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Originally Posted by bizaro86
Great post. I would comment that in the 21st century I don't think "punishment" is or should be the point of sentencing. Getting people food, medical care, emotional healing, job skills, etc is absolutely the way we need to be going to set them up for success in the future. Obviously it would be better to have those supports in the community.
Ultimately society needs to fix the underlying issues. I don't know how to do that (if it was easy it would be done already) although I think some sort of property rights for band housing would be a good place to start.
There are no jobs on reserves because there are no businesses, and I don't believe that there are no native people with entrepreneurial drive and work ethic. But aside from discrimination, there isn't much ability for them to access capital. When I started my business I used my HELOC for start up funds, which is what the vast majority of new business owners do. But that isn't possible with reserve housing, which makes capital formation much harder. And that's aside from the "tragedy of the commons" issues with cooperative housing Cliff mentioned.
That would be far from a panacea (because someone with FASD and a significant history of abuse isn't a good candidate to start a business no matter what race they are) but I think it would help.
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You see the problem and potential solution like I did back in the 70s, when as a geologist I spent a whole winter drilling holes on the reserve areas east of Calgary. I concluded that the only solution to our FN problem was to develop ways for them to work and make their own money. By continually handing out money to them, without doing anything for it, you take away their dignity and self worth.
As it has worked out since, the greatest provider of the employment for FN people has been our oil and gas industry, and you all know how Trudeau and Butts have been treating that.