Protection of Indigenous Communities in Canada

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Name and Number

Professor’s Name

Due Date
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Name
Address

City

Date

To

Honorable Senator,

Address XXX

Dear Senator,

My name is XXX, and I am a student at XXX. I am writing to you as a constituent of the On-

Reserve Income Assistance Program. I am voicing my concerns regarding the unfair treatment of

indigenous communities in Canada and asking for your financial help in funding our program

that helps create a safe environment for indigenous communities. I am also requesting your voice

in pushing the government for fair treatment for all citizens regardless of their background.

Abuse of Indigenous people is a growing issue that proves how much society cannot move away

from systemic and structural discrimination that has existed for ages. The Constitution provides

rights, protection, and freedom for the indigenous people, but discrimination continues to grow

despite that. The government has taken advantage of its authority to control these people and
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their property (Hyett, 2018). Indigenous communities face challenges like lack to clean water,

sexual and physical abuse, inaccessibility to education, and low-income levels.

Indigenous people have long been subjected to physical and sexual abuse, especially women and

girls. A report released by Statistics Canada discovered that six or more in every ten indigenous

women had experienced abuse at any point in time. Besides, the data also found that 83% of

Indigenous women with gender-diverse sexual identities like bisexual, lesbian, or transgender

face more relationship abuse (Power, 2020). Despite these occurrences, the challenge seems

harder to mitigate as the cases keep increasing daily. The federal government responded by

promising to draft transformative changes that would help curb physical and sexual abuse against

indigenous communities. However, the problem is still not mitigated, and the federal government

has not yet devised a plan to deal with the discrimination.

Poor health due to lack of adequate cleaning water is another persistent problem. Indigenous

people do not have access to clean drinking water; ironically, Canada is among the leading

countries with water sources. More than 30 First Nations in Canada still have drinking water

advisories in place for now. Despite the government's effort to end drinking water advisories,

Canada still faces these challenges, especially in the areas occupied by Indigenous people. One

water advisory can limit over 5000 people from accessing clean and safe drinking water

(Greenwood, 2018). The UN states that access to clean water is a right; hence, water advisories

violate human rights.

Education had been limited for the indigenous communities. Ironically, Canada is among the

leading states with a high level of education globally. However, many indigenous students are

not educated or have just achieved a low level of education, especially those living in reserves. A

study by C.D. Howe Institute found that only 48% of students in reserves have completed high
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school. Programs like Indigenous Services Canada have stepped up to offer financial help to

students between 4 and 21 years (Walker, 2019). However, the policy needs to be better funded;

hence, most indigenous students end up with low levels or are uneducated altogether. The federal

government has yet to release any federal law to ensure every child is educated according to

constitutional rights.

Indigenous people have low rates of employment, which means low-income levels. Since they

have low education levels, most employers are unwilling to add them to their workforce. They

are considered illiterate and lack the skills needed in the labor market. Besides, since they are

constantly discriminated against, they are even denied employment opportunities simply because

they are indigenous. Lack of employment means low-income levels. A 2021 census found that

people living in reserves have low incomes, followers by those in low-income households

(Mosby, 2021).

The On-Reserve Income Assistance Program is a social program for indigenous communities in

Canada. The program offered about $128.6 million as a hardship relief benefit in August 2022.

This means that every person is liable for benefiting with $300 for four months. Indigenous

people incur many challenges as the cost of living increases, especially due to the COVID-19

pandemic (Walker, 2019). The assistance offered includes clothing, rent, utilities, and special

utilities like doctor-recommended diets. The funding has, however, not been adequate; hence,

your support would mean a lot to the program.

I urge you to support our program, which has been beneficial in helping indigenous communities

here in Canada. You can support us by helping us financially or helping pass a bill that will offer

more protection for the indigenous communities. We strive as a social program to develop more

and reach more communities and households to create a fair and safe environment for everyone
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in Canada. If you need additional information on the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program,

you can reach out through our email, infopubs@sac-isc.gc.ca, or visit our physical offices at 15

rue Eddy, Room M006, Gatineau K1A 0N9.

I appreciate your taking the time to go through this letter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely

XXX

SUMMARY
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The advocacy message was for the Senator to help fund our social program, the On-Reserve

Income Assistance Program, which deals with protecting the welfare of indigenous people.

Indigenous people have been facing several challenges, including inaccessibility to health,

physical and sexual abuse, low education levels, and inaccessibility to clean drinking water.

Denial of these privileges is a violation of human rights; hence This is unfair to them as they

have their rights in the Constitution to be treated fairly and equally. Using the On-Reserve

Income Assistance Program, we can cater to on-reserve individuals and Status Indians in Yukon

who need our assistance.

The target audience is the Senator whom I have addressed using a letter. I have addressed the

Senator since he is a political leader; hence, he can help fund our program as we await a federal

program that will protect the welfare of Indigenous communities in the long run. Besides, the

Senator has easy access to the federal government, which has the legislative authority according

to the Constitution Act, 1987, to protect indigenous people's rights and freedoms. I hope he will

understand my pleas and offer assistance in any way possible to help these communities.

References
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Horrill, T. C., Linton, J., Lavoie, J. G., Martin, D., Wiens, A., & Schultz, A. S. (2019). Access to

cancer care among Indigenous peoples in Canada: A scoping review. Social science &

medicine, p. 238, 112495.

Hyett, S., Marjerrison, S., & Gabel, C. (2018). Improving health research among Indigenous

Peoples in Canada. CMAJ, 190(20), E616-E621.

Walker, C., Alexander, A., Doucette, M. B., Lewis, D., Neufeld, H. T., Martin, D., ... &

Castleden, H. (2019). Are the pens working for justice? News media coverage of

renewable energy involving Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Energy Research & Social

Science, 57, 101230.

Greenwood, M., De Leeuw, S., & Lindsay, N. (2018). Challenges in health equity for Indigenous

peoples in Canada. The Lancet, 391(10131), 1645–1648.

Power, T., Wilson, D., Best, O., Brockie, T., Bearskin, L. B., Millender, E., & Lowe, J. (2020).

COVID‐19 and Indigenous Peoples: An imperative for action. Journal of clinical

nursing.

Mosby, I., & Swidrovich, J. (2021). Medical experimentation and the roots of COVID-19

vaccine hesitancy among Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Cmaj, 193(11), E381-E383.