Office of the Auditor General of Ontario Value‑for‑Money Audit Indigenous Affairs in Ontario December 2020 Ministry of Indigenous Affairs Indigenous Affairs in Ontario Indigenous people living on reserve and off reserve. 1.0 Summary Although First Nations, Métis and Inuit social and economic indicators have shown improvement from 2001 to 2016, there is still a significant gap Indigenous Peoples were the first to have inhabited when compared to other Ontarians. For example, the lands now known as Canada. In Canada, Indigenous Peoples in Ontario do fare better than Indigenous Peoples are First Nations, Métis and those in other Canadian provinces in attaining Inuit. According to the last census in 2016, 22% of university degrees. However, in 2016 (latest avail- Canada’s Indigenous population lived in Ontario. able information), approximately 13% of Indigen- The nearly 375,000 Indigenous Peoples in Ontario ous Peoples aged 25 to 64 had university degrees accounted for 3% of Ontario’s population. About compared to 32% for non-Indigenous people. For 15% of Indigenous Peoples live on reserves (lands Indigenous Peoples living off reserve in 2019, 42% set aside by the Crown for the exclusive use of had at least one chronic health condition, com- Indigenous communities). pared to 33% for non-Indigenous people. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Indigenous Peoples continue to advocate for Commission, reconciliation between Indigenous their right to self-determination, the elimination and non-Indigenous people “requires constructive of systemic racism, and having a primary role in action on addressing the ongoing legacies of the development and implementation of programs colonialism that have had destructive impacts on and services. [Indigenous] peoples’ education, cultures and lan- The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs (Ministry) guages, health, child welfare, the administration of is responsible for setting priorities and tracking justice, and economic opportunities and prosperity” the province’s progress in delivering policies and “ must create a more equitable and inclusive and programs effectively to improve the lives of society by closing the gaps in social, health, and Indigenous Peoples. The Ministry is also respon- economic outcomes that exist between [Indigen- sible for ensuring the province meets its legal ous] and non-[Indigenous] Canadians.” obligation to consult Indigenous communities on Indigenous Peoples have, in general, poorer government decisions that may infringe on their health, education, social and economic outcomes rights or impact them adversely. The Ministry is than non-Indigenous people. Many societal and also the province’s lead in land claims negotiations, historical issues have led to inequity between and is responsible for settling land claims when a Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, as well as 1 2 First Nation asserts that the province has violated • Neither the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, its Indigenous or treaty rights. nor any other provincial ministry or Overall, our audit found that the Ministry has agency, is aware of all provincial programs neither taken the lead, nor been given the author- and services for Indigenous Peoples in ity required to coordinate the province’s policies, Ontario, and this information is not pub- programs and services for Indigenous Peoples. licly available. Without comprehensive infor- Each provincial ministry independently designs and mation on Indigenous programs and services, implements its own Indigenous policy initiatives the province cannot effectively coordinate its according to its own priorities. Problems with this efforts to improve social and economic out- decentralized approach are compounded by the comes for Indigenous Peoples. The Ministry absence of oversight. The Ministry does not track or only posts 11 of the 140 provincial programs monitor provincially funded Indigenous programs designed to benefit Indigenous Peoples on and services. Effective coordination of programs its webpage, and could only provide us with and services cannot be performed without central- a listing of 30 programs when requested. To ized knowledge of all the government’s Indigenous compile a complete inventory of all Indigen- programs and services. Further, other Ontario ous programs and services in the province ministries that provide programs and services do for a five-year period, we had to contact the not have effective engagement, accountability and Treasury Board Secretariat and each min- oversight mechanisms in place. Therefore, these istry separately for the information. As this ministries cannot ensure that these programs and information had never been compiled before, services are operating as intended to effectively and ministries took up to six months to identify all efficiently meet the needs of Indigenous commun- relevant programs and associated funding for ities. In contrast, during the COVID-19 pandemic, our Office. the Ministry was able to lead the province’s efforts • When developing programs and services by meeting with Indigenous communities and for Indigenous Peoples, the province does service providers to get a more comprehensive not always engage them to ensure the pro- understanding of their needs, relay those needs grams and services effectively meet their to the responsible ministries, and coordinate the needs. Engaging with Indigenous Peoples government’s response. helps ensure that ministries develop pro- The following are some of our specific concerns: grams and services that more effectively meet • The province is not regularly assessing and the needs of the communities in a culturally reporting on its effectiveness in improving appropriate manner. Unlike consultation, the lives of Indigenous Peoples. Despite there is no legal obligation for engagement committing to publicly report on the prog- when developing Indigenous programs and ress of Indigenous initiatives in the areas of services. However, engagement is considered health, employment, education and justice in a best practice. For example, lack of engage- response to the 2015 Truth and Reconcilia- ment by the Ministry of Health has resulted tion Commission report, the province has not in Indigenous people not having access to done so. The Ministry did create reports on culturally appropriate health care incorporat- social and economic indicators using informa- ing traditional healing and translators. The tion from Statistics Canada and other sources Ministry also did not engage Indigenous in 2016 and 2018, but these reports were Peoples when developing either its 2016 never publicly released. Canada, British Col- Indigenous affairs strategy or its guide to help umbia and Alberta publicly report on their other ministries engage Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous affairs performance measures. Indigenous Affairs in Ontario 3 • The lack of broadband access for Indigen- that services to remote communities deliv- ous communities is limiting health, social ered through this program had decreased and economic progress. Only 17% of house- by 45% from 2016/17 to 2019/20, and the holds on First Nations reserves have access to Ministry had not investigated the cause or the Canadian Radio-television and Telecom- impacts of this. However, in 2017, a review of munications Commission (CRTC) standard the program identified that reduced access for basic Internet services. This compares to to health care had resulted in worse health 98.8% of households in medium and large outcomes in the community, and an inability urban populations, and 29.5% in rural popu- to manage chronic disease (such as diabetes). lations. Without adequate Internet access, • Effectiveness of Indigenous programs and Indigenous communities cannot access health services is limited by uncertainty in fund- care services through eHealth or take part in ing. Some government programs only guar- remote learning education delivered online, antee funding for one to three years. Further, and Indigenous businesses cannot access approving applications and providing funding eCommerce opportunities. can be significantly delayed. Four of the 14 • Ministries do not have accountability programs we sampled that provided funding measures in place to confirm funding to Indigenous organizations or communities for Indigenous programs and services is had agreements for three years or less. being used as intended. Of the 18 programs Indigenous communities and service provid- and services we sampled, only two filed any ers we met with said that they are limited in supporting documents, such as invoices or their ability to retain staff, plan long-term, receipts, to show that funds were being used and use the funds received effectively. For as intended. These programs and services example, one community mentioned that accounted for 33%, or $400 million of they were not able to bring mental health $1.2 billion in budgeted expenditures for professionals to their northern community Indigenous programs in 2019/20. When we because they could not guarantee funding for requested documents from six ministries for the positions beyond a year. 10 specific expenses, such as costs for meet- • The Ministry does not collect adequate ings, only two ministries were able to provide information to ensure the province is any form of supporting documentation, such meeting its legal obligation to consult as invoices or receipts. Indigenous communities. The province is • Ministries do not have adequate perform- required to consult Indigenous communities ance measures in place to