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Indigenous Manitoba – leveraging the demographic dividend W


innipeg is home to a growing young Indigenous population. Half of Manitoba’s Indigenous population is under twenty-one years old. Tis young population represents a demographic dividend and a strategic advantage for Winnipeg and Manitoba. According to the Interna-


Building Trades Sudhir Sandhu


tional Monetary Fund (IMF) during periods a nation enjoys a demographic dividend, “the labor force temporarily grows more rapidly than the popula- tion dependent on it, freeing up resources for investment in eco- nomic development and family welfare.” Manitoba is on the cusp of en-


joying a significant demographic dividend, particularly within its Indigenous population. At the same time, many studies show


that education levels and employment rates for indigenous Manitobans lag the mainstream population. A demo- graphic dividend is only of value if it is actually realized. If investments in education, training and employment


opportunities do not coincide with an emerging young demographic, it can quickly end up on the wrong side of economic fence and become a long-term liability. If we do not train, educate and support our youth, an asset will eventually become a dependent liability. Youth and young adults can either be economically


engaged and productive citizens, or they can become disengaged, disadvantaged and marginalized by a lack of opportunity. Canadians are well aware of the well-doc- umented continuing adverse impacts of past social and economic marginalization and expect that Manitobans overwhelmingly accept that reality. Manitoba holds a strategic advantage but faces a real


risk of missing this opportunity. Indigenous youth carry the same aspirations as any other young Manitoban. In that regard, there is no difference in the desire to partici- pate and to contribute. Te material difference is in rea- sonable equality of opportunity. Tis is a critical juncture for Winnipeg and Manitoba and extensive and sustained investments in education and training initiatives to sup- port the full economic participation of Indigenous youth is critical to our long-term prosperity. Increasingly, Manitoba and Canada have relied on im-


migration to attract younger workers to an aging nation. While this strategy has resulted in Manitoba becoming


Population Distribution by Age (%) “Roughly one quarter of the world’s population is between 10 and 24 years old. The aspirations and achievements of these young people will shape the future. At the same time, fertility rates in


many parts of the world are falling. A country with both increasing numbers of young people and declining fertility has the potential to reap a ‘demographic dividend’ – a boost in economic productivity that occurs when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents.”


– United Nations Population Fund, 2015


home to one of Canada’s youngest populations with a me- dian age of 37 . However, the full economic engagement of Manitoba’s Indigenous youth must remain an equal priority for Winnipeg and Manitoba. Leveraging this emerging demographic cannot be left


to chance. Nor can it be left to individual municipal, pro- vincial, federal or Indigenous governments to manage in isolation. Effective strategies will require a multi-party, collaborative framework including all levels of govern- ment, business and academic systems. Tis framework must genuinely engage and foster collaboration rather than dictate terms and conditions as been historically the case. Only a strong partnership framework can address the risk factors that may prevent the full potential of a young


demographic segment from being realized. A genuine partnership that is respectful of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) can mobilize all four levels of government to address educa- tion, training and social factors that have served as bar- riers to full economic engagement and participation by Indigenous people. Te education and skill gaps and workforce participa-


tion differentials are often significant and will require sustained and intensive attention. Even though a demo- graphic dividend can endure for decades, the time for action is here and now. Hopefully, Winnipeggers and Manitobans will recognize both the opportunities and the risk and support necessary initiatives that will influence our future for many decades to come.


Spousal abuse – the path from passionate love to control to violence


Dorothy Dobbie A


man, a bit rough looking and perhaps on the younger side of middle age, was the only person in the local produce store, except for the clerk and the owner. As I


browsed the fruit, I could hear him loudly proclaiming, “I’ve gone 185 in the city plenty of times.” He repeated himself a cou- ple of times, going on to outline the reasons for his declaration. He was blustery and assertive. Te women said very little.


