+ From The Toronto Star

..the Assembly of First Nations, whose leader Phil Fontaine calls native poverty “the single greatest social justice issue in Canada.”

At an aboriginal festival this afternoon in Toronto, the global movement Make Poverty History will turn its spotlight on the plight of Canada’s aboriginal communities.

Canada’s Make Poverty History officials will join with the Assembly of First Nations to push Ottawa to end the despair among many of this country’s 750,000 natives.

They cite a staggering gap in living conditions between native families and their Canadian peers:

- More than four in 10 First Nations children are in need of basic dental care they cannot afford, especially in remote communities;

- Nearly 100 First Nations communities must boil their water;

- Mould contaminates almost half of First Nations households;

- While Canada at large ranked eighth on the United Nations Human Development Index, its First Nations communities on their own were placed 68th for quality of living;

- Eight out of 10 First Nations peoples have personal incomes of less than $30,000 a year;

- Compared to the Canadian average, diabetes is three to five times more common among natives, and tuberculosis eight to 10 times more common;

- 40 per cent of aboriginal children whose homes are off reserves live below the poverty line, and almost half under the age of 15 live in one-parent families.

The Make Poverty History for First Nations campaign asks Canadians to sign an online petition to urge the federal government to consider First Nations poverty a shared issue for all.

+From the online petition which I urge you to sign:

First Nations poverty is the greatest social injustice in Canada.

The First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity is part of a national campaign to Make Poverty History for all Canadians. Sign up today to add your voice to the fight against First Nations poverty. You will join concerned individuals and organizations who are getting involved online and in communities across the country to fight poverty.

Failure to act on First Nation issues is the most significant impediment to Canada’s competitiveness in the global economy. The cost of First Nations poverty is carried not only by First Nations but by all Canadian taxpayers.

By signing, you are helping to ensure that First Nations poverty is an issue in the next federal budget and election.

The First Nations Plan is reasonable, achievable and necessary to ensure a productive and competitive Canada for all Canadians.

The AFN has been working hard to press the government for a meaningful response and commitment to move forward. Now we need your help.

Help strengthen our message by signing this online petition and doing all you can to encourage others to follow your example.