreased program expenditures and increased tax revenues, Sharpe and Arsenault estimate that the cumulative effect on government balance sheets would be roughly $115 billion for the 2006-2026 period. For Sharpe and Arsenault, the message is clear: investing in Aboriginal education will not only benefit the Aboriginal population itself, but will also benefit Canadian governments and businesses, and by extension, the Canadian economy as a whole.
In the second CPRN paper, Aboriginal Education: Strengthening the Foundations, John Richards, Professor in the Public Policy Program at Simon Fraser University and the Roger Phillips Chair in Social Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, and Megan Scott, graduate student at Simon Fraser University’s Public Policy Program provide a detailed analysis of the current state of Aboriginal educational programs and policies across Canada’s regions and highlight the successes, failures and lessons learned.
Richards and Scott take as their starting point the widening gap in educational levels between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. Specifically, they focus on policies to improve educational completion for Aboriginal populations at the K to 12 levels. The authors note that as Aboriginals have “moved to town” the provincial role in education has become increasingly important: most Aboriginal children (4 in 5) attend provincially run public schools.
Richards and Scott argue that while many of the gaps in Aboriginal social and economic status have complex origins, improving educational outcomes is the social policy that most needs our attention. The authors draw on parallels between African Americans and North American Indians and First Nations as historically marginalized communities. They note that many of the educational lessons learned in the US over the last half-century have relevance as Canadians grapple with the long-neglected issue of Aboriginal education.
Richards and Scott conclude their extensive review with a clear set of policy recommendations for improving Aboriginal educational attainment both on and off-reserve that, importantly, include participation from all levels of government, businesses, community organizations and Aboriginal leadership.
Like Sharpe and Arsenault, Richards and Scott recognize that the future of Aboriginal populations in Canada is the future of Canada: that the two are inextricably linked, and that investing in Aboriginal education is an investment that will benefit all Canadians.
For more information:
- Investing in Aboriginal Education in Canada: An Economic Perspective by Andrew Sharpe and Jean-François Arsenault
- Aboriginal Education: Strengthening the Foundations by John Richards and Megan Scott
Jorge Sousa is Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He holds a PhD from The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. His primary inspiration for working in the realm of community development was based on his experiences of converting public housing to co-operative housing and as president of the Graduate Students’ Union at the University of Toronto. Jorge is comfortable working with different research methodologies, in particular mixed methods approaches. His primary research approach is community based, which results in research outcomes that have significant social value. He often works with community-based non-profit organizations to conduct research as well as participate in planning processes relevant to capacity building and development.
for the Social Economy Research Hub at the University of Victoria in public policy. She completed an undergraduate honors degree with a specialization in resource management from the Dept. of Geography at Concordia University in 2001, and an MA in Social Geography from the Dept. of Geography at the University of Victoria in 2007. Her MA research explored the socio-economic significance of the informal recovery of recyclable beverage containers in Vancouver, British Columbia. The results of this research indicate that the appropriate policies valuing the ‘binning’ activity, as the collection of recyclables is locally called, have the potential to make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, social inclusion and more sustainable waste management strategies (Thesis can be found on the CBRL website at: 
Rupert Downing is the former Executive Director of the Canadian CED Network and Co-director for the Canadian Social Economy Research Hub. The Network is a national member-based NGO committed to supporting community economic development and building Canada’s social economy, with offices in Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ottawa supporting the work of thousands of community based organizations and other stakeholders in every province and territory. The Network is committed to reducing unemployment, poverty and social disadvantage in Canada by supporting the work of grass roots community development organizations through public education, policy development, research, practitioner development and peer learning.