An aboriginal advocacy group in Saskatchewan says political candidates have been silent on indigenous issues during the election campaign.
The Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan says political parties in the province have not released any platforms directly affecting indigenous people.
President Kim Beaudin says he was hoping the many indigenous people living in urban areas would get their concerns heard.
“Very little has been discussed, which is a big difference from the federal election, so I have been pretty disappointed,” says Beaudin.
He says there is no need to be silent when there are several issues affecting indigenous people in the province.
“They really haven’t talked about missing and murdered Indigenous girls, the number of children in foster care, an apology for the ‘60s Scoop, the high number of indigenous people incarcerated as well as the unemployment rate.”
Beaudin says regardless of who wins the election they will have a moral, legal and economic responsibility to include indigenous people in their plans and priorities.
He says this “exclusion” of indigenous concerns does not reflect the growing Indigenous population especially in urban areas.
According to Census data the number of ancestry-based indigenous people living in urban areas went from 6.7 per cent of Indigenous people 50 years ago to 60 per cent in 2006.
“The exclusion of indigenous issues and concerns in this election does not reflect the growth of urban ghettos in Saskatchewan and the associated social ills,” says Beaudin.
The Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan is an Aboriginal advocacy group representing the interests of status and non-status Indians living off-reserve and Metis.