not included in Statistics Canada Surveys
News Release
Non-Status Indians not included in Statistics Canada Surveys
August 11, 2010- Brad Maggrah, President of the Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal People (OCAP), has welcomed the federal government’s decision to eliminate the threat of jail time for individuals refusing to participate in the Census and to include mandatory questions involving language.
Scrapping the mandatory long form census will impair the ability of OCAP and other Aboriginal organizations to advocate for change. “The mandatory long form census is one of the key tools to understand the size of Aboriginal populations in Canada and assess the conditions in which we live,” said Maggrah. The Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) and the Aboriginal Children’s Survey (ACS) require the mandatory long form census to develop their population based sampling frame. The shift to a voluntary survey will result in an underreporting of the degree of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal disparity.
There are many ongoing problems with the national surveys delivered by Statistics Canada including the Aboriginal Peoples Survey and the Aboriginal Children’s Survey. For example, in June 2008 Statistics Canada reported that Non-status Indians had checked off the category Métis because they were not registered under the Indian Act and there was no category for non-Status Indians. Another example is question #20 which asks: “Is this person a Status Indian (Registered or Treaty Indian as defined by the Indian Act of Canada?).” This question fails to acknowledge court decisions that recognize those Treaty Indians who are part of Pre-Confederation treaties and are not registered under the Indian Act.
OCAP represents the rights and interests of Status and non-Status Indians and Métis living in Ontario and is an affiliate member of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
For more Information, please contact:
Brad Maggrah
Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal People
Tel: (807) 938-1321
