Dear editor,
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs, previously known as Indian Affairs, has an annual budget of $6.3 billion (Canadian government source).
If we extrapolate that as $6.3 billion in 2010 dollars (Government of Canada source), that means that in the past 50 years, the government (we the taxpayer) has spent between $200 billion and $300 billion.
Perhaps the $131 million given this year to Attawapiskat including the $270,000 we gave Chief Spence and her partner is indicative of those budget expenditures.
John Logan,
Courtenay