Study: Serious problems or disputes experienced by First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit living in the provinces, 2021

Released: 2023-07-18

Serious problems or disputes can occur in everyday life, such as contact with the criminal justice system, family breakdowns or an experience of discrimination or harassment. Indigenous people are more likely to experience these kinds of difficult challenges than their non-Indigenous, non-racialized counterparts, which could be attributable to numerous factors, including colonization, the effects of intergenerational trauma and existing socioeconomic disparities. For example, the proportion of people who experienced a serious problem with discrimination was approximately four times higher among First Nations people and Inuit, and two and a half times more prevalent among Métis, when compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous people.

These findings are part of a new Statistics Canada article entitled "Serious problems or disputes experienced by First Nations people living off reserve, Métis, and Inuit living in the provinces." This article used the Canadian Legal Problems Survey (CLPS) to examine a variety of types of serious problems or disputes and compared the experiences of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit with non-racialized, non-Indigenous people. The article also examined several sociodemographic characteristics that are associated with experiencing at least one serious problem within these populations.

In 2021, 30% of First Nations people living off reserve, 29% of Métis and 26% of Inuit living in the provinces experienced at least one serious problem or dispute in the past three years, compared with 19% of non-racialized, non-Indigenous people. Additionally, First Nations people (16%) and Métis (15%) were significantly more likely to experience multiple serious problems than non-racialized, non-Indigenous people (8%).

Chart 1 
Percentage of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis, Inuit and non-racialized, non-Indigenous people who experienced serious problems in the past three years, provinces, 2021

Serious problems related to health or injuries are experienced at higher rates among First Nations people living off reserve and Métis compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous people

There is accumulating evidence that Indigenous people have been systemically receiving poor medical treatment, while also having greater unmet needs for health care. In 2021, 5.0% of First Nations people and 5.4% of Métis had experienced a serious problem with receiving poor or incorrect medical treatment in the past three years, a significantly higher proportion than 2.9% of non-racialized, non-Indigenous people. Additionally, 3.8% of First Nations people and Métis experienced a serious problem regarding a personal injury or serious health issue in a public space, such as a traffic accident, or due to work conditions. This proportion is significantly higher than that of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population (1.7%). Lastly, Métis (2.2%) and First Nations people (1.8%) were more likely to have a serious problem obtaining disability assistance compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous people (0.9%).

Serious criminal justice-related problems are experienced at higher rates among First Nations people living off reserve and Métis compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous people

While First Nations people living off reserve and Métis were more likely to experience nearly every type of problem examined in the CLPS, the prevalence of criminal justice-related problems is of note. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called for numerous improvements to the criminal justice system to reduce Indigenous people's over-representation and victimization, as well as for more criminal justice data. In 2021, 3.3% of First Nations people living off reserve experienced a serious problem regarding contact with the police or other parts of the criminal justice system involving being stopped, accused, charged, detained or arrested. This was a significantly higher proportion than the 1.2% of non-racialized, non-Indigenous people. This trend was more pronounced among First Nations men; over 1 in 20 First Nations men (5.4%) experienced this serious problem, a proportion three times higher than that of non-racialized, non-Indigenous men (1.8%). First Nations women (1.6%) were also more likely to experience this problem than non-racialized, non-Indigenous women (0.6%).

Additionally, Métis and First Nations people were more likely to have a serious problem regarding contact with the criminal justice system as a victim or witness to a crime. In 2021, 3.9% of Métis and 3.6% of First Nations people experienced this problem in the past three years, compared with 1.9% of non-racialized, non-Indigenous people. This is more pronounced among women; First Nations women (4.3%) and Métis women (4.7%) were about two and a half times more likely to experience this serious problem than non-racialized, non-Indigenous women (1.8%). Differences were not significant among First Nations men (2.5%) and Métis men (3.1%) compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous men (1.9%).

Nearly half of non-heterosexual Métis and over 4 in 10 non-heterosexual First Nations people living off reserve experienced at least one serious problem in the past three years

Those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or any other non-heterosexual orientation are more likely to experience serious problems than heterosexual people, which can be attributed to marginalization and societal prejudices. Additionally, research suggests that sexual minorities have less access to adequate legal assistance and face more barriers to reaching justice. In 2021, 48% of non-heterosexual Métis had experienced a serious problem in the past three years, a significantly higher proportion than the 27% of heterosexual Métis who had experienced the same. Similarly, 42% of non-heterosexual First Nations people had experienced a serious problem, compared with 28% of heterosexual First Nations people. Among the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population, 29% of non-heterosexual people experienced a serious problem, compared with 18% of heterosexual people.

Having a disability is associated with a higher probability of experiencing at least one serious problem among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and non-racialized, non-Indigenous people

People with physical or mental disabilities are more likely to experience serious problems and face more challenges in resolving them. In 2021, while controlling for numerous socioeconomic characteristics among First Nations people aged 25 years and over, those with a self-reported disability had a 49% adjusted probability of experiencing a serious problem in the past three years, nearly twice the probability compared with those without a disability (26%). Similarly, among Métis aged 25 years and over, those with a self-reported disability had a 42% adjusted probability of experiencing a serious problem, while controlling for socioeconomic characteristics, more than one and a half times the adjusted probability of Métis without a disability (25%). Lastly, among non-racialized, non-Indigenous people aged 25 years and over, those with a self-reported disability had a 33% adjusted probability of experiencing a serious problem, twice the probability of those without a disability (17%).

Products

The study "Serious problems or disputes experienced by First Nations people living off reserve, Métis, and Inuit living in the provinces" is now available as part of the Indigenous Peoples Thematic Series (Catalogue number41200002).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).