News Canada’s Aboriginals Set to Receive Residential Schools Compensation JJ McCullough, OP Editor M..., aboriginals across Canada may find themselves suddenly a few thousand dollars richer in the coming months. September 19 marked the first day native men and women who attended Canada’s infamous “residential schools” could formally apply for cash compensation. The $2 billion reparations deal was passed by parliament in 2005, but has only now come into effect. Under the terms of the legislation, any former student of one of over 125 recognized residential schools across Canada will receive a flat sum of $10,000 for their first year, plus an additional three thousand for each subsequent year. It is estimated . that over 80,000 fi individuals are ia eligible for the compensation, and with the program now officially in effect, cheques are expected to start being mailed in the coming months. The sudden influx of cash into many poor native communities has some authority figures worried about the social unrest the money could cause. A Canadian Press story released last week quoted some First Nations leaders and RMCP officers expressing worry that the new riches could be easily squandered, or leave receiving individuals vulnerable for exploitation. Some communities have taken the measure of brining in professional financial counselors to help recipients make wise financial decisions. Indian Residential Schools (IRS) were a network of largely church-run boarding schools that educated and housed aboriginal teens and children— many of them orphans—in Canada from the mid-19" century to the late 1970s. The federally-funded schools controversially encouraged students to disregard their traditional cultures and customs and instead “Christianize” and assimilate into the values of Canada’s white majority. The IRS network was scaled back in the 1970s as control over native education was gradually made the prerogative of native bands, though the last IRS school did not officially close until 1998. In the 1990s many former students came forward alleging they experienced significant physical and emotional abuse in the schools, including allegations of sexual assault. The federal government and many church leaders have since issued formal statements of apology, and the $2 billion reparation package was negotiated in the early 2000s an attempt to stave off litigation on the matter. Debate Over Raising BC Minimum Wage Heats Up Economists, unions dispute necessity of raise at this time Rosemary Westwood, The Martlet (University of Victoria) VICTORIA (CUP) — The British Columbia Federation of Labour is fighting to have the province’s minimum wage raised from $8 to $10 an hour, but what practical effect that might have for students is still up for debate. University of Victoria professor and labour economist Herbert Schuetze said that B.C.’s current labour shortage means that few people, and few students, are actually working at minimum wage. “[Employers] are finding it hard to find people, so wage rates tend to be higher than $10 an hour, on average,” he said in an email interview. “In the current market it probably won’t have a big effect.” Minimum wage reforms tend to have greatest popularity when jobs are scarce, but in the current economic climate demand seems to be exceeding supply. “Everywhere you go you see 6 help wanted signs,” said Schuetze. “Large chains like Tim Horton’s are advertising on TV. Food services still has several open shifts in a variety of operations.” But while the job market is currently in favour of employees, Schuetze said that those conditions aren’t guaranteed to last. He said the proposed $2 increase was still significant and cautioned such a move could hurt businesses in the future, especially those which rely on young, inexperienced workers. “Small businesses are, I’m sure, lobbying hard to stop an increase.” But Mike Eso, secretary at the Victoria Labour Council, thinks the government may raise the wage. “T think we’ve got a pretty good chance,” he said. The Victoria Labour Council is urging the Victoria city council to join 23 other municipalities that have called on the provincial government to immediately raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, scrap the $6 an hour training wage and increase the minimum wage on a regular basis in the future. Eso called it “unfair” that a person working full time at $8 an hour ends up below the poverty line. He said that students are often in that very situation. “Students have typically lived at the poverty level, given the crushing increase in student debt levels and the inability to get decent work to support themselves during school,” he said. “It’s a choice between going further into debt or being forced to work for substandard wages and trying to squeeze that into school.” As evidence, Eso cited Statistics Canada data noting that 20 per cent of minimum wage earners are between the ages of 20 and 24, typical ages for university students. But Schuetze said that those most affected by an increase to the minimum wage are more likely to be high school students living at home. He added that increases to the minimum wage have historically had minimal effects on overall rates of unemployment. If Premier Campbell agrees with the proposal, however, Schuetze said that it could cost some students jobs if they are new to the job and less productive than a $10 wage would warrant.