Feds ignoring data on Indigenous well-being, says auditor general

Canada's federal government has been ignoring or omitting crucial data on the well-being of First Nations and the employment barriers they face, leading to distorted views of progress, the auditor general says.

Michael Ferguson released the results of two audits Tuesday that investigated some federal Indigenous-oriented programs and services that are meant to fix the disproportionate unemployment rates, education, health and income faced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Neither probe demonstrated that the government was adequately reporting on progress, measuring outcomes or using data to improve programs, Ferguson concluded.

In one example, his investigation uncovered starkly flawed figures being touted by government: a high school graduation rate on reserve that was 22 per cent lower than the department's estimate.

"It’s the incomprehensible failure of the federal government to influence better conditions for Indigenous people in Canada," he wrote in a damning assessment released May 29 alongside the audits.

"Our recent audits are two more in a long line that bring to light the poor outcomes of Indigenous programs."

The Trudeau government has made reconciliation and the relationship with Indigenous people a key priority, including putting significant amounts of money toward things like skills training and social services.

It has been particularly sensitive about Ferguson's probe into Indigenous skills training, pushing back against his office to adjust the scope of his review in a July 2017 letter, according to The Canadian Press.

The two departments agreed with all of Ferguson's recommendations for both audits, according to government responses included in the material released Tuesday.

Despite 18-year-old commitments, relevant data was not collected

Ferguson found both the federal government's Indigenous services department, which measures socio-economic well-being on reserves, and its employment department, which runs programs to help First Nations, Métis and Inuit boost their skills and find jobs, were deficient in their efforts.

One audit showed how Indigenous Services Canada, one of two departments that arose from the dissolution of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in August 2017, was using a tool that omitted several aspects of well-being such as health, language, culture and environment.

This audit — "Socio-economic Gaps on First Nations Reserves" — found the department did not use the program data provided by First Nations, or a wide range of other available data, and did not "meaningfully engage" with First Nations to report on well-being.

"We found that the department could have used the volumes of available data from multiple sources to more comprehensively compare well-being relative to other Canadians and across First Nations communities, but did not," states the audit.

"The department had data and access to data from public sources, other departments, and First Nations, but did not include it in either the Community Well-Being index or another comprehensive measure or set of measures."'

Instead, that index, first published in 2004, measured just four components of well-being: income, employment, education and housing, ignoring things like language and culture.

In response, the federal government said it would develop a "broad dashboard of well-being outcomes" based on "mutually agreed-upon metrics." It argued "much of this work is already under way" via its forging of a new fiscal relationship with the Assembly of First Nations and other groups.

As well, although the education gap with Canadians has widened over the past 15 years, Ferguson's audit stated, the department was not adequately measuring or reporting on that gap.

"We found that despite commitments the department made 18 years ago, Indigenous Services Canada did not collect relevant data, or adequately use data to improve education programs and inform funding decisions," the audit read.

"It also did not assess the relevant data it collected, for accuracy and completeness. Nor did the department provide access to or regularly share its education information or the results of data analysis with First Nations."

The department inflated on-reserve high school graduation rates of First Nations students because it didn't account for students who dropped out before their senior year, the audit said.

From 2011 to 2016, on average, the department said 46 per cent of First Nations students graduated. Ferguson's office calculated that figure to be 24 per cent instead.

The department said in response that it is talking with First Nations to "identify meaningful education results that would replace the current approach." It also said it was working with First Nations to "transform" grade school, high school and post-secondary education.

Department was counting temporary employment as success

A second audit showed how Employment and Social Development Canada was not collecting data that would show whether two key programs, the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy and the Skills and Partnership Fund, were actually resulting in Indigenous people getting and keeping jobs.

"This is despite the fact that the department has been delivering programs to support Indigenous employment for almost 30 years," reads the audit, called "Employment Training for Indigenous People."

Ferguson uncovered one example where the department was counting any employment status as a success, including part-time or seasonal work, and couldn't measure whether short-term jobs were leading to sustainable employment.

The department was also basing its funding allocation on data from 1996, Ferguson's office found, and was not steering money towards partner organizations that were more successful at training clients.

The department provided employment organizations it partnered with guidance, direction and information, the audit stated. But it did not give "sufficient labour market information" so the organizations could figure out which services to provide.

In response, the department said it was already working with Indigenous partners to "transform" its employment programs. It said it would put in place a new "performance measurement strategy" for April 2019 as it develops a new Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program.

It also pointed to funding in the 2018 federal budget for reducing the Indigenous employment and skills gap that it said was "based on updated socio-economic and demographic data."