TORONTO ABORIGINAL RESEARCH PROJECT

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Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org
October 31, 2011
"There are numerous success stories and the number of people attaining success is growing," according to the largest and most complete research project ever conducted on the Aboriginal population in Toronto

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However, the Toronto Aboriginal Research Report commissioned by Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC) also says, "For the majority of Aboriginal people residing in Toronto, achieving an economically stable existence is a serious challenge."

The picture painted by the study is one of a very diverse and complex community. The research suggests that, while a substantial number of individuals retain strong links to their community of origin, the majority have taken up long-term, stable residency in Toronto.

"Levels of education are improving. The unemployment rate, while higher than for non-Aboriginal people, is declining. There are a substantial number of Aboriginal people who are enjoying economic success, moving to affluent regions of the GTA and forming a stable middle class. Like other urban residents, they enjoy the recreational, entertainment and career opportunities afforded in a large multicultural city. They are participating in all the benefits the city has to offer while, in many cases, attempting to maintain strong Aboriginal identities."

That's how it is for the thriving segment of the Aboriginal population of Toronto. Then there are the others . . ."Sixty-three percent (63%) of TARP respondents earned less than $40,000 annually. For these individuals it is a continuing struggle to attain a satisfactory quality of life in the city. . . The findings presented in this report demonstrate that problems such as poverty, the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, single-parent families, alcohol and drug addiction, school drop-out rates, racism, unemployment, physical and mental health problems, family violence, high rates of incarceration and lack of support for Aboriginal culture and identity continue to face many Aboriginal people in Toronto."Aboriginal people have been residing in the Toronto area for centuries.

Since the Second World War a major rural to urban shift has occurred throughout Canada and Aboriginal people have been part of it. The Toronto/GTA has been a major centre for Aboriginal people leaving First Nations and Métis communities to come in search of a better life.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/71035214/TARP-Final-Report-FA-All-Oct-25-2011
The TARP study provides a description of the situation of Aboriginal people in Toronto/GTA.

FINAL Report of the Toronto Aboriginal Research Report
COMMISSIONED BY
Toronto Aboriginal Support
Services Council (TASSC)
October 2011

As part of the traditional territory of the Mississauga of the New Credit, Toronto has a long history of being a place of Aboriginal hunting and fishing, social gathering, and trade. More recently as part of the larger national trend in Aboriginal urbanization, Aboriginal people have been moving to Toronto since the early 1950s. According to the 2006 Census, the Greater Toronto Area has the largest (31,910) Aboriginal population of any city in Ontario, comprising 13% of all Aboriginal people in Ontario. According to Aboriginal service providers however, Toronto’s Aboriginal population is presently estimated at 70,000 residents.1 In comparing Census data over time, we also see that the Aboriginal population has grown by 33% since 2001 and has more than doubled its size since the 1981 population count of 13,015.

Despite this history of Aboriginal people living in Toronto, there has been little systemic, in-depth research pertaining to this reality. The Toronto Aboriginal Research Project (TARP) has responded to this need and is the largest and most comprehensive study of Aboriginal people in Toronto ever conducted. With a sample of over 1,400 individuals, 14 topics studied and seven methodologies utilized, the TARP study provides an extensive picture of the current situation, successes, aspirations, and challenges facing Aboriginal people in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The TARP study is also unique in that it is a community-based research initiative that has been overseen from start to finish by the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council in collaboration with the TARP Research Steering Committee.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/71035214/TARP ... ct-25-2011