Indigenous infrastructure gap estimated at more than $425B – CBC

April 16, 2024

National organizations estimate immense needs in advance of 2024 federal budget

As the Trudeau government prepares to release this year’s federal budget, Indigenous organizations estimate it would take more than $425 billion to close the infrastructure gap in their communities by the government’s 2030 goal.

While the bulk of that staggering sum comes from the Assembly of First Nations’ nearly $350-billion assessment of the infrastructure gap facing an on-reserve population of 400,000, the assembly is not alone in this exercise.

The national organization for 70,000 Inuit in Canada says it would cost $75.1 billion to close the gap in Inuit Nunangat, the traditional northern Inuit homeland encompassing 51 communities and four regions.

Meanwhile, the national council for Métis associations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario is seeking $2.7 billion for housing, infrastructure, governance and property management from this year’s federal budget.

Following the Liberal government’s release of a new plan to “solve” Canada’s housing crunch, Indigenous organizations are watching closely in the hopes their needs aren’t forgotten when the spending plan lands Tuesday afternoon.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done to address long-standing inequities in infrastructure in Inuit Nunangat,” said Josh Gladstone, director of policy advancement at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-infrastructure-gap-federal-budget-1.7174362