Finalizing his purchase, he burst out the door. Te clerk drew in her breath and said, “I wanted to punch that guy in the nose!” Te owner quietly agreed. Why, I wondered. I’m sure you could easily travel 185 km in the city in a single day, so I asked, “Why?” “He was a complete jerk,” said the clerk. You should have


heard how he was talking to his wife on the phone, yelling at her and calling her names.” “And who does he think he is?” chimed in the owner. “He’s


going to kill someone going that fast in the city – or anywhere!” “Ooooh,” I thought. So “going 185” meant travelling at that


speed, not the distance. But my companions’ anger and dis- gust was about the verbal public abuse of the man’s wife. “He probably beats her,” continued the owner. “I feel so sorry for the poor girl.” She went on to tell me about another customer who, years before, used to come to the store with his wife twice a week. “He would grab a handful of peanuts and eat them, one by one, dropping the shells on the floor,” she said. “His wife was the sweetest thing, but he verbally abused her in front of everyone. One day, he went to the car leaving her to pay for the groceries and I just couldn’t help myself. I leaned over and whispered, ‘You don’t have to take that.’” “Good for you,” I said. “No,” she replied. “Tey never came back. I am so sorry I


said anything.” She was thinking that perhaps the wife talked back to her abuser and who knows what happened to her. “It was none of my businesses,” she said sadly. But whose business is it, I wonder, if not ours? And why


shouldn’t we speak up and say something to the abuser, if not the abused? Why should we let them get away with bullying


November 2017 How to recognize an abuser


• Often very charming – high on everyone “nice guy” list. • Narcissistic. Lays blame for any ill that befalls him on someone or something else.


• Often, but not always, associates with other abusive men. • Has male dominant opinions, sometimes voicing them as a “joke”. May use misogynistic language or refer to women in derogatory terms.


• Claim that women want to be dominated by strong men. • Often extraordinarily attentive, passionate, adoring. “I can’t live without you.”


• Is controlling. May insist that his partner not wear makeup or certain clothes.


• Constantly in touch – wants to know where she is at all times. Texts, phones. May drive by her workplace to ensure she is really there.


• Isolates the partner. They stop going out, stop seeing family.


• Accuses partner of flirting, cheating, even looking at other men.


• Overly sensitive. Takes offence. Begins ranting. • Mood swings escalate. Partner can’t do anything right. • Apologizes profusely. Won’t let you go. Threatens suicide if partner tries to leave.


and beating and crushing the spirit of their spouse? If we don’t speak up for them, who will? I still regret not saying something or offering help to a


friend who, from time to time, came to work with bruises on her cheek visible under her make up. It was always the same cheek, except for one day when she appeared with a fat lip – a cold sore, she said – but there was no sore visible. I longed to say something to offer support, but I didn’t, worried that I would shame her by doing so. Why do we feel this way? The only one who should be


ashamed is the jerk dishing out the abuse. Yet we in society let these things pass, turn our heads, pretend not to see. It’s time to speak up for anybody we realize is being abused.


www.smartbizwpg.com I think of Kevin Klein, the owner of MyToba, who recently


re-told the world the story of his mother’s murder by an abu- sive spouse. Te last time Kevin saw him, Robert Munroe was in a parole hearing hoping to get out of jail. Parole was granted. He now lives free and clear in Windsor, Ontario and you can be pretty sure he has done it again – abused and beaten other women, who may not know his record. All accounts point to spousal abuse as being a serial event, even after imprisonment or counselling. At this man’s parole hearing, Kevin wrote, “Te parole


board asked him to talk about what happened and what caused it. Tey revealed his past abuse of partners, which we weren’t aware of. Each time, his abuse became worse — it started with shoving a girlfriend, then pushing his first wife, then punching her. Tat relationship ended but his pattern continued until finally he took a life … my mom’s life. I learned that day she previously had called the police about his abuse. She had even gone to a shelter on a few occasions for some peace when my brothers left the house for a weekend or a school trip. She never told us but then again we never asked. We, like most of society, were blind to the signs, or simply ignored them. My mother was living in fear, just as thousands of women are doing right now.” At the parole hearing Robert Munroe convincingly pled


remorse – they all do and society feels sorry for them. How unimaginably perverse. Te abuser won. Kevin and his broth- ers were left to suffer the lifelong consequences. Even the inheritance from their mother went and was squandered by Munroe while he was out on bail. Te boys got nothing. Kevin, only a young adult himself, looked after his younger brother. We need to take spousal abuse more seriously. Not only


women are in danger; sometimes, the abuser’s anger extends to the kids who are also killed. Regardless, the children’s lives are filled with horror and dread while it is all happening and they are left with misplaced guilt after it is all over as they wonder if there wasn’t something they could have done. It’s not your fault, dear children of these relationships. It’s


the fault of all of us who turn a blind eye. We must change this and take responsibility for the victims, because in spite of what the abusers always claim, it is definitely not the vic- tim’s fault!


Smart Biz 5 Leveraging the Demographic Dividend


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