A/HRC/27/52/Add.2 A. Social and economic conditions 15. The most jarring manifestation of those human rights problems is the distressing socioeconomic conditions of indigenous peoples in a highly developed country. Although in 2004 the previous Special Rapporteur recommended that Canada intensify its measures to close the human development indicator gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians in health care, housing, education, welfare and social services,8 there has been no reduction in that gap in the intervening period in relation to registered Indians/First Nations, although socioeconomic conditions for Métis and non-status Indians have improved, according to government data.9 The statistics are striking. Of the bottom 100 Canadian communities on the Community Well-Being Index, 96 are First Nations and only one First Nation community is in the top 100.10 16. It might be expected that the costs of social services required by indigenous peoples would be higher than those of the general population, given their needs and the geographic remoteness of many indigenous communities. However, it does not appear that Canada has dedicated greater resources to social services for indigenous peoples. The Auditor General of Canada, an independent parliamentary officer, has alerted the Government that the lack of appropriate funding is limiting social services delivery and thus the improvement of living conditions on reserves.11 1. Education 17. At every level of education, indigenous people overall continue to lag far behind the general population. Government representatives have attributed the gap in educational achievement in large measure to high levels of poverty, the historical context of residential schools, and systemic racism. 18. Under the Indian Act, the federal Government is responsible for funding education on reserves, which is administered by First Nations governments. The federal Government also funds 110 First Nations and Inuit cultural education centres, which develop culturally relevant curricula. Outside of reserves, education is funded by provincial and territorial governments and administered by local school boards. There are two exceptions. In British Columbia, education for First Nations is coordinated through a single province-wide education authority and delivered and regulated by individual First Nations, which are provided with stable funding through a tripartite agreement with the provincial and federal governments. Also, 11 First Nation bands in Nova Scotia are self-governing in respect of education, under an agreement concluded in 1997. 19. It bears noting that there exist a number of laudable government education programmes, some of which have demonstrated success. The Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities Program has shown achievements in eliminating disparities between aboriginal and non-aboriginal children in terms of school readiness; unfortunately, the Program reaches less than 10 per cent of aboriginal children.12 8 9 10 11 12 E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.3, para. 101. “2011–2012 report on plans and priorities: demographic description”, fig. 9, available from www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1315424049095/1315424155048. Ibid, fig. 10. Auditor General of Canada, 2011 June Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada (hereafter “Auditor General 2011 report”), “Chapter 4 – Programs for First Nations on Reserve” (June 2011), preface. Public Health Agency of Canada, Evaluation of the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities Program at the Public Health Agency of Canada (March 2012), p. 10. 7