VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The federal government’s recent substantial increase of Indigenous spending is mainly due to judicial settlement payouts, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“At a time of large budget deficits and mounting debt, the explosive growth of Indigenous spending is expected to continue, driven largely by settlement payouts,” said Tom Flanagan, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Indigenous Spending in Budget 2022.
The study notes that federal Indigenous spending rose from about $11.5 billion in fiscal year 2015-16 to $25 billion in 2021-22—an increase of $13.5 billion or 117 per cent (in nominal dollars)—and will reach a projected $35.5 billion in 2026-27. Negotiated settlements of class action lawsuits, including the recent $40 billion child welfare settlement, comprise much of this increase.
And according to previous research, there’s little to no correlation between higher levels of government spending and increased living standards for First Nations.
“If the latest federal budget is any indicator, there’s no end in sight to Ottawa’s Indigenous spending increases, despite any rhetoric about spending restraint,” Flanagan said.
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Fraser Institute
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org
