ABSTRACT
Aboriginal people in Canada and Australia are, of course, free, like any other citizens, to initiate and support their own development plans and projects. In practice their socio-economic disadvantages and lack of access to resources or to the capital to exploit these make it difficult for many of them to take such steps. Government development programs are therefore of overwhelming importance, particularly for people in the more remote parts of the country. The federal governments in Canada and Australia, through the Department of Indian and Northern Development (DIAND) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) respectively, take overall responsibility for the affairs of their aboriginal peoples. Development policies and programs designed to implement those policies are an integral part of that responsibility. Provincial and territory governments are also involved, both through their local administration of programs emanating from DIAND and ATSIC and also, to a much lesser extent, through their own programs, which apply to aboriginal as well as non-aboriginal applicants.
