New national data on aboriginals may highlight education shortfall

By Michael Woods. New data on Canada’s aboriginal people are likely to underscore the need to address education for indigenous youth, the country’s fastest-growing group, experts say. Wednesday morning, Statistics Canada will release the first batch of data from the 2011 National Household Survey, including new information about the country’s burgeoning aboriginal population.
The data will include total numbers of First Nations, Metis and Inuit, including breakdowns by area, age structure and the living arrangements of aboriginal children. It will also look at the languages spoken by aboriginal peoples. Statisticians caution there is no way of knowing how good or bad the information is from the National Household Survey. The voluntary nature of the survey, which replaced the once-mandatory long-form census, leaves gaps in information for some groups that tend not to respond to voluntary surveys – including aboriginals.
But experts believe the data should provide a fairly accurate broad-scale picture of Canada. Canada’s aboriginal population grew by 45 per cent between 1996 and 2006, nearly six times faster than the rate of increase in the non-aboriginal population, according to the 2006 census, the last time the comprehensive study was done. Almost half the aboriginal population consisted of children and youths aged 24 and under. Read more...