Posts in category: News

The Government of Canada, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), with the help of Indigenous partners has selected recipients for the construction of 12 new shelters across Canada for Indigenous women, children, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people escaping family violence.

Last June 17th, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, along with the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced today over $85 million to build and support the operation of 12 new emergency shelters across Canada over 5 years, as well as an additional $10.2 million annually thereafter.

This initiative will add 12 new shelters to Indigenous Services Canada’s existing network of shelters for Indigenous women, children and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, and will be built in partnership with the following communities:

• Odanak First Nation, Quebec
• Lil’wat Nation, British Columbia
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Alberta
• Whitefish Lake First Nation #459, Alberta
• Prince Albert Grand Council, Saskatchewan
• Keeseekoowenin, Manitoba
• Hollow Water, Manitoba
• Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario
• Natoaganag (Eel Ground) First Nation, New Brunswick
• Acadia First Nation, Nova Scotia
• Council of Yukon First Nations, Yukon
• Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Northwest Territories

These shelters will be Indigenous-led, and will provide vital refuge and culturally appropriate critical supports and services to help survivors of family violence recover from the trauma of their experiences, access support programming and create a stable environment where they can begin to regain an independent life. They are also a crucial element of the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the Government of Canada’s response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and an important contribution to the National Action Plan to end violence against Indigenous women, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $724.1 million to develop a comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy, to expand culturally relevant supports for Indigenous women, children and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people facing gender-based violence. This will also help address the urgent need for new shelters and second-stage (transitional) housing for First Nations, Inuit and Métis across the country including on reserve, in the north and in urban areas. This initiative is also a key action in the Federal Pathway. Further information on the comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy will be announced in the coming months.

The Government of Canada takes the issue of violence against Indigenous women, children, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people very seriously and will continue to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and organizations as well as provincial and territorial governments, and other partners to develop effective and culturally-appropriate solutions.

More streamlined and current, that’s what GCNWA was aiming for when it approached the graphic design firm Onakì Création to design its brand new image. Growing from 3 employees to nearly 80, the GCNWA has undergone an impressive evolution over the past few years and we wanted our image to reflect this. So today we proudly present our new logo inspired by the word “𝐰𝟖𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐢”, which means “𝕡𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕦𝕟”.

Last April, the Abenaki Nation officially notified the federal and provincial governments of its desire to apply the Act C-92 in its entirety and thus manage all actions related to child and family services. As of January 1, 2020, federal Act C-92 explicitly recognizes the inherent right of Indigenous peoples to exercise their own jurisdiction over child and family services, including child welfare.

For almost two years now, the Odanak and Wôlinak Councils have been working to consolidate general family services, but also to integrate youth protection services into the N8wkika program.

The N8wkika program (Child and Family Services of the Abenaki Nation) has been in place for ten years now and supports families in all their needs. For a decade now, more than 200 children have benefited from individual or family follow-ups. These families have been surveyed and have stated that they would like the communities of Odanak and Wôlinak to exercise their jurisdiction and to autonomously manage all services, including youth protection.

Over the years and through daily practice, it has been clearly demonstrated that the Abenaki Nation has the skills, expertise and knowledge to support families in need. Furthermore, the resources of the Abenaki Nation hold all the traditional cultural knowledge that ensures interventions adapted to the specific needs of the children and their families. It is through holistic practice, connected to the strengths of the families and allied to the community approach that the Abenaki Nation will ensure the well-being of the children of the communities of Odanak and Wôlinak.

The collaboration between the Abenaki Nation and the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) being very constructive and knowing that the resources of the DYP themselves possess an essential expertise, Odanak and Wôlinak propose that discussions lead to a partnership that will see the Nation manage its youth protection autonomously while maintaining a close collaboration with the provincial youth protection service.

The Abenaki Nation is now at the stage of finalizing the development of legal, administrative, and clinical structures that will allow it to acquire all the resources necessary to manage all child and family services and to ensure the protection of its youth.

It is expected that by the beginning of 2023, the children of the communities of Odanak and Wôlinak will be protected by internal resources in collaboration with the provincial and federal partners who will respect the self-determination of the Abenaki Nation.