I guess I don't understand how the Liberals longtime policy of sweeping this stuff under the politically correct carpet... was ever supposed to help resolve any of these issues.
In the province's 2005 Report on the Health Status of Aboriginal People, Dr. Chandrakant Shah reported that 50 per cent of aboriginal people living off-reserve smoke, with rates as high as 70 per cent in the late 1990s.The truth is that nothing will ever turn around, without aboriginals first, admitting there is a problem and second, admitting they bear responsibility for properly raising their own children.
Forty-three per cent engage in binge drinking and 28 per cent use illegal drugs. Sixty-three per cent are considered overweight or obese, compared to 39 per cent of Canadians. Cancers in both sexes are on the rise, and in 1999, 10.7 per cent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Canada were aboriginal.
Obviously, this also entails not hiding behind the Aboriginals are Victims industry.
"Governments really can't do anything," he said. "They can't go in and change things. The change has to come from within, a desire to do something for the community, followed by more of a collaborative working arrangement between governments and First Nations communities. We can't just throw money at it."
The suicide rate in aboriginal communities is three to four times greater, as are the rates of most mental illnesses. At least 75 per cent of aboriginal women have experienced family violence, and an estimated 20,697 aboriginals in Ontario are currently suffering from a major mental disorder, most commonly depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Source: Report on the Health Status of Aboriginal People in Ontario, 2005, by Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah.
Technorati Tags: First Nations, political correctness, HIV/AIDS
