Budget 2011 Highlights - Aboriginal and Northern Investments

Budget 2011  , the Next Phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan, builds upon investments since 2006 to support Aboriginal priorities, to address the barriers to social and economic participation that many Aboriginal Canadians face.

Strengthening Partnerships with Aboriginal Canadians

The Next Phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan includes a number of initiatives to increase support for Aboriginal Canadians:

• $22 million over two years to help First Nations upgrade and replace fuel tanks that power their essential community service to meet environmental safety standards and improve health and safety on reserve;
  
  
• $30 million over two years to support the First Nations Policing Program, which supplements existing policing services in First Nation communities;
  
  
• Up to $20 million over two years to be funded from existing resources to support the First Nations Land Management regime, which improves conditions for economic growth on reserve for participating First Nations;
  
  
• $8 million over two years to renew funding to promote the deployment of clean energy technologies in Aboriginal and Northern communities.
  
  
• These investments add to the over $10 billion each year the Government of Canada invests in Aboriginal priorities, including investments since 2006 to support priorities in First Nations education, child and family services, on-reserve infrastructure, water and housing, First Nations and Inuit health, and Aboriginal skills development and training.
  
  
• These measures also build upon the Government's ongoing structural reforms to programs and services, including a new approach to supporting First Nation education and an enhanced prevention-focussed approach to First Nation child and family services. These initiatives will ensure that long-term and future investments produce optimal benefits for Aboriginal communities.

Other Budget 2011 investments in Aboriginal Canadians:

• Aboriginal Canadians will also benefit from a new investment of $8 million over two years to promote the deployment of clean energy technologies in Aboriginal and Northern communities to reduce their reliance on non-renewable fuels over time.
  
  
• Budget 2011 provides $4 million over the next two years to the Northern Pipeline Agency to create a cost-recovered consultations initiative, primarily focused on Aboriginal groups, with respect to the Alaska Pipeline Project.
  
  
• Aboriginal Canadians also stand to benefit from more targeted investments to attract health care workers to rural and remote communities, to assess and clean up contaminated sites through the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan and to support volunteer fire workers in communities across the country.

Implementing the Northern Vision

Budget 2011, the Next Phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan, builds on priority areas of the Government's Northern Strategy, while making new investments that will improve the quality of life of Northerners and all Canadians. For instance, Budget 2011:

• Includes new and ongoing support for Northern infrastructure projects, including a new investment of $150 million over five years toward the construction of an all-season road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk connecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
  
  
• Provides $4 million over the next two years to the Northern Pipeline Agency to create a cost-recovered consultations initiative, primarily focused on Aboriginal groups, with respect to the Alaska Pipeline Project.
  
  
• Helps further the Northern Strategy's priority of protecting environmental heritage through new investments to clean-up contaminated sites in Northern Canada, promote clean energy technologies in Northern communities and address climate change across Canada.
  
  
• Increases employment opportunities for Northerners, including $9 million over two years to expand adult basic education programming in the territories.
  
  
• Contributes to safe and healthy Northern communities by contributing $4.2 million over two years to support the hiring of additional judges and prosecutors to ensure timely access to justice for those in Nunavut and new incentives to attract more doctors and nurses to underserved and rural and remote communities.

Ongoing investments in the North

• Northern territories will continue to benefit from major federal transfers to other levels of government, including transfers in support of health and social programs, Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing.
  
  
• The Government will continue to deliver on the Government's commitment for a new, world-class Canadian High Arctic Research Station. The station will help address the challenges facing Canada's Arctic by enabling world-class research and serving as the hub of a network of Arctic research infrastructure.