Jim Mulvale , Univ. of Regina Andy Mitchell, Univ. of Toronto Bob Kayseas , First Nations Univ. of Canada Ernie Light

1. Economic security and social development in northern Canada: precarious work and working together for a better futureJoint Conference on Social Work and Social Development: Stockholm, July 2012 Jim Mulvale, Univ. of Regina Andy Mitchell, Univ. of Toronto Bob Kayseas, First Nations Univ. of Canada Ernie Lightman, Univ. of Toronto

2. Precarious work in Canada’s North • To explore the concepts of precarious work and economic insecurity in Canada’s north. • Based on work undertaken for two separate grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada – Precarious employment in Canada’s North (Ernie Lightman, Principal Investigator) and The dynamics of social exclusion and inclusion for immigrants and racialized groups in Canada (Luann good-Gingrich, York University, Principal Investigator, Co-investigator Ernie Lightman, University of Toronto) • Utilizes emerging understanding of precarious work and concepts developed by Standing’s (1999)1: • Labour market insecurity • Dimensions of economic security and precarious employment 1Guy Standing (1999). Global labour flexibility : seeking distributive justice, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. : Macmillan Pres ; New York : St. Martin's Press.

3. Canada’s North Chuck McNiven and Henry Puderer (2000). Delineation of Canada's North: An Examination of the North–South Relationship in Canada, Geography Division, Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 92F0138MIE, no. 2000-3.

4. Dimensions of economic security • Labour market security – macro-economic; • Employment security – regulatory system; • Job security – barriers to skill dilution and opportunities for upward mobility; • Work security – protection against accidents and illness at work (regulatory); • Skill reproduction – opportunity to gain skills, training, employer support for training etc. • Income security – income adequacy (min. wages, income security) • Representation security – collective voice in the labour market

5. Labour Market InsecurityCanada, 1996 - 2008

6. Dimensions of economic security/precariousnessEmployment security and stability

7. Dimensions of economic security/precariousnessSkill reproduction, income and representation security

8. Precarious work, by regionCanada, 1996 - 2008

9. Understanding the context to secure a better future for Northern Indigenous communities: The deep history of relations between the First Peoples and European newcomers to Canada • initial French colonists and later British mercantilists and settlers • staple extraction on the periphery of the global capitalist system • rough economic reciprocity superseded by internal colonialism and attempt to assimilate • variation across regions and over time

10. Indigenous Peoples in Canada’s North: Understanding the Context (cont’d): Political struggle as the motor and steering mechanism for economic development: • Role of 60s activism and more recent militant protest • NIB  AFN (and role of provincial-level organizations such as FSIN, Tribal Councils, etc.) • Stance of current Conservative federal government re: the North – natural resource extraction through asserting “sovereignty”

11. Understanding the Context (cont’d): The importance of legal and administrative mechanisms in structuring and shaping contemporary economic development activities • Royal Proclamation of 1763 / early and recent Treaties / Constitution Act of 1982 / Supreme Court decisions • land claims settlements and self-government agreements • very difficult to achieve – but have the potential to facilitate Aboriginal economic development and social participation (and thereby the ability to reclaim and strengthen Aboriginal knowledge / culture)

12. Moving forward: • co-ownership of and joint control over natural resources • a land base • education and human resource development  increased capability for self-management and self-governance • avoiding false dichotomies (between FN / Metis / Inuit social and cultural survival and revitalization andpartnerships with large corporations)