Support for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation

[admin]

Parliamentary Committee says government should extend mandate and funding for Aboriginal Healing Foundation
June 18, 2010
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=11618#p11618

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The Harper government chose not to extend funding.
That has created a storm of controversy from sea to sea to sea . . .

Turtle Island Native Network supports the efforts to make sure funding continues for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation
because its funding is essential to the survival of the valuable programs across Canada that help individuals and communities
as they deal with
the impacts of abuse at residential schools.

What's really disturbing is that an Indian Affairs review of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation had only praise, and urged the government to continue
funding, because of the ongoing need for the AHF services by First Nations.

Read the evaluation . . .
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29339612/Inac-Evaluation

March 2010
More . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=11214#p11214

New Democrat MP Niki Ashton (Churchill) of Manitoba is leading the charge seeking a positive political response from the Harper government. She launched a
campaign and petition urging the Federal Government to commit to funding the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) past March 2010.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/v/0Z5RPol9Fm4

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is the only source of funding for healing programming aimed at Residential School survivors and dealing with the intergenerational impacts of the Residential School system. Manitoba, the province with the greatest number of projects funded by the AHF, has 27 projects in 21 communities. A range of healing initiatives are funded through the AHF, from counselling to community events to creating public awareness.

“Despite the positive feedback regarding the AHF’s work, the Harper Government is failing to commit to the need for healing programming,” said Ashton. “The cutting of the AHF goes against the spirit of the historic apology made by Stephen Harper and his Government in 2008. It goes against the Government’s commitment to achieving reconciliation.”

Along with the loss of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, 950 people running the programming will lose their jobs. “At a time when everyone is focused on the need for an economic recovery – cutting the Aboriginal Healing Foundation that provides necessary programming for and by Aboriginal people is wrong.”

Ashton has joined with Survivors, community workers and leaders to call for people to get involved with the campaign. They are asking people to sign the petition and call on the Government to maintain its commitment to Aboriginal people and the need for healing.

Petition calling for the extension of funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation
http://nikiashton.ndp.ca/ahf

In addition to signing the web petition, please make sure to print this PDF – sign it – and then send it (free of charge) to my office in Ottawa. It's important that you send this signed PDF because it is the only version I can present in the House of Commons.

Niki Ashton, MP
914 Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Let's send a strong message to the Federal Government that our regions need this programming.
A petition to the Government of Canada

We the undersigned are calling on the Government of Canada to extend the funding for healing programmes under the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Whereas funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is ending on March 31, 2010;

Whereas the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is aimed at encouraging and supporting Aboriginal people in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in the Residential School system, including intergenerational impacts;

Whereas Residential Schools caused extensive physical and mental trauma experienced by the survivors that was also passed on to future generations;

Whereas the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is making a difference in the lives of Residential School survivors and following generations through counselling and cultural programmes;

Whereas healing from the impacts of Residential Schools is far from complete after 10 years which is the length of time the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has existed;

We are asking the Government of Canada to leave a true legacy of action to Residential School survivors and support the process of healing through an extension of funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

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Aboriginal healing group responds

Re: The Aboriginal Healing Boondoggle, Frances Widdowson, Jan. 4.
(http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/index.html?subject=Frances+Widdowson&type=Person)

January 7th, 2010

It is false that “the only ‘evaluation’ of Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) programs has come from the organization itself.” The AHF and the programs it funds have been audited and evaluated by independent third parties in government and the private sector. These evaluations are available for public view on our website in their entirety. Only in this limited sense are they “from” the organization.

More important, Frances Widdowson’s dismissal of healing itself insults survivors of institutional physical and sexual abuses, mocking the front-line workers who dedicate themselves to battling root causes of poverty, violence, suicide and despair in aboriginal communities. It is these 950 front-line workers, hired by the aboriginal community, who Ms. Widdowson is certain are politically selected persons of privilege.

If she had made a two-minute phone call to the AHF, she would not have described the AHF’s executive director as “the most significant non-aboriginal player”). He is aboriginal.

Other points: healers, whether trained in aboriginal traditions or Western academic methods, have the appropriate credentials; AHF research in aboriginal health is more than a collection of press releases; the AHF operates entirely on interest earned from careful investment of the money entrusted to it and has committed more money to community projects than it has received; a focus on residential schools does not prevent, but rather promotes, understanding of why “many aboriginal people who did not attend residential schools are also suffering from the same symptoms.”

It is understandable that Ms. Widdowson denies the efficacy of aboriginal organizations; positive outcomes are inconsistent with the premise of her book. But the facts would reveal that the AHF is exactly what Ms. Widdowson espouses– a funder of high-quality services that are tailored to the special needs of the aboriginal population.

Mike DeGagne, executive director, Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Ottawa.

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No Funds Committed to Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada’s 2010 Federal Budget

March 05, 2010 (OTTAWA) – Today, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) Board of Directors
acknowledged Canada’s decision not to provide funds to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in the 2010
Federal Budget.

This decision by the Federal Government means that a nation-wide network of one hundred and thirty-four
community-based healing initiatives will no longer have AHF support after March 31, 2010, when current
funds run out.

Aboriginal Healing Foundation President, Georges Erasmus, noted that “Budget 2010 commits $199 million
to mental health and emotional support services for former students and their families - money which will go to
Health Canada for Government-run programs. It is good that there is support in the budget for Survivors. This
budget does cast a dark shadow however over the good and effective work being done in Aboriginal
communities, by Aboriginal people, to address the destructive residential school legacy and to create healthier,
stronger communities."

Concerning the future, he added, “Without additional funds, community services will disappear at the end of
this month, and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will have no recourse but to wind down its operations.
Our first priority now is to inform our funded projects of this news and to support them as they close.”

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (http://www.ahf.ca) is a not-for-profit, Aboriginal managed national funding
agency which encourages and supports community-based healing efforts addressing the intergenerational legacy
of physical and sexual abuse in Canada’s Indian Residential School System. Currently, 134 community projects
are funded across Canada.

Between 1892 and 1969, the Indian Residential School System operated across Canada through a partnership
of the Federal Government and various church entities. Under federal law, Aboriginal children were
institutionalized in hostels, industrial schools, and residential schools for the purposes of Christianization and
assimilation.

On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister of Canada issued a formal apology for the Federal Government’s role in
the Indian Residential School System. As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, an
Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been established to undertake a nationwide,
five-year truth-telling and reconciliation process.
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The Aboriginal Healing Foundation | Fondation autochtone de guérison
75 Albert Street, Suite 801 | Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5E7
Telephone/Téléphone: (613) 237-4441 | Toll-free/Sans frais: (888) 725-8886
Facsimile/Bélinographe: (613) 237-4442
Email/Courriel: programs@ahf.ca | Website/Site web: http://www.ahf.ca

Our mission is to provide resources which will promote reconciliation and encourage and support Aboriginal people and their communities in
building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural, and spiritual abuses in the
residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.
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Also of interest on this topic . . . from the ITHA Winter Newsletter . . .


Previously reported . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=10879#p10879

[admin]

From: kerrytannahill@gmail.com
Subject: Re: URGENT PLEA TO RESTORE FEDERAL FUNDING TO THE ABORIGINAL HEALING FOUNDATION
Date: March 21, 2010 5:34:13 PM PDT (CA)
To: tehaliwaskenhas@aol.com

Hello,

I found your contact information on the TurtleIsland.org website and thought you may be able to help. We are trying to get this information out to all Aboriginal communities across Canada in order to gain as much support for the cause as possible. We have already achieved great media coverage and community support in and around Montreal but in order to make any kind of difference we need a National stand. Can you help?

Please find attached the press release Urgent Plea to Restore Federal Funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and open letter to Prime Minister Harper regarding Aboriginal Healing Foundation cuts.

Nakuset, Executive Director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, will make herself available to media.

For further information contact:

1. Nakuset (514-808-2184)
Executive Director, NWSM

2. Kerry Tannahill (514-690-4557)
Program Coordinator, NWSM

3. Terri Normandin (514-933-4688)
Former shelter client, now Sexual Assault Counselor under AHF

4. Lou Ann Stacey (514-933-4688)
Interim Executive Director, NWSM

5. Carrie Martin (514-933-4688)
Harm Reducation Coordinator, NWSM

For more information visit website:
http://www.ineedhealing.wordpress.com
To support the NWSM and the other 133 community projects who will be losing their funding as of March 31st, 2010, please forward this information to all your contacts and sign our petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/fundAHF/petition.html or in French at http://www.petitiononline.com/finanAHF/petition.html

--
Kerry Tannahill
Program Coordinator

Native Women's Shelter of Montreal
Phone: (514) 933-4688
Fax: (514) 933-5747
kerrytannahill@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION-
URGENT PLEA TO RESTORE FEDERAL FUNDING TO THE ABORIGINAL HEALING FOUNDATION AND SAVEWOMEN’S SHELTER’S PROGRAM FUNDING

Montreal, March 18, 2010 – Earlier this week the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) sent Stephen Harper an open letter, calling for the renewal of funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) and its 134 national programs, set to expire March 31, 2010.

The AHF is an Aboriginal-managed, national, non for profit institution. Its mandate is to encourage and support community-based Aboriginal directed healing initiatives that address the intergenerational legacy of physical and sexual abuse suffered in Canada’s Residential School System.

The letter calls attention to the findings and recommendations of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs’ December 2009 report, evaluating the community-based healing initiatives of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

• “There is almost unanimous agreement among those canvassed that the AHF has been very successful at both achieving its objectives in governance and fiscal management.”
• According to this report, “The majority of the projects note they are not sustainable without AHF funding.”
• Furthermore, it concludes that the positive impacts of these projects are far reaching, affecting individuals, youth, women, as well as whole families and communities.

The non-renewal of funding to the AHF contradicts the promise of the 2010 Budget of “ensuring that all women in Canada, including Aboriginal women, are safe and secure regardless of the community in which they live.” According to this very same budget, Aboriginal women are a particularly vulnerable population who require additional support and protection.

The NWSM’s mandate is to provide a safe and supportive environment that strengthens cultural identity, self-esteem, and independence for Aboriginal women and their children.
As a result of these devastating cuts, three support based jobs will be lost, and NWSM’s ability to provide a culturally appropriate safe space for Aboriginal women and their children to overcome violence, addiction, and homelessness will be totally compromised.

The NWSM applauds any additional spending initiatives by the federal government. But, NWSM is unequivocal that any true commitments to native reconciliation remain unfilled without the full restoration of funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and its 134 nationwide projects.

For more information contact:
1. Nakuset, Director NWSM 2. Kerry Tannahill, Program Coordinator, WSM
Telephone: 514-808-2184 Telephone: 514-690-4557
3. Lou Ann Stacey, Interim Director NWSM
Telephone: 514-933-4688

March 16, 2010

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER

Rt. Honorable Stephen Harper

Prime Minister of Canada

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa K1A 0A2

pm@pm.gc.ca

613-941-6900

Prime Minister:

On this occasion, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM), writes to you as one of the 134 community projects recently informed of the Federal Government’s decision to decline the renewal of funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF). The AHF is an Aboriginal-managed national non-profit institution, established in 1998. The AHF mandate is to encourage and support community-based Aboriginal directed healing initiatives. These initiatives aim to address the intergenerational legacy of physical and sexual abuse suffered in Canada’s Indian Residential School System. The AHF and its affiliated projects, rely almost exclusively on Federal government funding to meet their mandates.

The recent Federal budget’s pledge of $199 million to address the legacy of Indian Residential School, and “to ensure that necessary mental health and emotional support services continue to be provided to former students and their families”, however generous, has not been committed to the AHF. Consequently, the aforementioned 134 community-based projects nationwide will be terminated as of March 31st, 2010. This decision will have crippling affects, even devalue the process of reconciliation initiated in June of 2008, when the formal apology was issued for the Federal Government’s role in the Indian Residential School System.

We would like to further call your attention to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs’ December 2009 report, “Evaluation of Community-Based Healing Initiatives Supported Through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation”. The Evaluation highlights that “there is almost unanimous agreement among those canvassed that the AHF has been very successful at both achieving its objectives and in governance and fiscal management”. Furthermore, it concludes that the positive impacts of these projects are far reaching, affecting individuals, youth, women, as well as whole families and communities.

According to this report and to the data collected quarterly by each community project, “the majority of projects note they are not sustainable without AHF funding.” This same Evaluation made the following recommendations:

1. The Government of Canada should consider continued support for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, at least until the Settlement Agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed.
2. The Government of Canada explore options with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to determine how best to maximize any additional resources, should they become available, in order to be better able to meet the healing needs of Aboriginal Canadians.
3. The Government of Canada undertake a study, in partnership with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, research organizations, and stakeholders, to determine the healing needs of Aboriginal Canadians post Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and determine whether funding should be continued and, if so, to what extent, and what role, if any, the Government of Canada should play.
4. The Government of Canada implements, in the funding agreement with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a requirement to collect data to help determine cost effectiveness of community‐based healing projects supported by the Foundation. They should also examine the possibility of a mandate to conduct strategic research and evaluation activities; however, this enhanced mandate should not detract from funding that would normally flow to community‐based projects.

We would like to note that, despite these recommendations, organizations such as ours will no longer be receiving crucial funding to maintain our healing programs. The NWSM’s mandate is to provide a safe and supportive environment that strengthens cultural identity, self-esteem, and independence for Aboriginal women and their children. As a result of these devastating cuts, three crucial support based jobs will be lost, and NWSM’s ability to provide a culturally appropriate safe space for Aboriginal women and their children to overcome violence, addiction, and homelessness will be compromised. These services have become irreplaceable in the lives of hundreds of Aboriginal women and children every year in the greater Montreal area alone.

The NWSM is well aware of the impact of the recent economic downtown on the country’s finances. The shelter is especially conscious of the disadvantages that Aboriginal women and their children face on a daily basis, as well as the added consequences of tighter family resources. The NWSM is a none political entity, but in this situation the shelter would be remiss in not speaking out about the plight of our clientele. The actions by the Federal government in ceasing funding to the AHF, contradicts their promise in the 2010 Budget of “ensuring that all women in Canada, including Aboriginal women, are safe and secure regardless of the community in which they live.” According to this very same budget, Aboriginal women are a particularly vulnerable population who require additional support and protection.

We therefore ask, Mr. Prime Minister, that you and the Federal government take immediate action, reaffirming your commitment to the 2008 reconciliation process, revisit this decision, and restore funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Your interventions are necessary in order to ensure that Aboriginal people nationwide may continue on their journey towards overcoming the harsh consequences of the Indian Residential School System. The NWSM unequivocally applauds any additional spending promised to alleviate this heritage, but any true commitments will remain unfulfilled without the full restoration of funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and its 134 projects nationwide.

In the spirit of healing,

Nakuset

Executive Director, Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal
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Previously reported on this topic . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=10879#p10879

NPD Press Release – AHF

March 17, 2010

Hughes stands up for Aboriginal Healing Foundation funding

OTTAWA – Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes stood in the House of Commons today to table a petition signed by people opposed to the removal of funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF).

The AHF is designed to assist in the healing process and reconciliation of those affected by the physical, mental, and sexual abuse caused by the residential school system. The federal government has decided to stop all funding of the program going forward, with the current fiscal year of funding running out after March 31, 2010.

“The government has formally apologized for the treatment of Aboriginal people within the residential school system,” Hughes said. “However, it seems that this government wishes to reconcile with Aboriginal people only through statements. The actions of this government do not speak to true commitment to reconciliation for First Nations people.”

The NDP have been echoing the calls from aboriginal groups to maintain AHFs work while a strong need among survivors and those affected by the residential schools persists.

For further information, please contact: Jamie Burgess, Office of Carol Hughes, 613-996-5389

[admin]

Mounties make arrests at sit-in at office of Minister of Indian Affairs . . .

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org/resources/resources001.htm

March 29th, 2010

Six women, peaceful protesters demanding reinstatement of funding to Aboriginal Healing Foundation were arrested at a sit-in at Chuck Strahls office.

During the noon hour RCMP officers arrested the women who refused to leave the Indian Affairs Minister's office. The sit-in lasted less than an hour before the Mounties moved in and apprehended the members of the Montreal group Missing Justice. ( http://www.missingjustice.ca )

"By cutting the funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and having us arrested for protesting these cuts, Harper is denying effective services to thousands of residential school survivors," said Maya Rolbin-Ghanie, one of the members of the group who was arrested. "Harper and Strahl's budget cuts affect 134 organizations across Canada, including the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal," said Monica van Schaik, another Missing Justice member who was arrested.

"That Strahl would have us arrested less than an hour after our sit-in began shows that this is something he doesn't want the public to talk about," van Schaik added.
http://www.missingjustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/p1090508.jpg

"It's been less than two years since Prime Minister Harper's apology to survivors of the residential schools, yet the Conservative government is ready to shut down programs specifically aimed at helping the healing the Prime Minister spoke about," Rolbin-Ghanie said before her arrest.

As the six women began their sit-in just before the lunch hour in the Minister of Indian Affairs' office in the Confederation Building, supporters held a rally outside on Parliament Hill.

"Strahl says the government will support residential school survivors in other ways, but these cuts will jeopardize many vital programs and interrupt all the progress being made towards health and well-being," said Nakuset, the Executive Director of the Native Women's Shelter in Montreal, which will lose a third of its funding and be forced to cut three employes, including a sexual assault counselor. An evaluation commissioned by the federal government in December 2009 found that no other existing programs could match the AHF's rate of success. They also applauded the organization's fiscal management. ( http://www.ahf.ca/pages/download/28_13396 )

"The Conservative government is letting down thousands of survivors and their children and grandchildren suffering inter-generational trauma," said Bianca Mugyenyi, a member of Missing Justice. "The situation is desperate enough to call for a peaceful sit-in, since open letters, petitions, lobbying and a resolution passed by the Nunavut government have not succeeded in restoring the funding."

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo and AFN Regional Chief Bill Erasmus today issued a call for all governments and the private sector to support the Aboriginal Healing Foundation so it can continue to fulfill its critical role in supporting Indian residential school survivors and their families.

"We cannot heal one hundred years of abuses in twelve years. Ending projects supported by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation now will create a gap in support at a time when it's needed the most," said National Chief Atleo, noting that projects delivered by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will be especially important as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission launches its national hearings and commemorative events.

"The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a proven institution that's highly accountable and effective and should be given the opportunity to continue its good work in supporting health and healing for the survivors of residential school and their families."

Federal funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which currently provides culturally appropriate community-based services to Indian residential school survivors and families across Canada, ended as a result of this year's federal budget.

