Paul Martin pledged to improve the lives and living conditions of aboriginal Canadians this week at a roundtable meeting attended by 20 Cabinet Ministers and 70 Aboriginal leaders from across Canada. The Ottawa conference was called to develop solutions and end the terrible cycle of poverty on reserves. The Prime Minister correctly noted the status quo is unacceptable, but he failed to offer any new ideas.

On hand to shed some light on what the federal government will do differently was Andy Mitchell, the Indian and Northern Affairs Minister. "Somebody once said doing the same thing, in the same way, and expecting different results is a pretty good definition of insanity," noted Mr. Mitchell. "Well, we are not insane, and we will not fall into that trap." Well, too late for that.

The government's plan is to do more of the same by creating more bureaucracy and establishing several Aboriginal secretariats and commissions. Increased government spending will not help native Canadians escape the welfare trap. If more money were the solution, the problem would already be solved or at least be showing signs of improving. Ottawa spends $7.5-billion a year on Aboriginal affairs, of which 80% is transferred to reserve councils. Sadly, life on many reserves resembles Third World living conditions.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation believes there is a better approach. For nearly 130 years the Indian Act has segregated Indians from Canadian society. By targeting one segment of Canada's population, the Act separates and isolates Indians from other citizens by placing them on reserves. This severely limits their ability to fully participate in the economy.

The inequality of the current law isolates native Canadian from modern society. For Indian communities to compete successfully within the Canadian economic mainstream, the Indian reserve system in Canada should be phased out.

The key to generating wealth and prosperity is easily identifiable individual property that can be leveraged for loans and wealth creation. Most Canadians can borrow against their own private property to obtain capital to invest in business ventures.

The most imperative ingredient for native communities to have long-term economic viability is property ownership. Currently, the reserve land is held in trust by the Crown and is controlled collectively by the native band council, not by individuals. This treatment of native Canadians under the Indian Act is unequal and is one reason why many people in native communities live in poverty.

The communal arrangement imposed by the Indian Act produces problems for native entrepreneurs. Business owners typically raise capital by using property as collateral. But since on-reserve native Canadians do not own their property in fee simple, it is extremely difficult to sell, mortgage or otherwise use the land as an engine of economic growth. The wealth of the land is under-utilized.

There are, of course, Canadians who choose to hold property in a communal manner. Hutterites choose to hold property communally. But, this is their choice, not a directive from Ottawa. Shouldn't individual native Canadians be entitled to the same choice as all other citizens

Over the last 50 years, the world has seen human rights legislation passed in a number of countries. All of this legislation has equality of rights and responsibility at its core. When dealing with its diverse aboriginal community, Canada continues to move down the path of segregation and balkanization. This is unlikely to change under Mr. Martin. Treating natives differently than other Canadians is wrong, morally and intellectually, and it has not improved their economic outlook. It serves only to perpetuate poverty - and if that isn't insane, what is