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expenditures specific to the Aboriginal community such as supplementary health benefits or the
negotiation and settlement of land claims. The second factor, differences in the cost of providing
the same service to a Native and a non-Native, stems mostly from the fact that a greater
proportion of the Aboriginal community are in remote communities. The third factor, demand for
government services, is affected by the age structure of the Aboriginal community as well as the
social, economic and health situation faced by Aboriginal Canadians. The Royal Commission,
after reviewing the contribution of each factor, concluded that greater needs stemming from
general social and economic disparities, not age structure, were at the root of the discrepancy in
expenditures.
Waslander develops the findings of the Royal Commission that investments on
Aboriginal costing $2 billion per year for 20 years could reap the enormous benefit of lasting
gains amounting to $10 billion per annum ($1996). The gains would be in the form of lower
government expenditures and greater productivity and output of Aboriginal people if they
became more self-reliant. The potential of Aboriginal Canadians is so underutilized that a $5.8
billion dollar increase in the annual value of production by Aboriginals is conceivable. A further
$1.7 billion per annum would be saved if the need for health and social services became more in
line with the demand of the general population. These potential gains, estimated at $7.5 billion in
1996, would increase to $11 billion in 20 years due to increases in the Aboriginal population.
Interestingly, the majority of the benefits arising from temporarily increasing expenditures on the
Aboriginal community accrue to the various levels of government ($6.7 billion per annum) rather
than to Aboriginal Canadians ($4.3 billion per annum).
In order to realize these benefits, significant changes must be made. The Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples concluded that there are four concepts that must be included
in a long term solution. The reality of social and cultural difference must be recognized so that
Aboriginal approaches to governance may be respected. Self government and self-determination
must be recognized as an inherent right. The nature of Aboriginal nationhood must be based on
historic nations rather than current communities; constitutions and a governing framework must
be constructed. Finally, a requirement for land, resources and a self-reliant Aboriginal economy
is needed.
B. The Challenge of Attaining Educational Parity
Aboriginal Peoples and Postsecondary Education in Canada is a report written by
Michael Mendelson (2006) and released by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. The report
examines the data on Aboriginal postsecondary educational attainment and puts forward
recommendations to improve the results. Of particular interest from the perspective of this report
is Mendelson‘s argument that in order for Aboriginal Canadians to reach parity with non-
Aboriginal Canadians in terms of postsecondary achievement, both the capacity of post-
secondary institutions (supply side) and the numbers of Aboriginals entering the system (demand
side) will have to increase.
Mendelson argues that the problem lies in the low number of Aboriginal Canadians
graduating from the K-12 sector. He finds that Aboriginal high school graduates are just as likely
to complete post-secondary education as non-Aboriginal high school graduates. Overall, for
Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals alike, about 75 per cent of high school graduates finish some