Without support, 134 projects across various regions will end as of Wednesday, leaving entire regions without these healing and health supports, including Manitoba, Yukon, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island. This is in addition to the 1,211 projects that have had to end already, impacting thousands of residential school survivors and their families.

"The AFN is working with Health Canada on a broad health and healing support plan for Truth and Reconciliation Commission events, but more needs to be done to assist our people and communities," said National Chief Atleo, adding that the uptake on the Common Experience Payment (CEP) and Independent Assessment Process (IAP) has exceeded projections, also increasing need for healing and health supports for former students and their families.

"The Aboriginal Healing Foundation supports a range of diverse healing and health supports that are needed in our communities, as identified in the 2007 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement," said AFN Northwest Territories Regional Chief Bill Erasmus.

"The important work of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is far from complete and we need to walk together on a healing journey to address the legacy of the residential school system and work towards reconciliation. This is consistent with the 2008 federal Apology to residential school survivors and their families."

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada released its evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation this March - one day following the federal Budget.

The evaluation, which identifies an ongoing demand for healing, outlines a management response and work plan and reinforces the point that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has been very effective and efficient in its delivery of programming. Just as this Government committed 125 M in 2007, a renewal of this investment over the next three years would extend the Aboriginal Healing Foundation until 2013, providing the opportunity to continue to deliver First Nation-driven, community based healing and health supports to those impacted by the Indian Residential School system.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides resources to Aboriginal communities that promote reconciliation and support in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts. It has operated 1,345 quality projects since its inception in 1998.

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Open Letter: Extension of Aboriginal Healing Foundation Funding for Survivors and Families

March 25, 2010

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street,
Ottawa KIA 0A2
Via email: pm@pm.gc.ca and fax: 1-613-941-6900

URGENT

Dear Prime Minister Harper:

On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, on behalf of Canada, you issued an apology to former Indian Residential schools students for the sad chapter in Canada's history.

You acknowledged that our stories disclosed tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities. The Apology acknowledges that on behalf of Canada, you are willing to carry the burden of Indian Residential Schools and will join us in our recovery.

The Apology was intended to be a positive step in forging a new relationship between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.

We request that you continue to support the recovery of the many survivors and families from the tragic experiences of Indian Residential Schools. The communities of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs have benefited from the services of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and request that you provide ongoing financial resources that would allow survivors and families to continue to heal so that we may journey together to a stronger Canada that will include former Indian Residential School students.

On behalf of the UNION OF BC INDIAN CHIEFS

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip
President

Chief William Charlie
Vice-President

Chief Robert Chamberlin
Secretary-Treasurer

CC: Charlene Belleau - CBelleau@afn.ca Fax: 1- 613-241-5808
UBCIC Chiefs Council

PDF COPY:
http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/files/PDF/UBCICL ... 032610.pdf

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MORE . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=10879#p10879

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Call-out for Support! Please spread the word!

A petition demanding that the AHF’s funding be reinstated:

To: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

In 2010 budget, the Federal Government decided not to renew funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada. This contradicts a promise made to commit an additional $199 million to address the legacy of residential schools in Canada.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) is an Aboriginal-managed national non-profit institution, established in 1998. The AHF mandate is to encourage and support community-based Aboriginal directed healing initiatives. These initiatives address the intergenerational legacy of physical and sexual abuse, suffered as a result of Canada’s Indian Residential School System. The AHF relies on Federal Government funding to meet its mandate and, as of March 31st, 2010, a total of 134 community-based projects nationwide will be terminated.

We, the undersigned, request that the federal government reinstate funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada in order that it may continue to provide the necessary support to community-based projects nationwide that are entrusted with healing the legacy of the residential school system.

Sincerely,

http://www.petitiononline.com/fundAHF
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SAMPLE LETTER

Honourable Minister Strahl,

We urge you to immediately restore funding to the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation (AHF).

The AHF provides support for community-based healing efforts
addressing the intergenerational legacy of abuses from the residential school
system.

The Federal Government’s decision to cut its funding will terminate
134 critical healing initiatives across the country as of March 31,
2010, interrupting all the progress being made towards health and
well-being.

Prime Minister Harper made an apology to survivors of the
residential schools less than two years ago. Now the Conservative
government seems prepared to shut down programs specifically aimed
at helping the healing the Prime Minister spoke about. Will you let
the apology ring hollow?

A report commissioned by the federal government in December 2009
demonstrated that no other programs could match AHF’s success, and
that the organization’s fiscal management was excellent.

I join the women peacefully occupying your office in demanding that
you pledge to restore funding to the crucial work of the AHF.

yours,

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Evaluation of Community-Based Healing Initiatives
Supported Through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation

Final Report

Evaluation, Performance Measurement, and Review Branch
Audit and Evaluation Sector

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Conclusions
A number of indicators provide evidence that AHF healing programs at the community level
are effective in facilitating healing at the individual level, and are beginning to show healing at
the family and community level; one of the variables in this is the length of time programs have
been in operation; for example, most Inuit programs had a later start than others.

A substantial increase (average 40 percent) in program enrolments (from project file review)
and stated by case study interviewees, indicate an increasing need for programs; this is
supported by AHF research on projected community healing needs.

More youth are being engaged now than in the past; this is seen as an indicator of growing
community capacity. Other indicators of the growth of community capacity reported by AHF
projects are increased volunteerism and the growth of informal helping networks;

Impacts of the programs are reported as positive by the vast majority of respondents, with
results ranging from increased self‐esteem and pride; achievement of higher education and
employment; to prevention of suicides.

It was noted by many that one of the most profound impacts of the healing programs (and the
Apology) is that the “silence” and shame surrounding IRS abuses are being broken, creating the
climate for healing; because this is just starting to happen in some communities, the healing
trajectory will be longer than first anticipated.

The majority response is that the healing is gaining momentum, but that in relation to the
existing and growing need, the healing “has just begun”; project reports and interview results
indicate a high level of continued need for healing according to an array of negative social
indicators attributed to IRS trauma.

The CEP, IAP and TRC are increasing the need for healing by “opening up” the issue for many
Survivors for the first time, and as these processes will be ongoing for at least three years, the
healing supports will be needed across the board; including a combination of professional
mental health supports as well as community based healing programs.

Programs have been challenged over the long term by uncertainty regarding committed
funding; shortages of trained/qualified staff; lack of resources for necessary follow‐up care; and
barriers to access such as childcare and transportation costs.

The majority of projects note they are not sustainable without AHF funding, although efforts
are being made in some cases to secure funding from other sources

Respondents note that there are few if any viable alternatives to achieve the positive healing
outcomes the AHF has been able to achieve with such a degree of success.

Given the Settlement Agreement commitment by the GOC, and keeping in mind the
assessments of the number of Survivors and intergenerationally impacted who are anticipated
to need support; and the fact that Health Canada support programs are designed to provide
specific services that are complementary but different to those of the AHF; and the reported
numbers of Survivors seeking help from AHF and Survivor Societies, the logical course of
action for the future would seem to be continuation of support for the AHF, at least until the
Settlement Agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed.

Expert key interviewees note that there is no equivalent alternative that could achieve the
desired outcomes with the rate of success the AHF has achieved.

Recommendations

It is recommended that:
1. The Government of Canada should consider continued support for the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation, at least until the Settlement Agreement compensation processes
and commemorative initiatives are completed.

2. The Government of Canada explore options with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to
determine how best to maximize any additional resources, should they become
available, in order to be better able to meet the healing needs of Aboriginal Canadians.

3. The Government of Canada undertake a study, in partnership with the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation, research organizations, and stakeholders, to determine the healing
needs of Aboriginal Canadians post Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
and determine whether funding should be continued and, if so, to what extent, and
what role, if any, the Government of Canada should play.

4. The Government of Canada implements, in the funding agreement with the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation, a requirement to collect data to help determine cost effectiveness of
community‐based healing projects supported by the Foundation. They should also
examine the possibility of a mandate to conduct strategic research and evaluation
activities; however, this enhanced mandate should not detract from funding that would
normally flow to community‐based projects.
- - -

Also of interest . . .

Legislative Assembly Unanimously Passes Motion
Calling on the Government of Canada to
Reinstate Federal Funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation

IQALUIT, Nunavut (March 18, 2010) - The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut today unanimously passed a motion calling on the Government of Canada to fully reinstate funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The motion was introduced by Johnny Ningeongan, MLA for Nanulik.

On the occasion of the Assembly’s consideration of the motion, Mr. Ningeongan said, “The federal government must recognize that healing takes time. Some of our healing programs are only just beginning to have a profound positive impact. Now is not the time to pull away the support.”

The motion was seconded by Ron Elliott, MLA for Quttiktuq.

“The momentum towards healing in our communities has begun. With the loss of these funds, the momentum and everything that these organizations have worked towards will be interrupted and, in some cases, terminated,” noted Mr. Elliott.

“Today, our Members spoke with a united voice,” reflected Premier Eva Aariak after the successful passage of the motion.

-30-

[admin]

Federal politicians join in the last minute attempts to save the AHF . . .

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org/resources/resources001.htm

March 30th, 2010

As the clock ticks away toward this week's deadline that ends federal funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, an emergency debate is scheduled for tonight in the House of Commons.

New Democrat Member of Parliament Niki Ashton (Churchill riding of Manitoba) was successful in getting agreement for the debate as she made a last-minute appeal directly to the Prime Minister to extend the funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

"The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has given healing and hope to survivors, their families and their communities for ten years but the need for healing is not over. . . We are appealing to the Prime Minister to save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation."

The AHF provides resources which promote reconciliation and encourage and support Aboriginal people and their communities in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural, and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts. Funding for the AHF expires March 31st - tomorrow. This would mean ending up to 131 community based projects in every province and territory in Canada.

"The importance of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is its work in communities, on the ground. The loss of such programming would be devastating," said Ashton who has been spearheading a National campaign to save the AHF.

She will be presenting petitions signed by thousands of Canadians in supporting the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

"First Nations, Metis and Inuit and non Aboriginal people from coast to coast to coast have spoken out. We are asking the Federal Government to follow the legacy of the National Residential Schools Apology and its commitment to reconciliation by saving the Aboriginal Healing Foundation."

In the house of Commons Monday - - - Request for Emergency Debate
Aboriginal Healing Foundation

The Speaker:
The Chair has received an application for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Churchill and I will hear her now in her submissions on this point.

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to request an emergency debate on the imminent cut of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. This debate is urgent given that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is scheduled to lose all of its funding in two days, on March 31. This means the closure of 134 programs in every province and territory across Canada. It means the loss of vital programing for residential school survivors, their families and their communities.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has given healing and hope to survivors, their families and their communities for 10 years, but the need for healing is not over. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a central part of the legacy of the national apology that was given by the government and by Canada to residential school survivors. It is a key part of Canada's commitment to reconciliation. The loss of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a crisis and must be debated in the House.

I would like to ask you, Mr. Speaker, to grant this debate today or tomorrow, whatever is at your discretion.

The Speaker:
I thank the hon. member for her submissions on this point. I have reviewed her letter on the matter and the submissions that she has made and I am inclined to grant the request for an emergency debate, but I will defer it until tomorrow evening if that is satisfactory.

- - -
NOTE: the debate takes place in the House of Commons tonight at 6:30p.m. Ottawa time (Tuesday March 30th, 2010)

MORE on this topic . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=11214#p11214

Background on this topic . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=10879#p10879

[admin]

The debate began at 6:30pm and lasted until midnight.

Opposition politicians warned of the dire consequences of the loss of the programs funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The Minister of Indian Affairs stood his ground, praising the abilitiy of Health Canada programs to meet the needs of Aboriginal communities.

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org
March 31st, 2010

More than 45,000 words were spoken during the five and a half hours of debate last night in the House of Commons. But as midnight struck and the sleepy-eyed Members of Parliament went home - nothing has changed.

The Minister of Indian Affairs remained firm on his government's 2010 Budget - there will be no ongoing funding for the AHF.

It is incredible that the government made its decision even though it had previously promised to consider an evaluation of the AHF before making its decision. In fact, the government's own evaluation had glowing praise for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and urged the government extend the funding.

However, the government's budget did not include such funding, and a day later the evaluation was released.

No wonder we are cycnical about the Harper government. No wonder we question the government's sincerity.

That 2008 Apology to Aboriginal Canadians has lost credibility.

The Prime Minister and his Minister of Indian Affairs have chosen to not walk the talk. They apologize for residential schools abuse, but refuse to recognize the importance of the need for ongoing healing. The government's own officials have clearly pointed out the significance of maintaining AHF programs.

Here are some excerpts from last night's emergency debate.

Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP): "The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is not just an organization. It is not just 134 community projects. It is not just 1,000 community workers. It is not just thousands of survivors, their families and their communities. It is a symbol, a symbol of Canada's commitment to residential school survivors, their families and their communities. It is a symbol of the commitment of first nations, Metis and Inuit toward healing. It is a symbol of the hope that day by day and year by year, the peoples and communities that were subjected to despicable abuse and hardship can move ahead and piece together identities, lives, families and communities. That is why this debate is about a test. It is a test of Canada's true commitment to first nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. It is a test of Canada's historic national apology made in 2008 in this very chamber. It is a test of Canada's commitment to the journey toward truth and reconciliation. There are many stories of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. There is the report released by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada that indicates the success of the program and the identified need for it to keep going. There are the countless positive evaluations received over the years since its inception 10 years ago."

Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, NDP): "For over 10 years the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has provided support to the survivors and the families of survivors of the residential school system. This good work will come to an end while the need it was intended to address continues. We are well aware that the government made a formal apology to the victims of the residential school system, an apology for the treatment of young aboriginals who were subjected to unspeakable acts of physical, sexual, mental and cultural abuse in that system. It was an important and vital step in the restitution of first nations people, as the government finally admitted that what had occurred in the school system was a horrible scar on this nation's history, in particular on first nations history. However, it is not enough to simply make apologies for the residential school system. We need programs in place to help those who have been touched by these wrongdoings to allow their voices to be heard. We need programs in place to help those who are still suffering from the torment of abuse to be able to allow their emotional scars to heal. We need programs like the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to ensure that the apology the government has made to the aboriginal people of Canada adds up to more than just flowery language. The apology was a first step in providing restitution to the legacy of abuse that the residential school system had cost first nations in this country, but first steps amount to little unless they are followed by a march in the right direction. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is of vital importance to the reconciliation of first nations people in Canada. The foundation provides services and community-based aboriginal healing initiatives from a community perspective. Instead of being a top down government run organization, the AHF works in collaboration with communities to provide grants that allow for healing initiatives that operate at the local level. As we all know, no two communities operate the same and this can be said about aboriginal communities as well. The AHF funds 134 independently run programs. Many of these are unique to the circumstances of the victims they are serving. It is this type of approach to reconciliation and healing that top down government run programming would not be able to provide for these communities."

Chuck Strahl Minister of Indian Affairs: "Mr. Speaker, again, it is important that we not leave the impression that there is only one source or one way to help aboriginal survivors. Certainly, there is every intention of this government to continue services to aboriginal people. We realize that the healing, as the Prime Minister himself has said, involves people who are at different parts on a long journey, some of them a lifetime journey, of reconciliation. We know that and understand that. An important point, for example, is that Health Canada will make available the Indian Residential Schools Resolution and Health Support Program. Every single former student and his or her family, and family is anyone who is a spouse, a partner, those raised in the home or raised in the household of a former survivor, any relation who has experienced effects of intergenerational trauma, can qualify for this program. This program includes: emotional support, not from an Ottawa bureaucrat but from an aboriginal mental health worker who will come alongside and work with survivors; cultural support, that is right down to ceremonies in the community, prayer support, healing circles, traditional healing for example; professional counselling, for those who want to use that approach because they feel it is effective; and including even transportation to where those things are available if they are not available close by. The effort is to continue services to aboriginal people and we are absolutely determined that it will happen."

Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.): "The minister's own report from December 2009 finds that ...AHF healing programs at the community level are effective in facilitating healing at the individual level, and are beginning to show healing at the family and community level; Impacts of the programs are reported as positive by the vast majority of respondents.... The report goes on to state ...that one of the most profound impacts of the healing programs (and the Apology) is that the "silence" and shame surrounding IRS abuses are being broken.... It is undeniable that Aboriginal Healing Foundation funded programs and services have been successful throughout Canada, from coast to coast to coast. They have been accountable, transparent and are delivering results. Enrolment and the demand is up by 40% among survivors and their families. More young people than ever are involved in the cases. Alcohol abuse and suicides are down. These are tangible results and real results."

Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.): "There are two words that I want to focus on - intergenerational impact. That means that it would not be fixed in one generation, that it did not just span one generation, that it would take a long time for the results and for the healing to occur. Sustainable means that it must go on until whatever time it takes for healing to occur. I am a physician. Healing does not occur because I will it to. Healing does not occur because I say I will do this for six months. Healing occurs in its own time. With all of the centuries of pain that aboriginal people have suffered, it will take a great deal of time for that healing to occur. I would like the minister to note the words he said in his defence "that the healing fund had done good work but it was never meant to be a permanent policy or permanent service delivery". That alone tells us the hon. minister does not understand the process of healing for indigenous peoples. Even if he does not understand it, let us look at what his own department had to say a year ago with regard to the outcomes and the effectiveness of this fund: Although evidence points to increasing momentum in individual and community healing, it also shows that in relation to the existing and growing need, the healing "has just begun". For Inuit projects in particular, the healing process has been delayed due to the later start of AHF projects for Inuit. That was said by the minister's department in its evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Fund. It noted that the majority of projects were not sustainable without AHF funding. The department said as well that the evaluation "results strongly support the case for continued need for these programs due to the complex needs and long-term nature of the healing process" and that "this support is needed at least until the settlement agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed and ideally beyond until indicators of community healing are much more firmly established and aboriginal people in communities either no longer need such supports or are able to achieve healing from other effects and through other means". This is very clear. The minister does not have to listen to me. He just has to listen to his own department."
- - -

March 31st, 2010

Below, Turtle Island Native Network is posting the following edited transcript from last night's House of Commons emergency debate
regarding the government's decision to not extend funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Please note: the following version is not the entire official version - it includes my edits
of various formatting - paragraph numbers etc. to assist in providing an easier reading format.

The Deputy Speaker:
The House will now proceed to the consideration of a motion to adjourn the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter requiring urgent consideration, namely the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP)

I am honoured to stand here in this Parliament on behalf of the people of Northern Manitoba and across Canada. I am honoured to carry our message, their message, a plea to the Prime Minister and the government to save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is not just an organization. It is not just 134 community projects. It is not just 1,000 community workers. It is not just thousands of survivors, their families and their communities. It is a symbol, a symbol of Canada's commitment to residential school survivors, their families and their communities. It is a symbol of the commitment of first nations, Métis and Inuit toward healing. It is a symbol of the hope that day by day and year by year, the peoples and communities that were subjected to despicable abuse and hardship can move ahead and piece together identities, lives, families and communities.

That is why this debate is about a test. It is a test of Canada's true commitment to first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. It is a test of Canada's historic national apology made in 2008 in this very chamber. It is a test of Canada's commitment to the journey toward truth and reconciliation.

There are many stories of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. There is the report released by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada that indicates the success of the program and the identified need for it to keep going. There are the countless positive evaluations received over the years since its inception 10 years ago.

However, there are also the stories of South Indian Lake, St. Theresa Point, Prince Albert, Edmonton, Clyde River, Charlottetown, Yellowknife, Halifax, Pikogan, Saskatoon, Pangnirtung, Vancouver, Watson Lake and Winnipeg. There is the story of Denise Packo, who spoke of the key language programming offered by the AHF that was crucial for a young person who said that she did not feel Indian because she did not know the language that was stamped out generations ago because of residential schools.

There is the story of Louis Knott and Louisa Monias who told of the value of the camps organized by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in reconnecting with the land and becoming healthy. There is the story of Mrs. Moose who shared the need for survivors to come together in sharing circles.

There are the communities where the AHF program is the only program that gives young people somewhere to go and provides reconciliation and rehabilitation when they leave the criminal justice system. There are the AHF programs that are in women's shelters, where women can seek shelter from violence and domestic abuse often related to the pain and legacy of abuse from the residential schools.

There is the work of Amanda Lathlin, Jennifer Wood, Brian Cook, Qajaq Robinson, Okalik Ejesiak and Alvin Dixon. Their work has broken the silence of residential school experiences across the country and their impact on future generations.

That is what the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is about: first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples guiding their healing processes in their own communities. To lose that ability to make these decisions is a step back, way back.

As we sit in this chamber, we call on the Prime Minister and the government to think back to the apology of 2008, an apology that took place only less than two years ago. It was an apology that started our country on a journey. It started a new chapter for first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples who suffered through the residential schools. It began a journey of hope that Canada would change its step and work with aboriginal peoples toward healing and reconciliation.

We then saw the commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a historic initiative, bringing aboriginal and non-aboriginal people together. However, the reality is that without the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, that apology and the commitment to reconciliation lose their foundation.

As Ed Azure Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation said, “By cutting off the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, you are cutting off the arms and legs of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission”.

As Jimmy D. Spence, a respected elder, said, “The cut of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for me makes the National Apology empty”.

Let there be no doubt that the need for healing is not restricted to a focused experience at residential schools. Residential schools caused an impact that we cannot even imagine: the loss of a sense of family; the loss of skills that are related to parenting, raising children; the loss of skills that children who were ripped away from their families into schools where their language, their culture, their identity was beaten out of them; the stamping out of language, something that is so central to the identity of anyone and central for the identity of first nations, Inuit and Métis people; the emergence of violence, violence that has taken over families and communities, violence that in many cases hides the pain, a pain felt by survivors, by their children, by generations that have come after, violence that comes out in the gangs and the criminal activities in communities across the country, violence that comes out in violence toward oneself and the high rate of suicide in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities across the country.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation seeks to heal from that violence, seeks to engage first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples who face that pain, that violence, that history.

Let us fast-forward to today's generation. I come from a generation that came after residential schools, a generation that has seen the evolution of aboriginal rights, that has seen the results of the fights and the battles fought by aboriginal leaders who are here today, aboriginal peoples who have fought for control over their schools boards, for control over their education, for the creation of their own schools. There are challenges, immense challenges facing the generations that have followed, the underfunding, the inadequate infrastructure, the overcrowding of first nations, Métis and Inuit schools, like we do not see in other places in Canada.

Yet working to overcome these challenges, survivors and the next generation say that they want to move forward. That is why it is not too late for the Prime Minister and his government to stand up for their commitment of the past year and save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

This is a debate about the future, a generation of people looking toward us and how we will move forward, how first nations, Inuit and Métis people will move forward.

I have appealed directly to the Prime Minister because I watched that apology. I believed him. Many believed him. That apology crossed partisan lines and brought Canadians together. Were those words about the past or were they about the future?

I now want to make it clear that if the Aboriginal Healing Foundation were to be cancelled, if the government does not listen, we will ensure that the message is clear. We will ensure that it is wrong that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was cut.

Given that commitment, that the initiative by the government, can we not recreate that spirit of the apology? Can we not recreate that spirit that drove the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Can we not do it by committing to save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation, after all, is more than 134 projects. It is more than hundreds of communities, thousands of community workers, thousands of elders, survivors and young people. It is a symbol of hope, the hope that the Prime Minister and the government will save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
next intervention previous intervention [Table of Contents]

Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): previous intervention next intervention
Mr. Speaker, I will give a presentation shortly and I will talk about the good work the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has done, and it has done a lot of good work. No one will dispute that. However, she has painted a picture that when this funding is not renewed, that is the end of support for aboriginal people, and that is simply not true.

I would like to address some of the issues she raised.

We have funding in this budget for the national native alcohol and drug abuse program, the national youth solvent abuse program, the brighter futures program and the building healthy communities program. We have a national youth suicide prevention strategy and funding. We have the Indian residential schools crisis line. This continues. There are future care awards under the independent assessment process. Twelve healing centres will continue to be opened. There is the network of women's shelters that we have announced, including additions to that. There is the Indian residential schools health support programming. That is available to every student who has gone to residential school and their families. It includes things like emotional support services, culturally-sensitive support services, including traditional ceremonies, prayers, traditional healing and so on, as well as professional counselling and even transportation help to get to those services if it is not available right in their community.

I do not want her to paint the picture or leave the impression that there are no services available. There is an intention here, and we will debate this here tonight, to continue services to the Indian residential schools survivors. It is important to this government, and it is important, I think, to carry that message to aboriginal people across the country.

Ms. Niki Ashton:
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the discussions we have had in the past and certainly the responses the minister has given me as we seek support for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

However, I have to share the message that not only I believe but that thousands of Canadians have shared with me. With the loss of the AHF is the loss of the aboriginal peoples' control over their healing processes. That is what is so fundamental about the AHF.

Yes, there are programs that deal with suicide prevention, that deal with promoting healthy initiatives in communities. However, the AHF is the only program targeted to communities and has that model of self-government where communities themselves, not bureaucrats in Ottawa or in our capital cities, describe how they can heal. That will be the crying shame if the AHF is lost.



Mr. Marc Lemay (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ):
Mr. Speaker, over the course of the evening, I will have the opportunity to say what needs to be said on behalf of the Bloc Québécois.

First, I have to admit that I was wondering if this emergency debate was warranted, why this debate is important. That is, until I read the documentation and learned about the healing of the first nations. This matter goes hand in hand with government action on residential schools and all that followed. Just now, my colleague spoke of Pikogan. I will come back to that later because Pikogan is a small community near Amos.

However, I would like to ask my colleague a question. I would like her to answer the following. If the program is cut, what will be the direct impact on those communities that depend on the program?


Ms. Niki Ashton:
Quite simply, it will be disastrous. One of the people I had the honour of working with said that if the community loses the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, in a few months there will be a resurgence of suicide among our young people. In fact, our youth will no longer have somewhere to go to reconnect with their community, to rebuild their identity and to rebuild a healthy community.

That is the story of every community with a healing program established by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.


Mrs. Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be able to give my support to this issue raised by my colleague, the hon. member for Churchill, and to add a few words to the appeal to maintain the funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Before I continue, I want to recognize some of our first nations people who are in the audience tonight because this is an issue that is important to them.


The Deputy Speaker:
Order. The hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing may not be aware, but it is unparliamentary to point out the presence of guests in the gallery.
next intervention previous intervention [Table of Contents]

Mrs. Carol Hughes:
Mr. Speaker, I am still learning.

For over 10 years the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has provided support to the survivors and the families of survivors of the residential school system. This good work will come to an end while the need it was intended to address continues.

We are well aware that the government made a formal apology to the victims of the residential school system, an apology for the treatment of young aboriginals who were subjected to unspeakable acts of physical, sexual, mental and cultural abuse in that system.

It was an important and vital step in the restitution of first nations people, as the government finally admitted that what had occurred in the school system was a horrible scar on this nation's history, in particular on first nations history.

However, it is not enough to simply make apologies for the residential school system. We need programs in place to help those who have been touched by these wrongdoings to allow their voices to be heard. We need programs in place to help those who are still suffering from the torment of abuse to be able to allow their emotional scars to heal. We need programs like the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to ensure that the apology the government has made to the aboriginal people of Canada adds up to more than just flowery language.

The apology was a first step in providing restitution to the legacy of abuse that the residential school system had cost first nations in this country, but first steps amount to little unless they are followed by a march in the right direction.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is of vital importance to the reconciliation of first nations people in Canada. The foundation provides services and community-based aboriginal healing initiatives from a community perspective.

Instead of being a top down government run organization, the AHF works in collaboration with communities to provide grants that allow for healing initiatives that operate at the local level.

As we all know, no two communities operate the same and this can be said about aboriginal communities as well. The AHF funds 134 independently run programs. Many of these are unique to the circumstances of the victims they are serving.

It is this type of approach to reconciliation and healing that top down government run programming would not be able to provide for these communities.



The riding of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing has a large aboriginal population. The first nations represent 14% of the riding's population. If the government does not restore funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, there will be serious repercussions for this population.


Let me give some examples of programs that go to help support the aboriginal people within my community. The AHF provides funding for the community healing strategy of the Shingwauk Education Trust

The community healing strategy is continuously being developed through survivor and community input, and provides individual support programs, a staff wellness program, a traditional healing process for damaged spirits, and a community evaluation matrix for residential school survivors.

The Enaahtig Healing Lodge & Learning Centre has developed a trauma recovery and residential program. The mission statement of the trauma recovery and residential program states:

The project encompasses an intensive two week trauma recovery residential program and allows us to develop components to the already existing four week residential programs being offered at Enaahtig. The ongoing four week programs would serve as an aftercare program to the intensive two week trauma recovery as well as address the needs of those individuals who not necessarily in active trauma.

These are just two examples of programs that help the Ojibwa-Anishinabek people in my riding, through grant funding provided by the AHF.

Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Union of Ontario Indians is disappointed and extremely concerned about the loss of funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. The Union of Ontario Indians indicates that failure to continue with this program, which has seen great successes in assisting their people, would be a shame and would prove to be a huge mistake.

The union points out that other government services would then face the increased load of dealing with the social, physical and mental health issues that residential school survivors and their families are facing, not really knowing what these first nations communities actually went through.

The damage that the residential school system has caused our first nations people is incredibly far-reaching. Take, for example, the James Bay area. Last year, there were 13 youth suicides among the aboriginal people in that community. Of those 13, 11 have family members whose roots can be traced back to one particular residential school.

Aboriginal suicide rates are five to seven times higher than other ethnic groups in Canada. If we can take any steps in helping to reduce those numbers, it is the government's duty to do so.

My colleague, the member for Timmins—James Bay has made comments on the need for the aboriginal healing program. He was quoted as saying, “It's disheartening to see that the government shows so much disinterest in helping these communities. Over and over again we hear of the horror stories and now we see a government that is intent on ending funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a foundation that has proven to be effective in helping in the healing process”.

I also have a colleague from the Northwest Territories who said, “In the past 10 years, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has had a tremendous impact on aboriginal people with trauma from the residential school program which has such a dominant reality for aboriginal children in northern Canada”.

These are disconcerting words from my colleagues who have seen, first-hand, the damage that the residential school system has caused for people in their first nations communities.

A member of the National Residential School Survivors' Society has provided me with his take on why the AHF is important. He tells me that the services being delivered by the AHF are community-based by people on the ground working with people from those communities. It is local and not out of INAC in Ottawa.

He believes that the government is ignoring the long-term impacts of the residential school system, specifically the damage that is being caused to the children and grandchildren of residential school survivors.

If members take nothing else away from this, just know that the people working for the National Residential School Survivors' Society wholeheartedly support the work of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and have seen first-hand the positive results this is making in their communities.

In the years since the AHF has been in operation, it has provided healing and support services to countless aboriginal people across this country, but it is certainly not enough time to repair all of the damage the residential school system has caused. The National Residential School Survivors' Society states that one cannot take 150 years of abuse and expect to have it dealt with within 12 years.

I want to add a few more comments from this society. It said, “Government believes the Commons Experience Payment should suffice and are ignoring the long term impacts...What is now occurring is that the perpetrator, that being the government, is choosing an avenue of being micromanager and adding more bureaucratic red tape; therefore are continuing to abuse the survivors”. It went on to say, “Courts found the government liable, because the government apologized does not mean that the healing has ended; this is a long term process”.

If the government is serious about providing reconciliation for first nations people, then we cannot in good conscience let the AHF slip away.

I would like to quote some information that was provided to the hon. Prime Minister by Jack Layton. He said:

For many people living in rural and remote areas, the programs that the Aboriginal Healing Fund (AHF) helped create were their only window into mental health programming, counselling and therapy. There simply are no other resources available. When the Aboriginal Healing Fund programs ends, nothing will replace them. That is particularly true in Nunavut and the other Inuit settlement areas where Aboriginal Healing Fund programs are the only ones currently operating that deal specifically with residential school trauma.

Mr. Speaker, I just realized I made a mistake a few minutes ago and I mentioned my leader's name. I apologize.

I would once again like to thank my colleague from Churchill for bringing this issue to the forefront.

Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): previous intervention next intervention
Mr. Speaker, again, it is important that we not leave the impression that there is only one source or one way to help aboriginal survivors. Certainly, there is every intention of this government to continue services to aboriginal people. We realize that the healing, as the Prime Minister himself has said, involves people who are at different parts on a long journey, some of them a lifetime journey, of reconciliation. We know that and understand that.

An important point, for example, is that Health Canada will make available the Indian Residential Schools Resolution and Health Support Program. Every single former student and his or her family, and family is anyone who is a spouse, a partner, those raised in the home or raised in the household of a former survivor, any relation who has experienced effects of intergenerational trauma, can qualify for this program.

This program includes: emotional support, not from an Ottawa bureaucrat but from an aboriginal mental health worker who will come alongside and work with survivors; cultural support, that is right down to ceremonies in the community, prayer support, healing circles, traditional healing for example; professional counselling, for those who want to use that approach because they feel it is effective; and including even transportation to where those things are available if they are not available close by.

The effort is to continue services to aboriginal people and we are absolutely determined that it will happen.


Mrs. Carol Hughes:
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister's comments. What we have seen since the residential school apology is basically a removal of rights to first nations. We have seen this with the imposition in Ontario and B.C., especially in Ontario, with regard to the HST on first nations, and we know that we have aboriginal communities that are opposing that. Specifically, I know that Chief Shining Turtle has been lobbying continuously on the issue. As well as on the matter that is before us.

The minister mentions the fact that there are all of these programs available, but what he is not telling us is that this is not community-based and that it is not provided by aboriginal people. In closing, does he not believe that these people can actually run their own programs and continue to run their own programs?


Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the minister fails to understand that indeed many of the programs he mentions were already in place while the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was doing its valuable work. They were complementary to each other. They were supplementing each other's work, but they were doing different work.

When the minister talks about Health Canada, Health Canada was already doing this work. It was part of the Indian residential schools agreement. That is the legal obligation, a signed obligation that we have as the Government of Canada, representing the people of Canada, to deliver these services. So, Health Canada was doing this work. Other agencies were doing the work. The piece that is missing, once the minister cuts this program, is that there is going to be a huge piece of the healing that is not going to be taking place.

Could the member please comment on that?

Mrs. Carol Hughes:
Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with my colleague with respect to the fact that these programs already existed. These programs complemented themselves.

As I have indicated, what the hon. minister has put forward is not community based. These are people who understand their communities and their people. They do not need their money funnelled somewhere else or taxing the programs that currently exist dealing with other issues.

The government indicated that there has been some misinformation about the $199 million of additional moneys to meet commitments in the residential school agreement around the independent assessment process, but it is incorrect. It is just because more people came out. There are still people telling us that they have not come forward yet. Some of them are still ashamed of what happened to them.

We need this process and programming in place, and the best people to do it are the aboriginal people.


Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): previous intervention next intervention
Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to further the debate about federal funding of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

We all know that the Indian residential school system is a sad but undeniable part of Canada's history. This was an educational system in which young children were removed from their homes, and often taken far from their communities.

First nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were frequently prohibited in these schools. Accounts of the abuse and neglect suffered by some students are haunting, and will always be haunting. Tragically, some of these children died while attending residential schools and others never returned home.

The consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were for the most part negative, not only for the individual students and families but also for the lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language. The legacy of Indian residential schools contributes to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today.

Only by working together can Canadians come to terms with our past, however painful, and create a better future. Our Conservative government is committed to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools.

Four years ago, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement earned the approval of all the key participants: the Government of Canada, former students, several churches, the Assembly of First Nations and representatives for Inuit. The agreement was the culmination of an exhaustive process of research, conciliation and negotiation.

The settlement agreement is a historic milestone for Canada. It is the largest settlement of its kind ever negotiated in this country. Yet acknowledging past sins is only an important first step. The greater goal of justice for the victimized through the unflinching pursuit of truth, reparation and reconciliation is the call we must now remain vigilant to heed.

On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister rose in the House to deliver an unprecedented apology for Canada's role in Indian residential schools. Regarding the terrible legacy of the residential schools and the shattering intergenerational impacts that continue in first nation communities, the Prime Minister addressed aboriginal leaders here in the House of Commons. He said:

The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country. There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail.

You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time, and in a very real sense we are now joining you on this journey.

As acknowledged by the Prime Minister, individuals and communities affected by Indian residential schools have been working on recovering from their trauma for a long time. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has played a leading role in that effort. And for that role, we thank them.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was established in 1998 in response to recommendations arising from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Managed by aboriginal peoples, it is a not-for-profit national funding agency that encourages and supports community-based healing efforts addressing the intergenerational legacy of physical and sexual abuse in Canada's Indian residential schools system. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation funded projects to help aboriginal individuals, families and communities to heal from the effects of abuses and cultural losses suffered as a result of attendance at Indian residential schools.

The federal government provided the foundation with an initial grant of $350 million to fund community-based healing projects during a 10-year period. Toward the end of this initial mandate, the government subsequently provided an additional $40 million for 2005 to 2007.

As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the parties to the settlement agreement negotiated an additional $125 million endowment for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. To best meet the needs of former students, in 2007 the foundation laid out a five-year project spending plan for this $125 million. The plan concentrated spending on existing community-based healing projects in the first three years of the settlement agreement, when the greatest demand for services was expected. About 134 community-based healing projects were funded through March 31 of this year, and 12 healing centres were funded through March 12, 2012.

In all, the Government of Canada has contributed a total of $515 million to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation since 1998. The work of the foundation has been invaluable and we recognize that. Again, we thank the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for its dedication in providing healing programs and services to address the experiences of survivors of Indian residential schools, their families and communities.

Reciting funding figures for the past 12 years does little to illuminate exactly what community-based healing entails. In its more than a decade of operations, with a half-billion dollars of federal funding, the foundation has supported programs delivered from coast to coast to coast.

For those who are interested in following up on the impacts of these projects and what they mean in some of these communities, I recommend a feature article in the spring 2010 edition of Healing Words, which is a periodical published by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was never intended to last forever. As part of the foundation's 2010 to 2015 corporate plan, it outlined a wind-down strategy. The 12 healing centres will continue to provide services until March 2012. Over the coming three years, as part of its wind-down strategy, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will fulfill the remaining work of its mandate: the publication of annual reports, corporate plans, newsletters, the production of five more major research projects and the gradual reduction of staff and space. In many ways, of course, the work of the foundation laid the foundation for the Indian residential schools settlement itself.

The Government of Canada's decision to fund the Aboriginal Healing Foundation beyond its original mandate demonstrates a commitment to accountability for the legacy of Indian residential schools. The good work of organizations funded by the foundation informs the reconciliation with aboriginal peoples for all Canadians and has been essential to Canada's continued growth and unity as a nation.

Implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement began more than two years ago and aims to resolve a painful legacy. The settlement agreement includes individual and collective elements:

Those elements are common experience payments for all eligible former students who resided at a recognized Indian residential school; the independent assessment process to investigate and compensate claims of sexual and serious physical abuse; a truth and reconciliation commission; a series of commemorative initiatives; and measures to support healing such as the Indian residential schools resolution health support program and an endowment to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

No amount of money can fully heal the damage done by the Indian residential school system, but compensating victims is an important part of recognizing and amending the injustice. At the time of the implementation of the settlement agreement, it was estimated that there were approximately 80,000 persons alive who had attended the schools. It was forecast that approximately 12,500, or about 15%, of these men and women would be eligible for compensation through the independent assessment process. They are individuals who went through further abuse and trauma at the schools. It is now expected that approximately 21,000 individuals will apply.

As of three weeks ago, the Government of Canada has received nearly 100,000 applications for common experience payments. It has processed more than 96,000 of these, and more than 75,600 have been paid, bringing the total payment to former students to over $1.5 billion. This includes the advance payments totalling almost $83 million already provided to former students aged 65 and over.

The common experience reconsideration process is a second review by the government, as administrator of the court-supervised process, to ensure that the original common experience payments decision for each applicant is accurate and appropriate. The review also considers any additional information provided by the applicant.

As of March 8, 2010, the Government of Canada has received a total of nearly 15,000 claims related to the independent assessment process and to alternative dispute resolution claims. More than 5,000 hearings have been held to date, and total compensation related just to these claims was more than $530 million as of February 26 of this year.

So good progress has been made on handling those applications, going through the review process. I relate those numbers so people can get an idea of the magnitude of the problem that faces us all and the serious impact it had on aboriginal people, and consequently on Canada as well.

As my hon. colleagues can appreciate, the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is also intended to promote healing amongst all Canadians. Commission hearings will serve to shine a light on a dark period of our history, as I have already talked about, and to promote reconciliation at both the national and community levels.

The creation and preservation of a complete and accurate historical record of the Indian residential school system and its shameful legacy will allow Canadians to confront the past and build a better future.

The commission will honour the experiences of former students and their families, pay tribute to their suffering, assign responsibility appropriately, and foster healing across the nation.

Further, another $20 million has been allocated for commemoration activities that will promote awareness and public education about the residential school system and its impact.

As all of us know, however, we must consider all these accomplishments against the backdrop of our current financial situation as well. Budget 2010 takes an important step toward balancing the books. We are emphasizing restraint in government expenses. During the recent economic downturn, many Canadian families and businesses have had little choice but to exercise restraint.

Fairness to future generations requires that government must strive to keep costs under control today.

In this new reality, the Government of Canada is doing its utmost to ensure that former residential school students and their families will have access to mental health and emotional supports.

Budget 2010 commits an additional $199 million over the next two years to ensure that necessary mental health and emotional support services continue to be provided to former students and their families and that payments to former students are made in a timely and effective way.

As well, the Government of Canada continues to fulfill its obligation to provide emotional and mental health supports to former Indian residential school students and their family members participating in the settlement agreement through Health Canada's resolution health support program. Under the program former students and family members who participate in the agreement are eligible to receive mental health and emotional support services. These include professional services, para-professional services delivered by aboriginal community-based workers, culturally appropriate supports through elders, and transportation to access supports not available in the home community.

I would like to address the accusation that people in Health Canada are insensitive or are unable to deliver services in some way. I do not think that is fair to some of the health workers out there, many of whom are aboriginal. In a survey that was done it was found that 90% of the claimants who responded to the survey received some of the health services support from Health Canada, and 93% of the survey respondents indicated that their experience was safer and more supportive as a result of the health services provided. Most importantly, 89% of the claimants who received counselling indicated that the resolution process was a positive experience. Those workers obviously were sensitive and did a good job of delivering important emotional and mental health services to aboriginal people.

it is also important to note that the funding allocated to Health Canada in the federal budget is not a re-allotment of the money previously allocated to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. The $66 million over two years included in budget 2010 is new money. The additional money for Health Canada's existing Indian residential schools resolution health support program was allotted to meet the anticipated increase in demand for services due to the implementation of various processes of the settlement agreement.

Budget 2010 also allocates an additional $133 million over two years to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to support the independent assessment process and the common experience payment. In addition, the Government of Canada also funds two other initiatives designed to support survivors of Indian residential schools, also the national Indian residential school crisis line which provides telephone assistance and guidance on how to access services. The future care program enables eligible victims to access additional funds for counselling on top of that.

The future care program is linked to the independent assessment process and claimants can apply for funding to cover the costs of future treatment or counselling services worth up to $10,000 for general care and up to $15,000 for psychiatric care. To date, the average independent assessment process award is about $125,000 for an individual, and the average future care component is more than $8,000.

I believe it is abundantly clear that the Government of Canada is committed to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools and recognizes that bringing closure to the legacy lies at the heart of reconciliation and a renewal of the relationships between aboriginal people who attended these schools, their families and communities and all Canadians.


Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Madam Speaker, I want to address some of the comments that were made by the minister. He said that this was not intended to go on forever, but I do not think any aboriginal people themselves intend it to go on forever. The aboriginal people I talk to who are in the healing process want it to end as soon as possible. They want their own personal journey of healing to come to a point where they do not need the services of either Health Canada or the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, but right now they do need it. Many people are saying that the journey has only just begun.

The minister acknowledged that many people are on different parts of that path and that they need help. When he mentioned the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Justice Sinclair himself said he would like to see the continuation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation because it would make his work much better and the work of the commission much better, much more useful and it would be complementary to him.

I believe I heard the minister say that this was basically a cost-cutting measure, but has the minister thought about the costs when there are increases in alcoholism, drug abuse, family breakdown or community dysfunction? What are the costs of those? A lot of people look at the healing journey as an opportunity to build communities, for individuals to be built up in our society.

Does the minister see the need for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and does he see that his government has made a mistake and it should change its mind?

Hon. Chuck Strahl:
Madam Speaker, it is important in this debate and in our communication to aboriginal people across the country to not leave the impression that there is one thing the government could do, or one thing the churches could do, or one thing that individuals could do, and if that is not done, then all is lost. That is the wrong message.

The government asks what it can do to help. In an earlier speech someone said, and I acknowledge it, that there are people affected by this and it is reflected in the suicide rate. We have developed through Health Canada programming a national suicide prevention strategy because that is important. That is not all, of course, but it is important.

When people need help to make sure they get access to programming, by all means we need to make sure there is a crisis hotline that people can call to speak to someone in the language of their choice, to make sure they get access to the services they need and so they do not hear about it well after the fact that they could have had help along the way.

We want to make sure that the future care program that is tied into the independent assessment process allows people to choose the type of help they need. Some may say they want a traditional healing experience. Others may say they want a more western approach. Some may say they want to deal with the elders. We say they can have help for all of that. Those are all available and more.

We do not want to leave the impression with the winding down of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation that we are pulling supports out from underneath aboriginal people. That is not the case. In fact, we are expanding those supports in this latest budget.


Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP):
Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the decision to permit this important debate to take place and for the respectful conduct that is associating itself with this important discussion. It is appropriate.

I also want to acknowledge that the Prime Minister was good enough to receive a letter that I sent to him earlier today. He took the time to read it, which I appreciate. I know he gets a lot of correspondence on important issues. It is also true, as I mentioned in the letter, that we all had an opportunity to work together on one of the most important moments that has ever taken place in the chamber, which was when the apology was made with the leadership of first nations, Métis and Inuit people right here on the floor. It was a solemn moment.

I recall at the time saying that I had talked with some chiefs and received some advice from some elders. There were two things mentioned to me. One was that an apology also consists of what happens after the apology is stated. We all understand that and it is in that context that the discussion we are having and the feelings around it need to be understood. The other actually came from some elders in the Kenora area. They said that we always have to be thinking about the family and community, not just the individual who may have experienced the trauma of having been removed from the family and taken to a residential school. The entire approach to dealing with healing needs to reflect an understanding of family and community and the rebuilding and reconnecting that takes place in that collective context.

I am also reminded of the fact, and I think we all mentioned it in our apology statements, that it was a government policy to kill the Indian in these children. It was literally the objective of it. That old phrase, “We are from the government and we are here to help you”, has nothing to do with health care workers. I have no doubt about their competence and their desire to help. I have no doubt about what they can contribute. But the notion that the government would take over a process which in fact could be best delivered and has been in the process of being delivered by the communities themselves is the problem here.

I simply want to once again underline and put to both ministers that we find a resolution, that we work together to make something work with this jewel which is the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Hon. Chuck Strahl:
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the leader of the NDP, who the Prime Minister thanked especially for his leadership during the development of that apology. I thank him not only for his ongoing interest in it but his passion on the subject, and no one doubts that. I just wanted to start with that.

I would urge the hon. leader to go to Health Canada's website, or I would be happy to make a copy of the document I have in front of me, to try to describe in some detail what the Indian residential schools resolution health support program will do for each and every survivor, their families, people who were in their homes, and the intergenerational impacts that it might have had.

When Health Canada talks about emotional support for one of the services it provides, what it wants to have happen is that these are services to be provided by local aboriginal organizations. They will be delivered by aboriginal mental health workers who will work with people through the entire settlement agreement process and following. In other words, it is aboriginal organizations with aboriginal mental health workers.

There will be cultural support, which means a coordination of services, working with elders and/or traditional healers in order to make sure that we give the best possible help to individuals and their families in a culturally sensitive way that will have the biggest impact.

There will also be professional counselling services. If people say they need the help of a professional psychiatrist and if that is not available in their community, then we will provide transportation to get them to those services.

There is an effort. I do not want to leave the impression that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and the good work that I acknowledge it has done, is the only thing available. An extraordinary effort will be made to make sure that help for students and their families is delivered appropriately, in a culturally sensitive way, by aboriginal mental health workers whenever possible, and to get that help to them whether we have to bring help to them or bring them to the help.

There will be an extraordinary effort on an ongoing basis. This will not end, because this is both a moral and a legal obligation, but more importantly a moral one, that Canadians owe to aboriginal people in the long term.


Mr. Marc Lemay (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ):
Mr. Speaker, my question is very brief and is for the minister.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which the government has had so much difficulty setting up, has barely started its work.

Does the minister not feel he could give the Aboriginal Healing Foundation more time? The issues that will be raised in communities through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have barely started to surface. Does he not believe that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation should be maintained in order to deal with problems that will surface in these communities?

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Denise Savoie):
The hon. minister has less than two minutes to respond.

Hon. Chuck Strahl:
Madam Speaker, we have a lengthy time for debate tonight and I am sure we are going to have lots of debates back and forth as the evening progresses, so we have lots of time, if not in this particular answer.

The short answer is that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is going to be another of the very important pieces of a very big puzzle of reconciliation with aboriginal people. It is not the be all and end all. Some people will never be comfortable telling their horrible stories in a public way. It is just too overwhelming for them, but it is a part of the big puzzle.

Part of that reconciliation commission work will involve counselling services and help to those who are participating in the commission hearings. It is important to remember too that in the foundation itself, there is still some $30 million to continue the work over the next couple of years. It does not all end on March 31. The foundation has more work yet to do, will do, and we look forward to its participation in both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission work and in other activities.


(Note from the Editor of Turtle Island Native Network: this version of the transcript of the debate is not the entire official version - it includes my edits
of various formatting - paragraph numbers etc. to assist in providing an easier reading format.)


Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak to the issue of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a very fundamental issue. I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague, the member for Vancouver Centre. I also want to thank the Speaker for allowing this important emergency debate to take place.

As the Liberal critic for aboriginal affairs, I have been hearing from many of the impacted individuals, groups and organizations concerning the end of funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. In fact, despite being excluded thus far from the formal Indian residential school settlement, several organizations in my riding have obtained Aboriginal Healing Foundation funding for work with former students in Labrador. That is the beauty of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

In Labrador and throughout the country, 134 projects funded by the AHF have worked with residential school survivors in aboriginal communities to move beyond the residential school legacy. They are now on the chopping block.

The Nunatsiavut government represents the self-governing Inuit of Labrador. Labrador Aboriginal Legal Services works with members of all three aboriginal cultures in Labrador, the Innu, Métis and Inuit. Both organizations have operated important healing programs with this funding. They say that the trust and momentum is only now starting and only now building and they will need to lay off people. The capacity they have built will need to be downsized.

These organizations, along with others across Canada, have been very vocal in expressing their utter shock that the recent federal budget did not provide for a continuation. I share their disappointment, especially given that all Canadians and the aboriginal people who have been served through the foundation have received exemplary service.

The minister's own report from December 2009 finds that:

...AHF healing programs at the community level are effective in facilitating healing at the individual level, and are beginning to show healing at the family and community level;

Impacts of the programs are reported as positive by the vast majority of respondents....

The report goes on to state:

...that one of the most profound impacts of the healing programs (and the Apology) is that the “silence” and shame surrounding IRS abuses are being broken....

It is undeniable that Aboriginal Healing Foundation funded programs and services have been successful throughout Canada, from coast to coast to coast. They have been accountable, transparent and are delivering results. Enrolment and the demand is up by 40% among survivors and their families. More young people than ever are involved in the cases. Alcohol abuse and suicides are down. These are tangible results and real results.

I emphasize that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation also responds to all three aboriginal peoples of Canada, including the Métis and Inuit, who share in this history, who shared in the apology and who are sharing the healing journey together.

Just today, along with other members of this House, I received a very powerful and emotional open letter, jointly authored by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, describing the impact of the Healing Foundation and of the impending loss of funding on the Inuit in the Arctic. It states:

As the term of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is coming to an end our people are anxious and fearful of the tremendous loss this means to them. ...The AHF is ours, and our people trust it and take pride in it.

The many aboriginal peoples of Canada are culturally and regionally diverse and often have differing interests or views but on this matter there is solidarity. The voices in support of the foundation have come from right across the country. We have heard voices from Nunavut where the Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous motion calling on the federal government to reinstate funding for the foundation. There were many passionate speeches in support of that resolution.

I want to briefly quote the words of the hon. Hunter Tootoo who said:

This is a long journey. The way I look at it, the two-year funding commitment from the federal government to help individuals along this road and then they paved the road, the road only goes for two kilometres, a kilometre per year of funding, for example, and then it runs into a cliff and then everyone’s standing there, they have been abandoned.

We have heard voices from Nunavik, Arctic Quebec, such as Annie Popert of Kuujuaq. These are her words in the Nunatsiaq News:

...it seems to me that any time we make some head-way, the governments cut us off. This includes the non-renewal of funds to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation by the federal government.

We have heard National Chief Shawn Atleo, representing the Assembly of First Nations, say:

We cannot heal one hundred years of abuses in twelve years. Ending projects supported by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation now will create a gap in support at a time when it's needed the most.

Those are powerful statements.

When we appreciate the history and legacy of residential schools and the efforts that aboriginal peoples and communities have made to overcome that legacy, we get a sense of where these leaders and individuals are coming from. They speak from the heart. Many others speak from the heart, like in the minister's own report when they used the words to describe the loss of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation as disastrous, a betrayal of trust, a removal of hope.

Aboriginal leaders spoke from the heart on the floor of the chamber almost two years ago, on June 11, 2008, just as the Prime Minister and all of the party leaders on behalf of all Canadians spoke from the heart on that historic day, the day of the residential schools apology. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is intimately tied to the apology. It is part of the reconciliation and healing process and helps turn the words of the apology into action.

I turn back to the letter from Nunavut Tunngavik and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. President Kaludjak and President Eegeesiak end with this plea:

Please join us and help to ensure that the words in the apology on June 11, 2008, are more than just words.

Those who lived the residential schools experience and those who experience the intergenerational impacts need more than words. They need a hand up, they need healing and they need support. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provided it.

I urge the government to reconsider, to think about the words of the residential schools apology and to turn toward continued support, to put those words into action.

For many the healing has just begun. I say to the government that it is a time of opportunity, a time of healing and a time to raise individuals up, families up and communities up. This is an opportunity for Canada to grow as a country. I urge the minister to restore the funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.


(Note: this transcript has been edited by Turtle Island Native Network taking out minor formatting not germaine to the debate itself)


Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC):

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the words from my critic across the way, who I am going to guess is symbolic of what we will be hearing tonight. There is a lot of passion about this issue and a lot of heartfelt words because people want the very best for aboriginal people. I think we will hear that on all sides of the House in this debate and that is great. They are absolutely sincere and I agree with him that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has done good work. In that sense, we will agree.

As I said earlier, there are many pieces to the puzzle. The part I worry about is not in the debate in this civil chamber, but what some people are trying to suggest outside of this place, which is that if the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is not renewed for some unknown length of time, all is lost. I hope that is not what will be communicated. I hope we will have a good debate on the efficacy of it and find the best way to move forward.

As I pointed out earlier, it is great to hear that in some communities the suicide rate has gone down but is it all because of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation or is some of it because of the national suicide prevention program or the youth suicide prevention work that is being done? Maybe it is the work in building communities that is being done through different programs, like Brighter Futures and Building Healthy Communities. A lot of work is going to be done and a lot of it is targeted toward aboriginal people.

Mr. Todd Russell:
Madam Speaker, I would implore the minister to look at his own report and to honour the words of the survivors and those leaders in the communities who acknowledge that there are other pieces of the puzzle. They say that the puzzle is not complete and that the healing process will not be complete without the Aboriginal Healing Foundation because it set a new path, a new way of doing things, a new model for healing in this country and a new model for healing around the world for indigenous peoples and maybe for non-indigenous peoples.

When something is so vital to completing the puzzle and so vital in terms of completing the journey, I say to the minister that we must continue it. We must allow it to go to its logical conclusion. People have found the help there that they require, they will find the help there if he allows it and it will be there for people in the future.

This is the beauty of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and what it has done. It was done by aboriginal people for aboriginal people. It was the way they wanted to do it. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was empowering in itself.

I would ask the minister to honour the words of the survivors, of those who give testimony to what the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has done for them and their families, and continue the funding.


Mr. Jack Harris (St. John's East, NDP):
Madam Speaker, I want to give the hon. member for Labrador the opportunity to talk about two projects I am aware of in Labrador that exemplify the kind of approach that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation programs take.

One project is the Labrador Inuit healing project operated through the Nunatsiavut government, which is a very new form of self-government in Labrador. Its project is focused on reviving cultural practices such as healing circles and approaches to coping, healing and counselling. Many of these practices were lost due to the residential school system. It has a five-week treatment program. It has healing circles. It promotes community and family wellness, traditional healing activities and a parenting program, all of which serve to help in rebuilding those communities.

The other project is the Labrador legal services project, which is focused on people who are incarcerated. It gives them the tools to go back to their communities and avoid reoffending. It helps them cope with the problems they had, such as solving problems of alcohol abuse, bringing down suicide rates and all of the things that are important to rebuilding aboriginal health.

Could the member make a few comments on those projects and his awareness of their personal successes?


Mr. Todd Russell:
Madam Speaker, those two projects are indicative of other similar projects around the country where people can design the healing program to meet specific community needs. It can be done to deal with people on an individual basis, in groups or on a community basis.

This was what the Aboriginal Healing Foundation gave to various communities like Nunatsiavut, the new government in Labrador and the Labrador Aboriginal Legal Services. It gave them the opportunity to design things that they were comfortable with and that people would engage in. Healing is much more beneficial when it is done in this particular fashion.


Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.):
Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to protest the Conservative government's decision to end funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation suddenly and with little warning, effective tomorrow, March 31.

This funding began with $350 million in 1998 by a Liberal government and it was meant to allow aboriginal indigenous communities to take charge of the healing, which they needed very sorely to recover from acts of colonialism that have created generations upon generations of aboriginal people with a legacy of pain, a lack of self-worth, a sense of shame and deculturalization. It left them with a legacy of physical, mental and sexual abuse and with family breakdowns, addiction, despair, suicide.

Many governments have subsequently tried to “heal” aboriginal peoples. Many governments have since tried programs and initiatives to ensure that these effects were no longer evident, and they all failed. They failed because they did not have the right vehicle.

The Aboriginal Healing Fund was meant to:

—promote reconciliation and encourage and support Aboriginal people and their communities in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural, and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.

There are two words that I want to focus on: intergenerational impact. That means that it would not be fixed in one generation, that it did not just span one generation, that it would take a long time for the results and for the healing to occur. Sustainable means that it must go on until whatever time it takes for healing to occur.

I am a physician. Healing does not occur because I will it to. Healing does not occur because I say I will do this for six months. Healing occurs in its own time. With all of the centuries of pain that aboriginal people have suffered, it will take a great deal of time for that healing to occur.

I would like the minister to note the words he said in his defence “that the healing fund had done good work but it was never meant to be a permanent policy or permanent service delivery”. That alone tells us the hon. minister does not understand the process of healing for indigenous peoples.

Even if he does not understand it, let us look at what his own department had to say a year ago with regard to the outcomes and the effectiveness of this fund:

Although evidence points to increasing momentum in individual and community healing, it also shows that in relation to the existing and growing need, the healing “has just begun”. For Inuit projects in particular, the healing process has been delayed due to the later start of AHF projects for Inuit.

That was said by the minister's department in its evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Fund. It noted that the majority of projects were not sustainable without AHF funding.

The department said as well that the evaluation “results strongly support the case for continued need for these programs due to the complex needs and long-term nature of the healing process” and that “this support is needed at least until the settlement agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed and ideally beyond until indicators of community healing are much more firmly established and aboriginal people in communities either no longer need such supports or are able to achieve healing from other effects and through other means”. This is very clear. The minister does not have to listen to me. He just has to listen to his own department.

Yet the minister further argues that the government has transferred a lot of this healing fund to Health Canada for delivery. It will deliver $199 million over two years, $130 million of that over two years is going to go to claims settlement. Only $66 million over two years, which is $33 million a year, will actually go to the delivery of emotional support. Last year that emotional support fund spent $39 million, so in effect to give $33 million a year means the government has cut that fund as well.


What is really important is that people have to understand the nature of aboriginal healing. This is a people whose healing is based in communities. It is a holistic healing. It is culturally appropriate and delivered by their own people. When aboriginal people deliver their own healing in ways that are culturally appropriate, what they are also saying to each other is that they can do these things, they are worthwhile, they know how to do these things. They have knowledge, capability and are able. They do not need someone else to come and fix them. That is exactly why the healing fund is important.

The need for this fund is so great that not only has INAC, the department itself, studied this, and I quoted INAC, but the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission also said that this was an extremely important fund.

We heard from the territorial government of Nunavut that this was very important. We heard from the Women's Shelter of Montreal that it was important. However, I want to give hon. members a quote from the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The chair, Justice Murray Sinclair, said that to hold back during the duration of the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the healing fund, “We felt the aboriginal healing foundation's funding should be continued at least for the term of our commission”.

In Nunavut, when members of the legislative assembly unanimously voted on Thursday to press the federal government to continue the AHF, Mr. Ningeongan said these words, and they speak for themselves:

Mr. Speaker, to terminate the Aboriginal Healing Funding now would defeat the whole purpose of the apology that our Prime Minister made on behalf of Government of Canada. The federal government must recognize that healing takes time, recovery does not happen overnight.

In B.C. I know very fully that the B.C. Indian chiefs have also said the same thing. About 134 communities that depend on this fund that will have nothing as of tomorrow.

The irony of this, though, is that the Liberal government issued a statement of regret in 1998 and followed it up with $350 million. The Conservative Prime Minister in June felt regret was not enough, so he made a long statement of apology and then he removed money from the table instead.

I want to read what the Prime Minister had to say and let members hear the irony of it all. I quote the Prime Minister in June 2008, when he said:

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian Residential Schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language...by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities.

The legacy of Indian Residential Schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today.

That was two years ago. I do not believe that those problems suddenly disappeared in two years. The Prime Minister promised:

You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey.

We do not join people by taking away the tools that they need to help themselves.

I do not believe the Prime Minister did not mean those words when he said them, but in order for words to have credibility. They have to be followed with concrete action. It is cruel to give hope with fine words and then pull that hope away by removing the means for realization of that hope. I may be cynical, but it seems to be to be typical of the government, that it says and does what looks good, that the optics are important, but it does nothing to achieve the objective.

We have come full circle. I have listened to the minister say that everyone wants the best for aboriginal people. The aboriginal people want what is best for them. We are no longer handing them something. This colonialization has got to stop, and inherent in those words is that full circle of “We know what is best for you”. Comparing the aboriginal healing fund to other programs that are non-aboriginal in nature also does not show he understands. The very ability of aboriginal people to heal means that they must be empowered, they must be given the right to heal themselves. They must let us know we can no longer think that we can tell them what is best for them and let them take charge of their own healing.

In order to bring back pride, culture and empowerment to aboriginal people, this is an absolute necessity, to bring back the aboriginal healing fund.


Mr. Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic, NDP):
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her most impassioned address on this issue. The issues surrounding the apology in the House of Commons were profound and they cannot be ignored. We cannot go back in a direction as she has stated.

In my riding in the Northwest Territories many small communities took advantage of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to establish processes within their communities to bring people closer that complete nature, to the understanding of the damages that happened to them and their community, to view their trauma as a wholeness.

When we look at changing this now, where individuals will apply to Health Canada, this will be so difficult for so many people in many small communities. We are tearing apart a structure that we invested in, that we created with the full authorization and full intent of the aboriginal people. They created this institution and now we are tearing it apart.

How will this work for the people in the small communities that I represent?

Hon. Hedy Fry:
Madam Speaker, I think the hon. member knows that if Health Canada is again in charge of programs, it decides what programs are best. It makes a decision about what will happen and there we go again: we are making decisions for aboriginal people once more and telling them what is best for them.

The aboriginal healing fund allowed aboriginal people to decide what was the best thing for them to do, depending on their communities, depending on their needs. It worked because it gave them back a sense of control over their lives. Healing must be theirs if we are to empower aboriginal people again, and in empowerment will come healing.


Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): previous intervention next intervention
Madam Speaker, perhaps I was expecting too much to think we were going to debate on the issues and the facts at hand.

For example, to set a few things straight, the hon. member said that the Prime Minister signed the apology and then took money off the table. We signed the apology, something the Liberals did not do, and we fully committed, fully funded and fully carried out the agreement that we negotiated with the Assembly of First Nations and others on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It was fully implemented, every dollar of it.

The NDP said that we were withdrawing funding from the Labrador Inuit. That is totally a separate program. It deals with people who went to day schools. It is not affected by what we are talking about tonight. The Labrador Innu, the people of Natuashish have a separate healing strategy, different and separate from this. It is not affected by this.

The member talked about the money, and the member for Yukon also raised this, that was not in the budget for Indian residential schools resolution and health. They talk about numbers and that it has been reduced. It is not true. The money has been increased. It is in fact money over and above the base funding from last year. Therefore, it is much more money this year than it was last year, but the members keep perpetuating these myths, telling aboriginal people that there are no services for them.

Services will be there. It will be sensitive to their culture. It will be administered by aboriginal healing people in their community, including traditional healers.

I urge hon. members to get the facts straight, debate the issue by all means, but do not spread the fear when the facts do not back it up.


Hon. Hedy Fry:
Madam Speaker, I do not know how to answer that because it was a statement rather than a question. It is a statement that says if we look in this part, there will be that program there. At the end of the day no one in the House of Commons is telling aboriginal people to be afraid, that this is changing. Aboriginal people themselves have said that this is what they want, to allow them to heal. To remove the aboriginal healing fund will surely damage their ability to heal.

If we truly believe aboriginal people know what is best for them, we will listen to them for a change. It does not matter how the minister spins it. It does not matter what he says and whether we add a penny here or take a penny from there. The government has taken money off the table, and that is the money for the aboriginal healing fund.

Mr. Marc Lemay (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ):
Madam Speaker, I would be very happy if this debate could rise above the issue of whether funding should be cut or reinstated or whether this funding will be replaced by another program. I believe that that is not the issue.

Should the Aboriginal Healing Foundation continue to exist for a time in order to help the aboriginal peoples, the aboriginal communities, the individuals and the families affected by everything that happened in the residential schools?

I say that it should, and so do my Bloc Québécois colleagues.

I will try to explain the importance of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to the minister and the people who are watching by giving a very specific example.

Near Amos, there is a small town named Saint-Marc-de-Figuery. An Indian residential school was set up there in the 1950s and remained open until 1963 or 1964 or maybe even a little later.

In the fall, all the Algonquins who could be found along Lake Abitibi or the railway were brought by force to the Indian residential school in Saint-Marc-de-Figuery. Terrible things went on in this school and probably in many other Indian residential schools. The government acknowledged that there had been abuses and put in place a system to help communities and individuals deal with what they had gone through.

The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, is a true visionary. He said this nearly three months ago:

As we look forward we must also remember our history, and this is especially true of residential schools survivors. The resources in this do not specifically reference the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. This concerns us because the Foundation delivers critical programming to help survivors right at the community level. [Every word is important.] This work is needed now because the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is underway and survivors will be telling their often-times painful stories.

There is no better way to express the importance of preserving and renewing the funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which does a remarkable job.

I am going to explain what happened. The consequences of the forced assimilation policy, and I do say forced, of the Indian residential school scheme continue to burden the aboriginal people even today.

Many people who were in the residential schools did not have the opportunity to develop parenting skills. They had to fight against the elimination of their identity as aboriginal people, and against the disappearance of their language and culture.

Even today, generations of aboriginal people remember the trauma they suffered, the neglect, the shame and they poverty they were victims of. Thousands of former students have publicly disclosed that physical, emotional and sexual violence was endemic in the system, and that little effort was made to stem it, to punish the people committing the abuse, or to improve conditions.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation operates, and I hope it continues to operate, in a culturally and politically complex environment, often finding itself embroiled in controversy. That being said, the foundation itself is an apolitical entity that is concerned only with healing, and it maintains excellent relations with aboriginal political organizations, aboriginal people, the government, the churches and the Canadian public in general. The foundation is considered to be a very successful experiment, a model to follow.

That is why we, as parliamentarians, must absolutely speak out against the risk, if it were only the risk, that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will disappear. It has to continue to operate and to work with aboriginal people and communities. I have had it explained to me that near Amos, an aboriginal community called Pikogan, and I apologize for saying it so bluntly, scraped up the pieces of the survivors of the Saint-Marc Indian residential school near Amos. These are people who suffered severe trauma. In recent years, they have started to set up an Aboriginal Healing Foundation in the community of Pikogan. For the Algonquins of Pikogan, Lac-Simon, Kitcisakik and Winneway, of Notre-Dame-du-Nord—I could name them all—it is extremely important that this Aboriginal Healing Foundation continue. I do not want to limit my comments to the Algonquins, but those are the communities I know in my riding.

We have to go back a ways into the past, but it was the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that produced the famous Erasmus-Dussault report, which prompted the government to set up the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It was created in 1998. I do not want to go over that again, it has been discussed at least three times in recent speeches in the House. But it must be understood that the reason why a need to create an Aboriginal Healing Foundation was perceived was that the job was going to take a very long time.

People do not recover from the trauma suffered in the Indian residential schools from one day to the next. Whether named Kistabish, McDougall or Blacksmith, these people have passed on the problems they experienced from father to son, from mother to daughter.

At the residential school of Saint-Marc-de-Figuery near Amos, the first thing they did was to cut the hair of the aboriginals brought there to be educated. If the residential schools were not reform schools, I do not know how else to describe them. There were all kinds of abuses. This mistreatment left wounds that take a very long time to close. They will never heal completely.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation works in the various communities, which is very important. This evening, I heard that individual therapies are available as well as competent personnel—I am very sure of that—to provide individual assistance to the people marked by these experiences.

Who will take care of the community when people start to relive everything that happened? As National Chief Atleo said, “This work is needed now because the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is underway and survivors will be telling their often-times painful stories.”

The government had difficulty establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I say that with respect because I can understand the reasons. I have been sensitized to the problem. Still, the commission is just beginning its work. It will go to a number of communities to meet people and try to understand what happened then and what is happening now.

The wounds will never heal. I spoke with Jackie Kistabish, an aboriginal woman who was affected by what happened in the residential schools. She told me that when her mother came back from the school, she did not recognize her. When she herself came back from the school, her parents were no longer able to take care of her. She had lost her culture. Relearning her culture was very difficult for her. All sorts of things happened in the residential schools.

Without taking anything away from the government, I would say they may have been surprised. Maybe they did not realize how great the impact would be of the failure to renew the funding of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. However, that impact is huge and could well cause irreparable damage to aboriginal communities.

We are not asking the government for a lot: we just want it to maintain the funding. It is extremely important to take care of the communities affected by what happened in the residential schools.

I do not think that this $45 million would cause irreparable damage to the federal government’s budget. I listened to the minister and am not deaf. I understand we are running deficits now, but the government has to understand as well that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is essential. It plays a key role in the re-establishment of connections between aboriginal peoples, aboriginal communities and non-native communities.

I want to thank my colleague in the New Democratic Party who sought this emergency debate and obtained it, as well as the Speaker who granted her request. I repeat that we think it is essential to restore this funding. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has done nothing wrong. It took a long time to establish the foundation because nearly a year was needed for it to really begin its work. It was officially established in 1998, but a year or two were needed for it to really start working and disbursing funds.

We must help aboriginals not only by acting on an individual level, which the government claims to have done by giving money to Health Canada, but also by acting act on a community level. I cannot stress enough the importance of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in helping communities take charge of their situations. If the alcoholism and dropout rates are so high, and if there are a number of problems in many aboriginal communities, it is likely because of the problems they have had in their childhood or even early childhood. In some cases, we are talking about people who are now grandmothers and grandfathers.

With all due respect to the minister, it seems odd to me that on the one hand, they are cutting funding and not renewing the budget for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and on the other hand, the minister has introduced Bill C-3, which will soon be examined in committee, to review the Indian Act. Section 67 of the Indian Act was also repealed, which means that the Canadian Human Rights Act will now apply to aboriginals.

There is one more big step to be taken, and I do believe that the Canadian government will soon adopt the declaration on indigenous peoples. It took a long time to convince the Conservatives, but these good intentions could be forgotten if funding is taken away from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

In conclusion, I urge my colleagues and the minister to reinstate funding, not only for the sake of aboriginal peoples and their communities, but also for the sake of all of Canada. It is in our best interests to reinstate funding so that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation can continue to do the extraordinary work it has started and has yet to finish.


Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments from my colleague on the aboriginal affairs committee. He did open up by saying he wanted to elevate the debate and the discussion. He did indeed do that, and it is most appreciated.

I would like to ask a question, because the member has a very solid point of view that does not take into account the fact that Health Canada, which is the one that is going to be delivering these programs, has a presence and a mandate in each and every community, whether it is on reserve, off reserve, in the north or in the cities, and indeed is already present in many first nation communities. We are actually moving in a very inclusive direction. I have been in first nation communities where Health Canada certainly has a presence and is very respected. I appreciate that it is doing a great job and has been reaching out. The minister did talk earlier about the positive feedback on a survey done in this regard. I wonder whether the member would like to address the fact that in almost every way Health Canada has a bigger presence and is willing to deliver aboriginal-based programming to aboriginals in a way that would meet our legal and moral responsibilities.


Mr. Marc Lemay:
Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's question and the answer is yes; I agree. I say what is on my mind and I think Health Canada is doing good work in first nations communities. There are five first nations communities in my riding. I have visited a number of them as the Bloc critic for Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada. I do not have anything negative to say about Health Canada.

However, that is not the problem. The problem is that Health Canada is working on an individual basis with people who have mental, physical, psychiatric, psychological and other problems. Health Canada provides individual assistance, unlike the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which does community work. I received a good explanation of how the Aboriginal Healing Foundation works in Pikogan, near Amos. It works with and within the community. It is not individual work, as Health Canada does. I respect that. I know that and we understand that this work will continue.

However, we are concerned about putting an end to the magnificent work the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is doing, the reconciliation work and the community-based work, because that is where we might run into problems.

Mrs. Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, NDP):
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments and especially for reminding us what the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, said.

I would like to ask him some questions. The hon. minister said that the Conservatives were willing to provide services to aboriginal people in their communities, and if this is not possible, they would be willing to pay for those people to travel. Once again, we see that the government wants to take these individuals out of their communities and provide services elsewhere. Yet that is exactly what happened with residential schools. They took aboriginal people out of their communities and that is not what they want. Aboriginal people want to receive services in their communities.

Right now they have a great service that is serving them well, but that service is being eliminated. This is not the right way to go about this. This service is needed.

Does the hon. member know if the Health Canada program is for survivors only, and not for their families?


Mr. Marc Lemay:
Madam Speaker, I hesitate to answer “yes” to that question. From having worked with aboriginal communities, I know that not all treatment is offered in aboriginal communities. Things like psychiatric care and child psychiatric care are given elsewhere. I respect that and can accept it.

Some aboriginal people probably have to leave their communities to receive such care. Like my colleague, I cannot help but wonder who will give this care to the communities. The entire community cannot be removed from the land. Problems that stem from Indian residential schools must be dealt with in the community, with the help of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

That was the mandate of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and I hope that remains its mandate. Community work must be done on the reserves or within the aboriginal communities.



Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC):
Madam Speaker, first of all I want to answer a question that the hon. member from the NDP raised, asking who can receive the services I talked about earlier. It is in Health Canada's definition. It involves the family of former students as defined as a spouse or common law partner, those raised by or raised in the household of a former Indian residential school student, and any relation who has experienced the effect of intergenerational trauma associated with the family member's time at an Indian residential school. It is quite inclusive.


I would like to thank the hon. member for his speech. I can tell that he is passionate about the issues that are important to aboriginal people.


The member mentioned in passing that $45 million does not mean much. The government can accept that, but in all the many appearances I have had before the standing committee, I have never yet heard a recommendation from the opposition to cut one dollar of a single program of any kind anywhere in Canada. So these are difficult decisions.

I ask the hon. member to look at what we are talking about: cultural supports that involve ceremonies, prayers, traditional healing, with aboriginal mental health workers to work with former students and their families. I would argue that this, combined with many other programs that are not strictly this one from Health Canada, are meant to address both community needs and individual needs. My hope is that people will look through the services available and understand it is a complete package of services available to all survivors.


Mr. Marc Lemay:
Madam Speaker, I understand perfectly what the minister said, and I accept that. I have been asking him the same question from the outset. I know that there will be counselling for individuals, that they can get a helping hand and that there is funding. But who will take care of the community as a whole?

When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission goes to Pikogan, who will pick up the pieces? There are people who have never been able to speak about what happened to them who will speak about it then. Jackie Kistabish might be able to access services, but who will help bring the community back together? Who will replace the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?


Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to share my views on this important and difficult issue of federal funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. I will begin by setting some context in terms of information about this.

The idea for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation grew out of the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples published in 1996. I will add that I have been involved in this portfolio since prior to 1996, so I fully comprehend how we got to where we are now. It has been a long journey and it is a continuing journey. The government is continuing to be actively engaged and we want to ensure that every community and every eligible person continues to receive the programs and services that they will require.

The report of the royal commission described some of the lingering social and psychological effects of Indian residential schools and how these effects continued to have an impact on many aboriginal communities. To address these effects, the Government of Canada chose at that time to invest $350 million over 10 years in an independent organization mandated to promote healing among aboriginal peoples.

This foundation is managed and operated by aboriginal people for aboriginal people. It follows a holistic approach. It funds community-based programs to promote healing, reconciliation and self-determination. Its slogan is “Helping Aboriginal People Heal Themselves”, which echoes this approach.

The foundation's website describes its mission statement:

Our mission is to provide resources which will promote reconciliation and encourage and support Aboriginal people and their communities in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural, and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.

There is little doubt that the community-based approach adopted by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has produced positive results. Hundreds of thousands of people in communities across Canada have participated in their projects. Last year alone, the foundation funded more than 130 community projects and continues to operate 12 healing centres.

A team of independent auditors evaluated the foundation on behalf of the department last year, and the evaluation was very positive. I can quote:

A number of indicator measures provide evidence that AHF healing programs at the community level are effective in facilitating healing at the individual level, and are beginning to show healing at the family and community level.

The Government of Canada does appreciate the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's valuable contribution. It is precisely for this reason that the parties to the settlement agreement negotiated an additional $125 million endowment for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. This funding effectively extended the organization's mandate through to March 2012 and supports the operation of the foundation's 12 healing centres until that date.

The budget tabled earlier this month, however, does not allocate additional money to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and that is what today's debate focuses on, the merits of that decision. I encourage my hon. colleagues to consider this matter in an open fashion.

Two important facts are germane to today's debate. One is that the Government of Canada allocated the foundation's funding for a fixed period of time, and while this period was later extended, there was no expectation to provide permanent, ongoing funds.

The second factor is that the foundation predates the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement by nearly a decade. The agreement involves a massive commitment of public funds, a total of more than $5 billion, to address the legacy of Indian residential schools.

So we cannot do an evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation without a review of the settlement agreement.

Nearly four years ago, our government proudly concluded the historic Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. It represents the consensus based on an agreement between the Government of Canada and legal counsel for former students, churches, the Assembly of First Nations, and other aboriginal organizations. It is to achieve a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of Indian residential schools.

The agreement represents a historic milestone. It is the largest class action settlement ever negotiated in Canada, and certainly one the largest in North America. It is an important act of reconciliation between non-aboriginal and aboriginal peoples. Never before has a nation acknowledged as tangibly the devastating role that its policies and actions had on the peoples who originally inhabited its lands.

However, as momentous as this acknowledgement may be, the settlement agreement also aims for much higher goals. It strives for truth, reconciliation and reparation.

The agreement was the culmination of a lengthy process of research, conciliation and negotiation. It features five main elements: a common experience payment for all eligible former students who resided at recognized Indian residential schools; an independent assessment process to investigate and resolve claims of sexual and serious physical abuse; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission commemoration initiatives; and measures to support healing, such as the Indian residential schools resolution health support program and the endowment to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Each of these elements aims to deal with the negative impacts that Indian residential schools had, and continue to have, on former students, their families and other citizens of Canada.

The Prime Minister spoke of the enduring nature of these impacts when he rose in the House nearly two years ago and apologized to former students on behalf of Canada. To quote from his address:

The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today.

We all recognize that many former students and their families suffered terribly during this regrettable phase of our history. We must also recognize that Indian residential schools, effectively, diminished all of us.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement aims to confront these truths and help us overcome them. This is why the settlement agreement features both tangible and symbolic elements, why it provides financial compensation, counselling and support services along with commemorative activities.

The Indian residential schools legacy affects each of us in different ways and to different degrees. The particular components of the settlement agreement contribute to the full range of healing and reconciliation processes.

The implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement continues steadily, and all Canadians should take pride in this progress. More than $1.5 billion in common experience payments have been made, and more than 99,000 claims have been received.

The independent assessment process has achieved similar success. This out-of-court settlement process aims to resolve claims of physical and sexual abuse suffered at Indian residential schools. So far, more than 15,000 claims have been received, and victims have received more than $270 million in compensation.

Of course, no amount of money can ever hope to fully compensate for the damage caused by Indian residential schools. All we can do is hope that these funds enable individuals to move forward with their lives and achieve a sense of peace, and that reconciliation brings aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians a little closer together.

Remember, there is no precedent for such large-scale reconciliation. As citizens of Canada, we must find our own way, and we have.

The Government of Canada remains committed to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools. This government recognizes that bringing closure to the legacy lies at the heart of reconciliation and a renewal of the relationship between aboriginal people who attended these schools, their families and communities, and all Canadians.

Budget 2010 supports these goals by allocating additional funds to ensure Canada honours its commitments and obligations under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The bulk of this money is spread over two years and will cover the greater-than-anticipated cost of implementing the agreement. These funds will help Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to support the independent assessment process and the common experience payment.

In addition, funds and a full commitment have been allotted to Health Canada's Indian residential schools resolution health support program. The program provides mental health and emotional support services directly to former students and their families as they participate in the various components of the settlement agreement, such as the independent assessment process and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This is a moral and legal obligation.

It is important to note that this is new money. It is also important to note that these funds enable Canada to fulfill its ongoing legal obligation to provide emotional and mental health supports directly to former Indian residential school students and their family members as they participate in the various components of the settlement agreement.

Since its inception, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has received a total of approximately $515 million from the Government of Canada. This is a large amount of taxpayer money which was entrusted to an independent agency, and the Government of Canada is very grateful to the foundation for providing effective community-based programs and services.

The current context will also provide the range of services delivered, except it will be through Health Canada.

The Government of Canada continues to fund initiatives that directly support survivors of the Indian residential schools. The national Indian residential school crisis line, for instance, helps people access counselling services. The independent assessment process, a component of the settlement agreement, enables eligible victims to access thousands of dollars worth of future treatment and counselling services. To date, the average independent assessment process award is $125,000, and the average future care component is more than $8,000.

Canadians recognize that the Government of Canada must regularly make difficult decisions. We continue to ensure that the Indian residential school survivors will be able to access services. The government will continue to provide reconciliation for the legacy of Indian residential schools by supporting the settlement agreement.

This government will also continue to support a range of programs and initiatives that aim to improve the quality of life experienced by aboriginal peoples in this country.

Canada continues to make significant progress on a broad range of the issues that prevent many aboriginal peoples from sharing in the full prosperity of the nation. From specific claims and drinking water to education and family services, a variety of reforms and initiatives are under way. Tripartite agreements with provinces and aboriginal groups increase access to programs that are more effective and respond directly to specific needs.

The implementation of a comprehensive northern strategy has begun to generate a multitude of opportunity for thousands of aboriginal people and northerners. Legislation supported by Parliament established a specific claims tribunal and extended the protections affected under the Canadian Human Rights Act to residents of first nations community.

This government continues to support a host of programs, initiatives, and activities that benefit aboriginal people, including those directly affected by the legacy of Indian residential schools.

Mr. Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech although I just cannot believe he does not get it. Here we are talking about a program that was designed, implemented, and carried out by aboriginal people to deal with their issues regarding the residential school issue. It is their solutions that will lead them forward.

I am sure my hon. colleague understands that concept. He understands that concept of self-actualization, of people taking care of their own destiny, of healing themselves.

Why does he continue to ignore our questions about that part of the solution for this particular issue? Why does he want to continue to say, “we will do this for you”? When will he turn his head and look the other way?


Mr. John Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, this is a case of people not hearing each other. We have said very clearly that the programming that is intended to continue to support services for former students and their families will be the kind of counselling and paraprofessional services which are provided through aboriginal community-based workers, many of whom speak aboriginal languages; culturally appropriate supports through elders; and transportation to access supports not available to the home community.

We have results of a survey that would indicate that these kinds of programs have been very well received. I would argue there are more available generally and we will ensure they are applicable to all people. As I said several times now in the House, there is a moral and legal responsibility for us to do that.

The programs run by Health Canada are under the Indian residential schools national resolution framework and have been accessed by people who responded to the survey. Some 90% who responded said they had accessed programs and 93% indicated their experience was safer and more supportive as a result of the support they received. About 89% said what they had received in the way of counselling was a very positive experience. Who would argue with that?

Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member stated that the settlement agreement strives for a higher goal. I would like to ask the member, is there a higher goal than healing? As a physician and a healer, I like to think, it is part of my professional training to evaluate the efficacy of any healing or therapy based on sound evaluation and good evidence-based outcomes.

Since the hon. member himself referred to his department's evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2009, I would like to quote from it. It said:

--keeping in mind...the fact that Health Canada support programs are designed to provide specific services that are complementary but different to those of the AHF...there is no equivalent alternative that could achieve the desired outcomes with the rate of success the AHF has achieved.

This is from the evaluation by his own department. Does the member not agree or listen to his own department's advice and recommendations?


Mr. John Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am not sure of the context of saying something about a higher goal, but I will say that healing is a higher goal. I certainly agree with that.

In terms of the statements regarding specific programs from Health Canada, over the last period of time, Health Canada has made a major effort to ensure that all of the communities that were touched by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation have accessed those programs. They are looking at ensuring that they can provide all of the services that were served, plus the existing services.

It is not like they are going to be exactly the status quo. They recognize that they have some new responsibilities and obligations, and they have received funding accordingly.

Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, the hon. parliamentary secretary and I were first elected back in 1993. Prior to that and since that time, he has been involved both in a policy development side on the aboriginal affairs file and in the community as well. There are a number of aboriginal people in his riding who he has had positive contact with over many years.

I was just thinking about the case of B.C., where there are some 200-plus first nations groups. I think there are 42 first nations in my riding alone. Those that have been fortunate enough to have access to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's services have been very pleased with them. Everyone agrees that they have done some great work.

However, in the B.C. reality, there is a lot of small communities spread over a big territory. In his experience, does he think that the services that might be available going forward are going to be available to all those communities, or is it just to a select few? In both the talking points and the reality of the many programs we have talked about here tonight, will they be available to all the survivors, or just in the major centres? Can he tell people whether he thinks it is going to work, especially in the B.C. context, which is a little different than some parts of the country that have larger but fewer communities?



Mr. John Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, it is true that we have 200 first nations. I have 24 in my riding. I can say with certainty that Health Canada has a much bigger footprint than the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It is integral to the community. It is community-based and community driven.

I have visited other ridings in British Columbia with similar observations. I do not think this is restricted to British Columbia. We have 634 first nations in Canada. We have the North and we have our urban off-reserve aboriginal people. There are residential school survivors in all of those locations.

The programming that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation provided is great programming. However, if we want inclusiveness, I would like to point out to the viewers that, in my mind, this will create inclusiveness that is much more comprehensive.


The Acting Speaker (Mr. Barry Devolin):
Questions and comments. The hon. member for Churchill. A very short question, please.


Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, over the last few months, when many people wrote to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, they received a response that, pending the evaluation, the fate of the AHF would be decided. This happened many times during the fall.

What happened to that evaluation? I understand it stood as a draft evaluation for months and it was only tabled a day after the budget. Providing that the draft evaluation was around for so many months and providing that it was a positive evaluation, which we know it was, how did that result in the AHF not receiving any funding or any further commitments as we moved forward?


Mr. John Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, I think the gist of the question is the gist of this debate. I think we have adequately responded to why we are doing what we are doing, and why budget 2010 set that out.


Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I am privileged but very sad to have to participate in this debate this evening. I will be sharing my time with the member for Papineau.

The government has heard the uproar across the country from thousands upon thousands of people about shutting down the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

When I came into the chamber tonight, I was hoping for a compromise solution. I was hoping the government would listen to those people so in need. I was hoping for a win-win-win compromise situation, a non-partisan win, where all members of the House, on this side for sure, and a majority of the House vastly believe in the importance of carrying on this good work. Even the minister and the parliamentary secretary have said good work has been done. The minister's own evaluation talks about this indispensable work.

Why not? It makes the most common sense to come to a compromise situation. The government could perhaps re-profile some of the $199 million so that we could carry on for another year, and come up with a solution to this incredible problem that is the reason for this very important emergency debate that would not have occurred if these very valuable and important services in people's lives were not going to be shut down across the country in about four hours.

This is particularly devastating to the people in the riding of the Minister of Health, Nunavut. In the Nunavut Legislature there is a motion calling for the reinstatement of this funding.

There is also a logical dissonance in the government's decision to cut this down. It has admitted, by saying it needs $133 million for more payouts for many more survivors, that obviously these people need health and healing services that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides. The government is cutting those off. It is only paying for one piece of the puzzle.

The healing is obviously not finished. The government is dreaming in Technicolor if it thinks the serious major impacts on people's lives are over in a year or two. Even with the services that Health Canada provides, which are excellent services, it is one piece of the puzzle. The other huge piece provided by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is necessary and ongoing.

If the healing was over, why do thousands upon thousands of people still access the 134 projects? Health Canada has made it quite clear that the money in the budget will allow it to continue the services it has always provided. That is its job. It has to. It is a statutory requirement. It will continue doing that.

The budget says that the necessary mental health and emotional support services continue to be provided to former students. It is great that Health Canada continues its small part of the puzzle. However, the big, gaping hole left by closing these 134 healing projects across the country is not being filled by anything.

I am going to give an example of some of these from my own riding. There are only four projects in my riding.

The first one is the Committee on Abuse in Residential Schools Society that provides talking circles, outreach work, educational sessions, et cetera, for $603,000. This one project has thousands of contacts. Out of 134 institutions and projects, imagine how many people that is across the country. This project was for $603,000, and that ends with no replacement in about four hours.

The second project is the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council. The goal is to rebuild the families, homes and communities of the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council. It provides ongoing counselling and traditional land-based activities to assist community members to address the legacy of residential schools on their lives and families. Its $616,200 ends in four hours.

The Kwanlin Dün First Nation's project will provide one-on-one counselling to survivors and their family members to address issues of physical and sexual abuse, shame and addictions. The project develops holistic healing plans for each participant receiving counselling. It provides a series of workshops, which include history and impacts of residential schools, communication skills, traditional medicine, traditional knowledge and culture, resiliency and recovery, and the Virginia Satir model, understanding self within the family structure.

The project provides elders with healing circles, a men's support group, a women's talking circle, a residential school survivor support group, and an elder women's sewing circle. None of this is being replaced. There was no suggestion by anyone in the government that those programs would be replaced. Their $710,748 funding ends in four hours.

The last one, the Liard Aboriginal Women's Society, has done excellent work for years. I will give more detailed feedback as an example of this type of work in a small, remote community that has a number of challenges, and obviously nothing is replacing this. It states:

A more powerful approach to the argument as to why the AHF [the Aboriginal Healing Foundation] should continue is that over the last 10 years we have learned a lot on what the First Nations people want and need to promote a lasting healing environment. In the past many professionals have been dropped into communities to hold workshops and provide counseling. Then they left, sometimes leaving the people feeling open and raw with reawakened memories and also feeling abandoned, once again. These temporary interventions are not sustainable.

We can think how they feel tonight. It goes on to state:

Communities desperately need local individuals to be educated in the helping fields so that there may be a true understanding of the magnitude of cultural and historic issues and how they affect the healing journey. In the last 10 years we have provided counseling and education that is strength based and addressing violence in the context of safety and justice.

We have built these up over 10 years. They are finally working and now we are going to cut them all down. The Women's Society goes on to state:

When we started 10 years ago there was a lot of fear in traditional healing and because of our AHF program providing traditional psychotherapy many members have been more involved and open minded about traditional healing. Our programs have been very diverse, with its foundation rooted in Kaska Culture, we have offered many different programs that helped members heal the scars of residential schools. We have a website that has many pictures of our many paths, http://www.liardaboriginalwomen.ca. We provide programs that are holistic with Naturopathic medicines for which many members have changed their diets and are more educated on health and taking responsibility for their own wellness. We have offered Traditional knowledge workshops at our camp at Frances Lake and had the camp filled to capacity with family members from grandmothers to great grandmothers and grandfathers teaching the youth and adult about our culture. We have offered counseling to members in Ross River, Yukon with a Doctor visiting them 6 months out of the year. We have offered many other successful programs over the last 10 years and would need to write a book to cover the many stories.

1. LAWS is the only organization in [our town] that offers counseling and culturally based projects to First Nations without a specifically religious or government policy base.

2. Most of our workshops are based on First Nations culture and ideals, however the entire community is always invited to join.

3. Individual counselling is very confidential, client centred and focuses on wellness and abilities, as opposed to illness and barriers.

4. Quote from a client, “I love getting out of the house and being able to do things with other women in a fun way!” “It's nice to be able to get together and laugh and not worry about all the problems”.

From a young woman, “I really like having the chance to learn about our ways from the Elders, this is amazing!”

From an elder to our counsellor, “You are good for our people”.

“We need to do something to help get funding for your Society”

“I am upset to hear that you will be closing”

“Where are we going to go to get counselling”

It goes on to say, “Our therapist is the only therapist in town that goes to our local shelter to provide counselling on a regular basis. Without this program, there will be a huge gap in services that provide counselling support, there will be no education and awareness to the epidemic of violence against the women in our community. There will be no workshops that bring women together in the winter months for a time to sew and share stories of residential schools, validate their courage and strength at the residential schools. We are recognized in our community as a team player and have formed strong networks with all the government agencies, non-profit agencies and first nations organizations in all five Kaska communities. Souga sin la”.

Probably the most shameful comment I heard from the minister was that this was partly based on the current financial situation. How can the government take this away from the most vulnerable in Canada? If anything, money should go to people who are on the verge of suicide, family breakup pt on addictions. It should go to the neediest of the neediest. The government says that the financial situation is one of the reasons it cut this program.

If any of us here had our children taken away and they were told they could not speak English or practise their culture, it would be shattering. That would take years and years of healing and that should not end tonight at midnight.


Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Yukon for his speech tonight on the emergency debate moved by the member for Churchill.

In the supplementary estimates under the major specific initiatives it states:

The number of students claiming sexual and/or serious physical abuse and the severity of abuse has proved to be much higher than initially estimated, resulting in total projected payments in 2009-10 to exceed the $160 million annual allocation.

If the problem is actually larger than expected and this foundation is actually just beginning to show good results, it seems that the foundation should be getting more money, not less. Why the cuts? Is it, as the Minister said, he needs to “tackle the deficit”, the real reason for the cuts?



Hon. Larry Bagnell:
The member makes another very good point about how illogical this decision is when all the parties here, the minister, his parliamentary secretary and the evaluation all point out to this good work and the minister says that there are more and more survivors. As the member said, if there are more and more survivors and therefore more and more patients, then obviously we need more and more healing.

Instead of closing the hospital, closing the services and cutting off all the healing, why would we not be providing more until the healing is finished? It is incomprehensible, which is why I think the Speaker is allowing this emergency debate and why vulnerable people across the country are so upset. It is incomprehensible why in this situation of need that we would all of a sudden at midnight tonight cut off everything except 12 institutions and they get one year more.

The minister says that there are other placed to go but no other new places have been offered. Other places have pieces in the puzzle but for these thousands upon thousands of people and the successful organizations built up over 10 years are being ended, zilch, nothing more and closed tonight. That is just incomprehensible and I cannot answer that question.

Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Yukon, particularly for sharing the stories and the words of those who have been most directly impacted by Indian residential schools and those who have participated in the Aboriginal Healing Foundation programs.

I would say that there are so many gathering stories across the country for which the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has been responsible. I hold some in my hand from the people in Labrador through the healing journey team at the Labrador Aboriginal Legal Services.

It seems to me that the government's entire argument or its logic rests around the fact that somebody else can deliver these services but its only evaluation report, which bears repeating and we will repeat it again and again, states:

...Health Canada support programs are designed to provide specific services that are complementary but different to those of the AHF; and the reported numbers of Survivors seeking help from AHF and Survivor Societies, the logical course of action for the future would seem to be continuation of support for the AHF.

Does my hon. colleague from Yukon agree with that particular statement and how would he recommend we go forward?

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Mr. Speaker, the member makes an excellent point. These are totally different.

I have gone into these organizations where some of this healing is going on and these people would never be comfortable going into a government program or service. These people would never go into any other organization except these organizations with the local people who have built up the trust.

The government is not even offering any alternative for these thousands of people. Health Canada has said that it is continuing the programs it is doing now. It is not even offering any new programs to deal with these thousands and thousands of people when in a rare instance we have an institution with 134 projects going on across the country that are finally working.


Mr. Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, on March 14, I chaired a public consultation meeting in Papineau on the status of women, together with the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.

Nakuset, the Director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, gave a presentation at this meeting. This organization, which helps aboriginal women achieve balance through empowered healing, is a suborganization of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Nakuset's testimony was so moving that, for a moment, in that room, we forgot about our Greek, Lebanese, South Asian or other origins, and we were all aboriginal people.

The request to maintain funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation received the support of all those present, including our leader. The next day, my colleague for LaSalle—Émard asked the Minister of State (Status of Women) how she expected to ensure the safety of all Canadian women, including aboriginal women, while cutting funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and thus putting at risk 134 projects across Canada, such as the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal.

I know that it comes as no surprise that, when a question is directed to a specific person, the government habitually has someone else answer. The question was answered by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He claims that he has increased funding and pats himself on the back for meeting his obligations under the Indian residential schools agreement.

I know that 12 years ago, the Liberal government invested $350 million and the programs got underway. These programs are established by and familiar to the communities. Cancelling them would be disastrous for aboriginal women in Quebec and Canada, and for all survivors of residential schools.

The government must invest the $199 million not in Health Canada, or to make amends, but in organizations such as the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, that were established by aboriginals, and are managed by aboriginals, for aboriginals.


The government has done it again. On one hand, it apologizes for the Indian residential schools system and on the other, it takes away the funding that helps the victims, families and communities move on with their lives.

The Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, NWSM, has provided support to first nations, Inuit and Métis women and their children who are in difficulty since 1987. The NWSM provides a safe, culturally relevant, therapeutic environment where aboriginal women can focus on their various personal challenges, such as addictions, mental health, homelessness and abuse.

The shelter offers in-house programs and services funded through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada. Without continued funding from the AHF, as of tomorrow, March 31, the NWSM is faced with the immediate termination of all healing programs. The implications of this termination are devastating.

The shelter will no longer be able to continue to meet its mandate of providing aboriginal women and children with the holistic support necessary in empowering them to regain their independence and transition successfully within the community, leaving the shelter to provide only basic services of food and emergency board.

Moreover, the compounding effect of these cuts to the NWSM will result in the loss of several culturally sensitive personnel, of which two-thirds are occupied by aboriginal women. Indeed, one of the healers had arrived at the centre years before in crisis and in need of healing herself and had come so far because of the centre that she is now healing others. That is what the funding for the AHF achieves.

As I said earlier, 134 programs like these are threatened. In the past 12 months, these programs have helped more than 205,000 individuals deal with violence, depression, suicide, alcoholism and poverty.

Nearly 50,000 people have attended training workshops on family, employment and healthy living in Montreal and across the country.

Let me be clear: it is absolutely essential that this program be maintained at its current funding level. The reason why it has been so successful is that these are programs by aboriginal people for aboriginal people.

One of the greatest tragedies of residential schools is that it undermined, no, it completely eradicated a peoples' confidence in who they were and what they could achieve. The AHF was a powerful counter to that devastated narrative, an important step in righting years of wrongs.

The government's own reports evaluating the AHF are glowing. The empowerment of individuals, of families, of entire communities, has truly helped, not just in getting beyond the tragic past but in building a better future.

I continue to be astounded by this government, which is constantly trying to diminish the role of the Government of Canada with its laissez-faire, “you're on your own” attitude, a government that is dividing us as a people, a government with no vision that engages in petty politics.

We are at the eleventh hour. Funding for this program will end tomorrow, just three hours from now. Only the government can and must do something about this.

The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs supported the community-based healing initiative established by the foundation in its December 2009 report and even recommended maintaining funding for it.

The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut voted unanimously to ask the federal government to renew its commitment to the foundation. Numerous stakeholders, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, have publicly come out in favour of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The Liberal Party of Canada and all the members of all the opposition parties call on the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to cut funding for the foundation.

I really hope that, like the early learning and child care agreement and like the Kelowna accord, the funding of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will not cease simply because it was a good idea with the fatal flaw of having been created by a Liberal government.

Canada and all Canadians, especially our first peoples, deserve better.


Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, there are 80,000 residential school survivors still alive today in Canada. Cutting the Aboriginal Healing Foundation goes against the spirit of the national apology made by the Prime Minister just two years ago, in 2008. As a matter of fact, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is part of Canada's journey toward reconciliation.

The loss of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation means the loss of 134 projects across Canada. In fact, there are only 12 of them left, and those 12 are only around until March 2012. In fact, one of those remaining 12 is the Eyaa-Keen Centre Incorporated, 547 Notre Dame Avenue, in Winnipeg.

However, as the member indicated, these projects that have been around now for 10 years are all going to expire, basically, tomorrow. This is a drastic change from what people were hoping to see only two years ago. That is basically knocking us back several years in the process, and we are going to have to fight even harder to recover.

I ask the member if he would like to comment on those remarks.

Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that it is not only all the people these organizations and centres are serving. It is the employees of these organizations who will be losing their jobs, many of them drawn from the very communities in so desperate need of services and of healing.

The other issue that is important to remember is that the story of the residential schools is a story that left a deep mistrust of the Canadian government and its institutions. Part of that healing is in empowering and in returning the trust in the possibilities to heal offered by the government. However, that cannot happen by telling someone to show up at a health care centre or to be served by Canadian doctors or non-natives. It needs to be centred on the communities themselves, healing and building for themselves. That is the trust we have to restore, and that is the only way the federal government can truly help aboriginals in need of healing.

Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC): previous intervention next intervention
Mr. Speaker, I am going to go on the same theme again. We have Health Canada with a footprint in more than 600 communities across the country. We have 200 first nation communities in British Columbia alone. We have 17 AHF programs, one in my riding. It is on a small island, which is part of my riding, and accessible to one band only out of the 24.

There has been a lot said here. There has been some high debate and some low debate. But for goodness' sake, let us at least talk about what is factual rather than what is not.

I ask for a comment on that.

Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite needs to understand that the legacy of residential schools all too often is a mistrust of government institutions. What is required, therefore, is to empower communities to help each other.

The member opposite makes an excellent point that there are not nearly enough of these communities to help themselves. There are not nearly enough centres like the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal to help restore confidence and faith in these communities.

We should be increasing the funding grandly for initiatives like the AHF to genuinely help people and not refer them to institutions with which they have a deep and understandable mistrust.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, since there has been much talk about Health Canada, I went to its website. It says:

...based on receipt of a completed treatment plan including the number of counselling sessions recommended and cost, from a recognized Health Canada service provider and with approval from the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch.

I wonder if the member could comment on the fact that it sounds as if one needs to be a hoop dancer to get through all these hoops in order to access a service.

Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, my colleague makes an excellent point in saying that nobody knows better how to help these people who are suffering than members of their own community. That is why initiatives driven from the aboriginal community, by the aboriginal community and for the aboriginal community will always be the best way to empower them and to help them with their healing.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Barry Devolin):
Before I resume debate, there have been a couple of questions in terms of who is asking the questions. As members know, it is the practice of the chair to rotate the questions around the House, but in the case of the debate tonight, I am not following a strict rotation. There are members who have been on their feet many times, who have stayed in the chamber and who are trying to get in a question. I am trying to accommodate as many members as possible. Therefore I will deviate at times from the regular cycle.

Resuming debate. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Colin Carrie (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

I am pleased to stand in the House today to describe some of the concrete actions the government is taking to promote and protect the health and well-being of former students of Indian residential schools and their family members.

In his commitment toward reconciliation, the Prime Minister made his historic statement of apology for Indian residential schools. We recognize that while the settlement agreement is an important milestone in Canada's effort to deliver on its commitment to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, it can also be a source of deep emotion and sometimes pain.

As such, the government continues to ensure that the appropriate supports are in place throughout the duration of the settlement agreement. This includes $199 million over two years in budget 2010 to ensure that necessary mental health and emotional support services continue to be provided to former students and their families, and to support the independent assessment process and the common experience payment.

Although there are many mental health strengths among first nations and Inuit communities, including connections to traditional cultures and extended family networks, there are also some significant challenges. Many communities face high unemployment rates, widespread poverty, low educational outcomes, remoteness from health services and the loss of traditional language and culture. Some of the 80,000 former students from residential schools are coping with the loss of culture and language. Others may have the after-effects of trauma resulting from physical, sexual and emotional abuse. This may lead to various mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions and personality disorders.

It is in acknowledgement of these impacts that the mental health support services offered by our government through Health Canada are available not only to former students of residential schools but also to their families. The commitment we made through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement enables us to move forward in providing mental health and emotional support services to former students of Indian residential schools and their family members. Support is provided as they participate in the common experience payments, the independent assessment process, Truth and Reconciliation Commission events and commemorative activities.

Our health minister , through her department, provides these mental health and emotional supports through the resolution health support program. The resolution health support program seeks to ensure that former students and their families have the health supports they need to participate in the settlement agreement's process. The resolution health support program provides a range of culturally safe services to ensure that eligible former students of Indian residential schools and their families have access to mental health and emotional supports so they may safely address issues related to the Indian residential schools and disclose any abuse throughout the settlement agreement process.

Through the resolution health support program, Health Canada provides access to more than 1,600 service providers, including professional counsellors, community-based aboriginal workers, elders and traditional healers in every province and territory, in communities across Canada. It also provides assistance with the cost of transportation to access services not available in the home community.

We want to ensure that eligible former students and their families have access to mental health and the emotional supports they need. Of the $199 million over two years in new funding for Indian residential schools included in budget 2010, $65.9 million is for the Indian residential schools resolution health support program over the next two years. The demand for resolution health support program services continues to grow as a result of the volume of common experience payments and independent assessment process hearings, and so does the demand for upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission events.

Through this program, former students and their families have access to a range of culturally safe services, many of which are delivered in communities by experienced aboriginal providers. We recognize the diversity of need and are responding accordingly. It is also important that there is access to psychologists and other counsellors. Former students often request to spend time with aboriginal workers from their communities or elders who can assist them in their traditional ways.

The resolution health support program is designed to meet these diverse needs. It provides access to community-based cultural and emotional support as well as to professional counselling. Cultural support services are provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, elders or traditional healers are available to assist former students and their families. Specific services are determined by the needs of the individual and include dialogue, ceremonies, prayers or traditional healing.

Emotional support services are also provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them an aboriginal community-based worker who has training and experience working with former students of Indian residential schools will listen, talk and support former students and their family members throughout the settlement agreement process. In addition to these services, access to professional counsellors, such as psychologists and social workers who are registered with Health Canada, is available to those who need it.

We understand the importance of providing effective services. The 2006 midterm evaluation of the Indian residential schools national resolution framework found that 90% of claimants who responded to a survey utilize one or more of the health support services funded by Health Canada and 93% of survey respondents indicated that their experience was safer and more supportive as a result of the health supports provided. Most importantly, 89% of claimants who received counselling indicated that the resolution process was a positive experience.

Since the implementation of the settlement agreement began in 2007, there has been a greater demand for various services available through the resolution health support program. The independent assessment process is hearing more claims and the need for services does remain high.

Our government has responded to the needs of former students and their families, spending approximately $80 million since the time of implementation to ensure that sufficient mental health and emotional supports are available to former students and their families through the resolution health support program.

Health Canada and its federal and aboriginal partners are being proactive by continuing to increase awareness among former students and their families of the available services by the resolution health support program. We have also been reaching out to projects currently funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to ensure that eligible clients are aware of and able to access the resolution health support program services. This effort to raise awareness is in addition to the other activities that have been ongoing.

For example, since 2007, over 421,000 brochures describing the resolution health support program have been sent directly to former students, band offices, community health centres, native friendship centres, nursing stations, treatment centres and many other meeting places across this country. The resolution health support program is but one of the several mental health and addictions programs funded by the federal government and which provide important community-based services helping aboriginal families.

Health Canada funds over $200 million in mental health and addiction services to first nations and Inuit communities throughout a number of programs. These include the national native alcohol and drug abuse program and the national youth solvent abuse program, which provide both residential treatment services and community-based prevention programming.

The brighter futures and building healthy communities programs provide funds to address mental wellness issues and crisis intervention programming, which communities use to support action on their own mental health priorities. The national aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy supports over 200 communities to support youth mental health and to prevent suicide.

These actions clearly demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that former students are aware of and have access to the mental health and emotional support services that they need. We have taken this responsibility seriously. We have demonstrated our commitment to meeting the needs and we will continue to do so.

In conclusion, I just want to go over some of the different programs that are available, because there has been some debate in the House that has not been as factual as it could be. We want to take the high road here and let the House know that there are elder supports. There are community-based elders and traditional healers available. There are emotional supports. There are aboriginal community-based mental health workers, many of whom speak aboriginal languages. There are clinical supports and psychiatrists and psychologists who provide the counselling.

These services are designed to help former students and their families safely address issues related to the Indian residential schools as well as the disclosure of abuse throughout the settlement agreement process.


Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talked about a lot of programs that have come through Health Canada and various other government departments that work. No one in the House is denying there are many supportive programs in various departments that actually do work. The point is that those programs were there at the same time as the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was there. They were there as INAC said specifically in its evaluation to complement and to support some of the healing process, but that none of those programs could replace the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. This is what the department's own evaluation said.

