Introduction
On April 19th 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin brought together over 40 members of
the Federal Cabinet, Senate and House of Commons in a roundtable discussion with
70 Aboriginal leaders from across the country. This Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable was
considered to be an important first step in strengthening ties between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal people in Canada. From this meeting, several key priorities directly
affecting Aboriginal people were outlined: achieving results, economic development,
education, health and housing.
Given that this landmark meeting has initiated a new dialogue between the federal
government and Aboriginal people in Canada, public opinion research, with its capacity
to enable all members of society to communicate their thoughts and opinions, is positioned
to become an area of increasing importance. In order to fully understand the complex
issues that exist between Canadians and Aboriginal people in both the North and South
of Canada, the views of many diverse groups must be taken into consideration.
This compendium of public opinion research findings is designed to give a broad
perspective on current views regarding Aboriginal and Northern issues. This resource
takes into consideration the views and perspectives of diverse groups including the
general population, Northern residents, youth and First Nations people living both
on- and off-reserve.
The information in this summary will be updated in future editions. For more information,
please contact us by e-mail at landscape@inac-ainc.gc.ca.
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