Indigenous Children Face High Poverty Rates in Canada

Indigenous children are currently facing the highest poverty rates in Canada, according to a new study released in Ottawa, which shows few improvements in this indicator over the last decade.

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The Upstream Institute's study, written by researchers from the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Center for Alternative Policies, found that 47 percent of children living on and off the reserve live in precariousness.

However, the figure rises to 53 percent when considering only First Nations children living in these population centers, the highest rate of child poverty in the northern country.

Analyzing two decades, the experts found that poverty rates for most of Canada's indigenous communities had barely declined between the 2006 and 2016 censuses.

For researchers, this picture 'points to the failure to undertake effective solutions,' according to Radio Canada International's multilingual service report.

Daniel Wilson, one of the authors of the research, asked to make this issue of indigenous poverty more visible because otherwise, their socioeconomic marginalization will worsen.

Quoted by the press, the expert said that children registered in First Nations who live in communities have low-quality services and poor infrastructure, which contributes to worsening their situation.