Jack Aubry
CanWest News Service
The survey of Canadians in eight cities across the country located near aboriginal communities found 51 per cent opposed to the prospect of the federal government creating new reserves in urban centres while 42 per cent were favourable to the idea. Among those opposed, 27 per cent said they are strongly against it while 24 per cent say they are somewhat opposed.
Meanwhile, only eight per cent are strongly in favour of relocating the reserves near urban centres while 34 per cent somewhat favour the idea.
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is making the poll public after an adviser to the federal government recommended that the troubled Kashechewan reserve in
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has said it will be up to the community and not the federal government whether they accept the move.
Part of a report prepared by Alan Pope, a former
Kashechewan residents have been evacuated three times in the past two years: Twice due to flooding and once last fall due to water contamination.
Pope's report found a bleak existence at Kashechewan with inadequate housing, water supply, school and health system.
Leger Marketing conducted the poll among respondents from
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development hired the polling firm to conduct a study among non-aboriginal people living near reserves across
The poll cost the federal government $67,410.
The poll also found that 46 per cent of the non-aboriginal respondents think the creation of an urban reserve would have a negative impact on the surrounding region, while 41 per cent believe the impact would be positive.
More revealing was the response to the possible benefits for the nearby cities where the reserves would be moved. Forty-four per cent said they believe creating aboriginal reserves will have "limited'' benefits on their region while 35 per cent responded it would generate absolutely no benefits. Only 14 per cent said they believe such a move would create any "real'' benefits.
Other noted perceptions:
*71 per cent believe aboriginals rely too much on governments;
*61 per cent believe natives are taking measures to become more autonomous towards governments;
*64 per cent think it is unfair to permit smoking in casinos located on reserves;
*53 per cent judge that it's fair to allow aboriginal people to build casinos on reserves but unfair that they are allowed to sell products on reserves at cheaper prices;
*48 per cent do not believe natives are victims of discrimination while 46 per cent believe they are.
The survey's final report, delivered in August to the department, noted one important point: ''Regional differences are the most important factor affecting the variation in responses on these issue areas across
''Indeed, we have observed that, in general, residents of
While the report denied that Quebecers had a negative perception of aboriginal people, it was found to be the region with the least amount of sympathy for their plight. ''When it comes to feelings of equity, they are more likely than Canadians in other regions to perceive that aboriginal people benefit from unfair advantages,'' it said.
And when it comes to the impact of the creation of new reserves, Quebec and Sarnia residents were the most skeptical ones, with more than 80 per cent of those surveyed saying there would be limited or no benefit to their regional economies.
The report is based on 3,208 telephone interviews between June 26 and July 15 with non-aboriginal respondents aged 18 or older in eight cities from coast to coast. The margin of error for the national results is plus or minus 2.4 per cent, and plus or minus 4.9 per cent for each region, 19 times out of 20.