There are many statistics. The percentage of Aboriginal children being raised by a single parent -- usually the mother -- is double the percentage of other Canadian children. One in 5 First Nations women over the age of 15 is a single mom. And if statistics don't change, a growing number of Aboriginal boys will typically become absent dads themselves. We hear from CBC Reporter, Geoff Leo who has been looking into this story and from a professor at the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria.

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Today's special town hall edition with a live audience comes to you from the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse.

Part One of The Current

Satire

It's Thursday, January 12th.

An NDP MP from Quebec has defected to the Liberal Party, saying the Grits will do a better job of representing her constituents.

Currently, her constituents say they wish she had done a better job of representing herself.

This is The Current.

Absent Aboriginal Fathers

It is a fact of life for many aboriginal children in this country. Their dads are absent. Still, many of them will go on to become parents themselves and if the statistics don't change... a growing number of the boys will typically - and tragically - become absent dads themselves.

It's a cycle that very few Canadians are talking about that's in contrast to the efforts being made across the country when it comes to single, Aboriginal mothers. CBC reporter Geoff Leo has been looking into this story from Regina and his documentary, Blindspot - What Happened To Canada's Aboriginal Fathers? will air on CBC News Network this coming Saturday night right across the country. Geoff Leo joined us in Whitehorse.

And Jessica Ball is a professor at the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. When she first set out to research Aboriginal fathers, she was expecting to gather information already collected - and then move on from there. What she discovered was something very rare in the academic world - an untapped, under researched area of study. She also joined Anna Maria at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse.

Visit www.ecdip.org to read more about Jessica Ball's program of research including the Aboriginal Fathers study and the resources for men, programs and communities created from that project.

Related Links:

• First Nations Fathers: Hidden in plain sight By: Roxanne Stasyszyn - Yukon News
• CBC documentary examines absence of aboriginal fathers By: Jeff DeDekker - Leader-Post