The aboriginal people have been living under confinement, in the reserves for a long time. Though these laws have undergone amendments that seek to give them more freedom, they are still under a lot of legal constraints. This law limits the flexibility of the Aboriginal people to adapt to changes in technology and investments. This is because they have to put the interest of the community before anything else. The Aboriginal people have no legal right to sue people while on their own; they have to do this as a group. The same applies to any financial obligation undertaken by an Aboriginal member.
The other crisis that is evident in the reserve involves the customary elected council of elders and the federal government controls the operation of the community. The law acknowledges the decisions made by the costmary council of elders, but more often than both the two parties do not agree on many terms. The law does not allow any Aboriginals to participate in the election process especially those who reside outside the reserve, (Fattah & Peters, 1998).
The limiting conditions force the Aboriginals to stay in the reserves and this causes congestion. The Aboriginals living in reserve contribute to a high percentage of Canada’s most congested population. Those who have houses in the reserves are in dire need of repairs while the majority of the population needs new houses, (Leenaars, 1998). This condition is associated with the high levels of poverty that come about from the lack of education and employment opportunities. The Aboriginal communities living in reserve amount to a significant percentage of the people of Canada who live in deplorable conditions caused by poverty (Sacco & Leslie, 2011).
The health conditions in these reserves are exceedingly distressing and most of the Aboriginals are suffering from diabetes and other communicable diseases. The cause of the high levels and recurrence of communicable diseases are the congestions in the reserve and lack of essential sanitation, (Bold, 1993). The majority of the people in the reserve take in contaminated water and develop typhoid. The rate of child death, suicide incidences, and disabilities are also unusually high.
The public is not doing much to respond to this crisis. The laws that restrict the Aboriginals from acquiring their land are limiting here, and the parliament is doing nothing to alleviate the situation. The health care providers are doing their best to control communicable diseases, but proofs to be a difficult task due to congestion and lack of proper sanitation. The other policy applied to solve the crisis is the provision of safe drinking water to families in the reserves. The prime target should be the vulnerable groups, (Marsh, 2006).
Three-quarters of the Aboriginal population have no employment, and they have to innovate ways to meet their daily needs. Most of them resolved to crime as a source of livelihood. This is because the young population is idle and they cannot go to other places to look for jobs because of the limiting factors of the law.
In this case, the Government should amend the laws that hinder the Aboriginals from exercising their legal rights as Canadian citizens. They should be given equal rights as the other citizens and given aid in terms of food and health facilities. I also think that the youth should be allowed to explore their talents by engaging them in income-generating leisure activities (Leenaars, 2008).
References
Bold, M. (1993). Surviving as Indians: the challenge of self-government. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Fattah, E. A., & Peters, T. (1998). Support for crime victims in a comparative perspective: a collection of essays dedicated to the memory of Prof. Frederic McClintock. Chicago: Leuven University Press.
Leenaars, A. (2008). Suicide in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Marsh, J. H. (2006). The Canadian encyclopedia. Michigan: Hurtig Publishers.
Sacco, F.,V. & Leslie W., K. (2011). The Criminal Event: An Introduction to Criminology in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill.