Improved education and more jobs on remote reserves are the key to closing the gap in opportunities between Aboriginal Canadians and the rest of the country, Ken Coates told CTV News Channel.

“Aboriginal people have to become part of the economic activity in Canada”, Coates says. “They don’t have to become the same as other Canadians but they have to have the opportunity to participate in the industrial resource economy in this country”.

Coates was responding to a report the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board released this week.

To watch the full interview, click here.