[IPSM] Quebecers have little sympathy for Aboriginals, new survey shows

[Macdonald Stainsby]

      Friday » October 6 » 2006

       Quebecers have little sympathy for Aboriginals, new survey shows

             Jack Aubry
             CanWest News Service


       Friday, October 06, 2006


       OTTAWA - A recent poll of Quebecers reveals two-thirds believe 
Aboriginal Peoples enjoy better, or similar, living conditions as the 
rest of the population despite considerable evidence natives live in 
communities with a quality of life more similar to that found in 
Third-World countries.

       The non-sympathetic view is especially remarkable in the Quebec 
region across the Ottawa River from the federal capital, where a 
majority of non-aboriginals - 54 percent _believe Indians, Inuit and 
Metis enjoy a quality of life ''much better'' or simply ''better'' when 
compared with that of Quebecers.

       The Indian Affairs poll, conducted by Leger Marketing earlier 
this year, shows 62 per cent of non-aboriginals hold a negative view of 
Indians, Metis and Inuit peoples in Quebec, with only 36 percent having 
a positive one.

       The survey report, which was turned over to the government in 
March, says it was done to determine how Quebecers living in regions 
located near aboriginal communities and reserves - the Outaouais, 
Lanaudiere, Mauricie and Abitibi-Temiscamingue - view aboriginal people 
and their issues and claim.

       Earlier this year, the Conservatives scrapped the five-year, 
$5.1-billion Kelowna accord to improve native housing, while coming up 
with a two-year plan in its first budget. The Tory plan appears to be 
worth about $225 million a year in new expenditures to improve the water 
supply and housing on reserves, as well as education and socioeconomic 
conditions for aboriginal families.

       Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine has said there is a 
native housing crisis with 170 communities that don't have safe drinking 
water or basic health care in the communities.

       Quebec has also been the site of some of the worst conflicts with 
Indian communities in Canada, including the 1990 Oka crisis where a 
Quebec police officer died from a gunshot wound when police tried to 
take down barricades erected by militant Mohawks.

       Overall, 73 per cent said they believe relations between 
aboriginals and non-aboriginals are very good or good, and only 18 per 
cent viewed them as poor or very poor.

       The poll report noted the higher the level of education among 
respondents, the more likely they were to believe aboriginals had a 
lower quality of life than Quebecers in general.

       The more unaware respondents were of current aboriginal land or 
natural resource claims, the more likely they were to say natives had a 
better quality of life than non-aboriginals.

       A large majority, at 68 per cent, of Quebecers said natives were 
receiving fair treatment from their governments.

       Conversely, 58 per cent of respondents believed aboriginals in 
their region were responsible for most of their problems - with 70 
percent of Outaouais residents, who live just north of Ottawa - holding 
this view.

       A large majority of respondents - 84 per cent - agreed with the 
statement the natives in their region were too dependent on governments.

       Quebecers were also divided on labour market discrimination, with 
49 percent disagreeing that aboriginals were victims and 46 percent 
feeling that they weren't.

       ''It should be noted, however, that the findings from the 
Outaouais region were quite different from those in the other regions. 
Only 28 per cent of respondents felt aboriginals in their region 
experienced labour market discrimination, compared with 46 percent of 
all respondents, a significant difference of 18 percent,'' added the report.

       Margot Geduld, a spokesperson for Indian Affairs, said the pilot 
survey cost $19,230 in a cost-sharing project with the Quebec government.

       Indian Affairs paid $11,800 while Quebec paid the remainder.

       She said the four regions were partly chosen because of ongoing 
negotiations over significant land claims in the area and the findings 
will be used to improve communications targeting residents.

       The Leger Marketing report is from a survey of 1,604 Quebecers in 
the four regions, held between Feb. 18 and March 10, and carries a 
margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

       The margin of error in each region is higher, at plus or minus 
4.9 percentage point.

       Ottawa Citizen

       © CanWest News Service 2006

-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://independentmedia.ca/survivingcanada
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
    --Bertholt Brecht.