OTTAWA - A new federal report on quality of life among Canada's aboriginal peoples shows the gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal is yawning, but not quite as bad as it used to be.
The benchmarking report is backed by the federal government and is meant to set a baseline to compare aboriginal and non-aboriginal standards of living in the future.
It shows more and more aboriginal people are participating in the work force, while the non-aboriginal participation rate is falling.
Self-employment is on the rise.
But the report shows that unemployment is much higher for aboriginals, especially for First Nations people living on reserves, and incomes are considerably lower too.
The federal report, along with other recent studies, also shows the last recession hit aboriginal people far harder than other Canadians, partly because of their close ties to the price of natural resources.
© The Canadian Press, 2013