The federal government has long talked about a "new approach" or "new agenda" for Indian Affairs in Canada. In reality, all it has been is talk. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation believes the time for talking is over. A bold new approach to Indian Affairs must begin for native Canadians to have the opportunity to prosper.

In April, the federal government hosted an Aboriginal Roundtable Conference in Ottawa that cost taxpayers over $350,000. Present at the conference were 20 Liberal cabinet members and 70 Aboriginal leaders from across Canada. The intent of the conference was to develop solutions to end the cycle of poverty on reserves.

Regrettably, all that came out of the one-day gabfest was the federal government's commitment to create more bureaucracy by establishing several Aboriginal secretariats and commissions. News flash - more bureaucracy isn't likely to help.

Currently, the federal government spends approximately $7.5 billion annually for Indian Affairs. The process of providing a plethora of programs and services to reserve communities at someone else's expense - Canadian taxpayers - has produced a perverse incentive for Indians to remain on reserves even with social assistance rates as high as 90 per cent on some reserves.

Increased government spending and incentives have not improved the conditions of Indian reserves in Canada. Furthermore, all the land and resources which comprise the Indian reserve are held in trust by the Crown, and is merely managed by the Chief and council. Therefore, when an Indian decides to leave the reserve they often leave - almost literally with the clothes on their backs.

That said, Indians are beginning to vote with their feet, and in doing so declaring that the reserve system is broken. According to the Department of Indian Affairs, the proportion of on-reserve registered Indians decreased from 71 per cent in 1980 to 57 per cent in 2002.

Why are Indians choosing to leave the reserve One answer is that reserve land is treated differently than most other property. This treatment of Indian people under the Indian Act is unfair and is the reason why many people in Indian communities live in poverty.

The most imperative ingredient for Indian communities to be prosperous is individual private property rights. The key to generating wealth and prosperity is easily identifiable individual property that can be leveraged for loans and wealth creation.

It is both patronizing and demeaning to Indians for the federal government to continue to hold the title of Indian reserves. It is the bands that should have ownership and control of the reserve lands thus allowing the bands to ultimately decide whether their long-term interests are to be achieved through the collectivist ownership of land, or private ownership of land.

Indian communities will only have the opportunity to prosper and become economically self-sustaining if the reserve land is transferred to the Indian bands and the reserve system abolished. It is time the federal government stopped talking about change and provided Indians with a real opportunity to prosper.