Created in 1966, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is a highly decentralized organization which responds to the varying needs of a culturally, economically and geographically diverse clientele. The legislation establishing the department, as amended in 1970, made its Minister responsible for Indian and Inuit affairs, the residents of the Yukon and Northwest Territories and their resources. The department fulfils the lawful obligations of the federal government to Aboriginal peoples arising from treaties, the Indian Act and other legislation.

Indians and Inuit in Canada enjoy all the rights and benefits available to other Canadians, including those universally available such as Family Allowance, Old Age Security and Unemployment Insurance. INAC provides for the delivery of basic services such as education, social assistance, housing, community infrastructure, to status Indian and Inuit communities. In 1993-1994, some 80 per cent of the Indian and Inuit Affairs Program's total expenditures were managed or administered by First Nations or by other Aboriginal institutions. The following are among the most important programs and policies available to status Indians:

• exemption from income tax for income earned on reserve
• partial exemption from federal and provincial sales tax
• free medical benefits not covered by universal provincial medical insurance,including dental care with no means test
• subsidized housing on reserve
• post-secondary education support plus incentives and scholarships
• immunity from seizure of real or personal property on reserve

In the North, although the federal government delivers some services directly to Indians and Inuit in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, most are delivered by the territorial governments, which receive over 80 per cent of their revenues in transfers from the Government of Canada. The federal government contributes a share of the funding for similar services provided to the Inuit of northern Quebec by the Government of Quebec and by the elected local government bodies established by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975. In Labrador, the Government of Newfoundland is primarily responsible for administering services to Inuit under a cost-sharing agreement with the federal government.

The department also administers Indian reserve lands and elections of First Nation councils; registers entitlement to Indian status and First Nation membership; administers First Nation funds and the estates of certain individual Indians; and negotiates the settlement of accepted land claims.

Some of INAC's priorities include: recognition of greater program and political authority of First Nations and territorial governments by establishing a framework for the effective implementation of the inherent right of self-government; specific initiatives to implement self-government; continued devolution to territories of program administration; and assisting First Nations and Inuit peoples in strengthening their communities.

Back