Basically what I would like the hon. member to answer is, why is it that governments in the past that harmed aboriginal people irreparably because of their decisions or that they knew what was best for them, continue to believe that the only effective programs that can be delivered for aboriginal people must come out of government departments? Does the government not believe that aboriginal people have the ability, as they have shown themselves to have, to take their own fund, use it appropriately in places where they can do it? Does the government not trust that aboriginal people can do this? Is this what the government is saying?


Mr. Colin Carrie:
Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we make it clear that everyone in the House is very supportive of the aboriginal communities in taking control of their future and working through these very difficult problems. The Government of Canada has been working in partnership with the aboriginal communities to come up with programs that do work. That is why--and unlike some of the comments that have been made in the House, it is important to be factual--these programs are based in the community. These programs are provided by the aboriginal communities. They have traditional healers. They have programs that have worked.

The government has learned from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It would be wrong to state that this organization has not done a lot of good, but the reality is the program was started back in 1998 and the program has sunsetted. We are continuing what we have learned and continuing what works with aboriginal communities. Our commitment is not only a financial one but a moral one to work with our partners in aboriginal communities to make sure we do what is best collectively working with them input and output, working together for best results.


Ms. Linda Duncan (Edmonton—Strathcona, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I have had the absolute privilege of working in many jurisdictions in Canada. I have worked with first nations and Métis people in Alberta. I have worked with first nations and Métis people in Yukon.

Of all of my experiences in my life as a lawyer I could share a couple of profound experiences that really struck home to me personally why we need to provide these exact services, why the government which has unilateral responsibility for first nation peoples needs to be committing this. In the 1970s I witnessed a young aboriginal woman run into the middle of traffic. I pulled her out from there and saved her life and took her home to her family. That is when I had my first experience with the trauma that several generations of first nations are suffering.

I am told that the last healing centre open in Alberta is going to be in southern Alberta. How are those young people going to get to Lethbridge or to Cardston throughout the far north of Alberta to go to a healing centre?


Mr. Colin Carrie:
Mr. Speaker, the member's comments really describe why it is very important that we are all committed to making sure that we collectively do what is in the best interests of what aboriginal people tell us they would like to see as we go through this healing process together as a country.

As I said in my statement, for each and every community out there, Health Canada has a footprint in many more communities than previous programs. These services can be and will be provided and we will make it available. If people do have to travel any length of time, the accommodation for travel will be made available.

In closing, I thank the member for her statements. They further support why we have to continue with this commitment.


Mrs. Cathy McLeod (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, as a testament to the commitment toward reconciliation which the Prime Minister made in his historic statement of apology for Indian residential schools, this government continues to make key investments in mental health and addictions programs for all first nations and Inuit. We have taken clear action to help aboriginal children and their families in areas of priority concern, such as youth suicide and addictions treatment and prevention.

Canadians enjoy a relatively high standard of health and well-being, but this is too often not the reality for aboriginal communities. Many of the small communities are remote and isolated and have populations of less than 1,000. Some are accessible only by air. Aboriginal communities are also dealing with socio-economic realities, such as poverty and high unemployment rates.

On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister made a historic apology before the House and all Canadians for the sad reality that for more than a century very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes and placed in Indian residential schools in order to isolate them from what was thought to be inferior influences of their families, traditions and cultures.

These children were not allowed to practise their culture or speak their language. Some were physically and sexually abused and many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents and communities.

Not surprisingly, such tragic social disruption coupled with considerable socio-economic challenges have had negative impacts on the health and mental well-being of communities and their members, particularly the youth. Some aboriginal people have higher rates of binge drinking, alcohol-related hospitalization and almost double the number of deaths.

Even more distressing are the aboriginal suicide rates which are among the highest in the world. First nations rates are three to six times the national average and Inuit rates 11 times higher. Unlike suicide rates for non-aboriginal people, rates of aboriginal suicide are highest among youth. Indeed, injury and suicide are the leading causes of death for aboriginal youth.

Helping young people and preventing aboriginal youth suicide continues to be a priority. Aboriginal youth under 20 years of age account for over 40% of the aboriginal population and this percentage is rising. The health of these youth very literally represent the future health of aboriginal communities.

In the House less than one month ago, the hon. Minister of Finance tabled a budget which included nearly $1 billion in investments for aboriginal people. This included $285 million over two years to renew critical aboriginal health programs, including the national aboriginal youth prevention strategy.

Through this investment, over 200 community-based aboriginal youth suicide prevention projects will continue to be funded. Communities will be able to better respond to crises and important research will take place in order that we can better understand how to respond to this complex health and social challenge.

We understand that traumatic events exact an enormous physiological and psychological toll on the people who experience them and often have ramifications that must be endured for decades. That is why we continue to invest in programs that are critical to the long-term health and well-being of first nations and Inuit.

This government funds over $200 million annually to support a range of first nations and Inuit mental health and addictions programs, from mental health promotion to addictions and suicide prevention, to counselling and other crisis response services, treatment and after-care programs.

The national native alcohol and drug abuse program is another example of a community-based and locally controlled program. The national native alcohol and drug abuse program is also recognized as a leader in incorporating community, cultural and holistic approaches into addictions prevention and treatment programming.

Under Canada's national anti-drug strategy, our government is investing $30.5 million over five years in addiction services for first nations and Inuit, and $9.1 million ongoing to increase service effectiveness, to serve more people through new investments in outreach, outpatient and innovative approaches such as mental wellness teams and to improve service quality.

This work to increase effectiveness of addiction services to serve more people and to improve service quality, with an emphasis on services for first nations youth and their families, is being led by a partnership between Health Canada, the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, and the Assembly of First Nations.

It is being driven from the ground up. Communities, families and individuals are having a direct say in what improvements need to be made to the national native alcohol and drug abuse program. Recognizing the diversity among first nations communities, this process is not taking a one-size-fits-all approach but is allowing communities to identify their needs, build on their unique strengths, and have access to the best knowledge and local, national and international evidence to influence the programs they run.

This government takes seriously its responsibilities to support aboriginal communities to address their mental health and addictions priorities. Whether it be by funding important youth aboriginal suicide prevention projects in communities in every province and territory or providing funding to make long-standing services more responsive to current needs and better aligned with the best evidence, this government understands that ongoing action is required.

Canada is also considered a world leader in terms of some innovative and proven aboriginal programs. Take, for instance, the national youth solvent abuse program, which is recognized internationally as an extremely effective and holistic interdisciplinary treatment program. These youth-only treatment centres have established success rates of between 75% and 85%, which is uncharacteristically high even among the world's best treatment programs.

Research clearly points to a number of serious mental health and addictions challenges faced by Canada's aboriginal people. The lasting negative impacts of the experience that many aboriginal people had with Indian residential schools continues to affect many former students, their children and grandchildren.

That is why we continue to invest in first nations and Inuit mental health and addictions programs, supporting communities, families and individuals to recover from the traumas they have suffered, in order to support their full participation in Canadian society.


Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation programs, complemented with Health Canada, was not providing and has not provided. Health Canada itself recognizes that this is a fact.

What would the member say to all the hamlets in Nunavut, all the small, isolated northern remote communities in Labrador, along the Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay, those in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and other places around our country?

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation designed its programs in such a way to respond to a need that existed in these communities, built from the community up, from the survivors' groups and their families. It complemented that.

There is one thing I have to say on the record, and I will ask my question very quickly after that. If there is one thing that aboriginal people deserve in this debate, it is honesty. The honest truth is that the government made a cost-cutting measure. It can be wrapped up any way, that other programs and Health Canada will pick up the slack, all these types of things, but the truth is that it is cost-cutting measure.

I ask the member, does she agree with this poor policy decision that is going to so negatively impact aboriginal people and their families?
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Mrs. Cathy McLeod: previous intervention next intervention
Mr. Speaker, first of all, Health Canada has changed dramatically over the years. What used to be a bureaucratic top-down process has predominantly become many bands with transferred services, who are taking care of their own health care services, managing community-based services.

With regard to isolating one support from the many supports, the hon. member talked about the importance of the little hamlets. In spite of the excellent work of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, it could not reach all the communities. However, we have alcohol and drug workers in all those communities. We have nurses and mental health counsellors. We have tele-medicine programs. Things are really improving.


Mr. Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, we had a residential school in my community, and many of the survivors live in Sault Ste. Marie and the two aboriginal communities that border the community. Healing centres operate out of both Garden River and Batchewana. They are very well integrated into the community and are doing some phenomenal work.

It concerns me because just last Friday I met with an elder in Garden River who has been meeting with me on and off around the issue of a treatment centre for aboriginal youth who find themselves addicted to drugs or alcohol. We do not have the services in our communities that the member just mentioned. I am told that many aboriginal communities do not have the services that she has suggested here this evening are available to all.

I note that the minister is here tonight and I appreciate the fact that he has taken time out of what has to be a very busy schedule to listen to our comments as we speak about this important program.

I am asking the member, and perhaps the minister if he will take the time to listen--

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Barry Devolin):
Order. I have been trying to catch the member's eye for more than 30 seconds. I would ask him to please put his question very quickly.

Mr. Tony Martin:
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of that elder, I would like to ask the member how we can get the necessary resources to put a treatment centre in our area now that the healing program is going to be done in. We cannot even get the money to send people to the treatment centres that do exist.


Mrs. Cathy McLeod:
Mr. Speaker, certainly I acknowledge that there are small isolated communities that do not have a full range of services, but what they do have is a connection not only with programs and services with Health Canada, but also with regional health authorities and with their provinces. So it really is a fabric and a network of services. Every single community has some mechanism to create that fabric and network.

Really what the government is trying to accomplish is to integrate rather than fragment the very important services for healing and for health.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Barry Devolin):
Before we resume debate, I would also like to remind members that even though we are in a special debate tonight, the rules that state that we should not refer to who is or is not in the chamber ought to be respected.

The hon. member for Nanaimo--Cowichan.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise to speak to this emergency debate tonight. I am splitting my time with the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North.

I would like to acknowledge the member for Churchill for raising this very important issue in the House. I know the member for Churchill has been tireless in working on raising awareness of the importance of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and I really want to acknowledge the good work that she has done.

It is very interesting listening to the debate in the House tonight, because what it has turned into is an either/or. What I hear from the government side is that it is either the Aboriginal Healing Foundation or it is services from Health Canada,

It is unfortunate that it is the way the debate has gone. I believe that from the government's own numbers it has acknowledged that there has been an increased uptake on common experience payments and alternate dispute resolution payments. Health Canada's own website acknowledges that there are currently 80,000 residential school survivors still alive today.

Clearly there is a significant amount of people and their families who are impacted by the legacy of the residential school system.

I want to refer briefly to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. There are many sections that I could quote, but I want to quote section 23. It states:

Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions.

It would seem to me that we have been hearing from first nations, Métis and Inuit from coast to coast to coast, saying that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a mechanism that they want to see providing services to their communities. They are not saying that they do not want the services from Health Canada or from other organizations, but they are saying, “We still want those services. They are effective, they are available, they are culturally appropriate, and these are the kinds of services that we also want to have”.

I want to quote briefly from the final report, Evaluation of Community-Based Healing Initiatives Supported Through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, of December 7, 2009, provided by INAC. It clearly outlines some of the benefits of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It states:

There is almost unanimous agreement among those canvassed that the AHF has been very successful at both achieving its objectives and in governance and fiscal management.

A number of indicator measures provide evidence that AHF healing programs at the community level are effective in facilitating healing at the individual level, and are beginning to show healing at the family and community level. AHF research has shown that it takes approximately ten years of continuous healing efforts before a community is securely established in healing from IRS trauma.

It goes on to say:

Although evidence points to increasing momentum in individual and community healing, it also shows that in relation to the existing and growing need, the healing “has just begun”. For Inuit projects in particular, the healing process has been delayed due to the later start of AHF projects for Inuit.

Under the heading “Program Impacts”, it continues:

Impacts of the programs are reported as positive by the vast majority of respondents, with individual impacts ranging from improved family relationships, increased self-esteem and pride; achievement of higher education and employment; to prevention of suicides. Reported community impacts are growth in social capital indicators such as volunteerism, informal caring networks, and cultural events. One of the notable impacts reported by case study communities is that the “silence” and shame surrounding IRS abuses are being broken, creating the climate for ongoing healing.

The question I have to put to the government is this: If a program has been evaluated as working, fiscally responsible, accountable, getting results, why would we take it apart? It does not make good fiscal sense, and it does not make good community healing sense.

I want to quote from a couple of organizations that have sent me letters talking about the importance of the foundation. This one is from Darlaene Eccleston, who states:

Without the continuation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the ongoing empowerment of our people healing our own communities and working toward reconciliation and forgiveness is severely set back.

Of course, she says much more about the importance of the program.

A letter from the Inter Tribal Health Authority, signed by co-chairs Chief David Bob and James Wilson, states:

The funding we receive is used to allow survivors of Residential Schools the opportunity to deal with the trauma of that tragic experience in a safe and trusting environment. After many years of suffering in silence, a therapeutic avenue was made available...To pull the funding at this time is an injustice and a disservice to the First Nations People of Canada as we have only begun the long work of helping people deal with the past.

Part of the reason I am reading these letters into the record is these people cannot come and address the House of Commons, so they need another voice here and that is what New Democrats, the Bloc and the Liberals have been doing.

This is another letter from the Inter Tribal Health Authority. It states:

The program was well subscribed and we were making progress and helping many community members break their many years of pained silence and begin an equally painful healing journey.

This letter is from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. It states:

We request that you continue to support my recovery from the tragic experience of Indian Residential Schools. The communities of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs have benefited from the services of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and request that you provide ongoing financial resources that would allow survivors and families to continue to heal so that we may journey together to a stronger Canada that will include former Indian Residential Schools students.

This is from Nunavuk Tunngavik and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. It states:

We are writing this letter to you to echo the voices of thousands of Inuit that suffer the impacts of the Residential School regime. For the mothers and fathers that never got to pass on their knowledge and traditions to their children. For Inuit that have been muted as their language has been stripped away from them. For Inuit children that suffer as their parents try desperately to learn to parent. For victims of suicide who had no resources to turn to in their communities. For Inuit men and women who sit in Federal Jails, thousands of miles away, because our communities lack the resources to help them. For Inuit shackled by the chains of addiction, because that has been the only way to cope with the desperation and hopelessness that they face. And finally for the Elders that have watched the capacity of our communities stripped and generational gaps grow into deep caverns...We need room and tools to address our challenges in ways that are designed by and for Inuit.

The Assembly of First Nations has been strongly calling for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to stay in place, to support first nations, Métis and Inuit across the country. It is calling for the government to work with them in the spirit of the residential schools apology.

Again, I want to emphasize the fact that we are not talking either/or here. Health Canada does provide valuable services to many communities, but the Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides a unique community, cultural, grassroots experience. It is not driven top-down from a bureaucratic process.

Earlier, to another question in the House, I pointed out some of the things people needed to go through, through the Health Canada process, in order to access services. I know many members in the House have received letters from people who have had to pay their own dentist bills and pharmacy bills because NIHB, first nations Non-Insured Health Benefits, is so difficult deal with that dentists and pharmacists no longer want to deal directly with the department. People who have very little income have to pay those dentist and pharmacy bills themselves and submit the bills.

We know what is happening. People who need those services are not getting them. I would suggest that for many people, the bureaucracy of dealing with Health Canada, as good as those health workers are, is a barrier to people accessing services when they need it.

I also know many members in the House have spent time with residential school survivors and heard their painful stories and know often that when they reach out for help, that help has to be available for them right there and then, not four weeks later, not six weeks later, not two months later. Oftentimes that is a cry for help from people. They need to be able to go to their local people whom they understand and trust, who have the language, who have the cultural experience and who can provide that service right there and then.

An interesting thing to ask is what kinds of wait lists for services Health Canada currently provide and are in place. We know from many people there are simply not the services available to them.

I know people have quoted from the Health Canada website, saying that transportation is available to remove them from their communities if they need help somewhere else. That sounds like the residential school experience all over again, taking people from their communities. That is a legitimate experience for some people.

I would urge all members in the House to support reinstating the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.


Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member. I would ask her to consider the kinds of things she is talking about, such as comparing giving transportation to a survivor who wants to go to a clinical setting somewhere, at his or her request, to residential schools. That is ridiculous.

I could ask her an open-ended question. How many communities on Vancouver Island, where she lives, have an Aboriginal Healing Foundation service provided in their communities. The answer is one. It is in Nanaimo, where she lives. That is it. What do the people in Duncan do? What do they do in Victoria? What do they do in Campbell River? What do they do in Sooke and so on? It does not all happen in one community.

In my riding, the 20 Stó:lo first nations in my riding do not have an aboriginal healing community. It is not an insult to them. I do not think the AHF has done a bad job. However, my people in Chilliwack do not go to Lytton for services. They go to Health Canada.

Right now in all of Vancouver Island, with a population as big as New Brunswick, there is one aboriginal healing centre, and that is in Nanaimo and it is providing great service. However, do not pretend that is providing the service required in the hundreds of communities across Vancouver Island, because it is not true.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
Mr. Speaker, I want to correct the record. First, what I said about the residential schools and transportation was for members who did not feel comfortable leaving their communities. I acknowledge that members who absolutely want to take advantage of it from Health Canada, it is there and it is available for them.

In terms of the aboriginal healing, certainly the minister is absolutely right. There is one centre, but there is another project at Tillicum Lelum. Therefore, there are other services available for people on the island.

However, again, I pointed out earlier in my speech that this had degenerated into an either/or. I did acknowledge that Health Canada did provide services for people, that it was available in many communities. However, there are other communities that have aboriginal healing fund projects in place and they want to maintain them.

Why do we have to make the division? We know that aboriginal healing funds projects are having some success and that they are accountable. The current government often talks about accountability and transparency. We have that. Why can the projects?

I would urge the minister to take a look at the successes of the aboriginal healing fund projects.

Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the member asked a good question about waiting lists. We will be able to ask all those questions. As members know, I had a motion pass at aboriginal affairs committee, so we will able to study this at length and ask a lot of questions about the government's intransigence.

I visited, with the member, the Inuit Women's Association. A woman brought this note to me to show how pervasive this was across the country. It stated, “The Native Women's Child Care of Montreal needs federal funding to continue its incredible work. As of April 1st, it will lose employees who help our women and children heal from any forms of injustice”. Then in big letters “Help” and then “Please raise this in Parliament”.

Why does the member think the government is cutting this program? Everyone who has spoken in the House of Commons tonight, and it is very rare that everyone is on one side, has said what a tremendous program it is. The Minister of Indian Affairs has said it. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs has said it. The last Conservative member who spoke said it was excellent.

If everyone in the House is in favour, why is the program being cut?

Ms. Jean Crowder:
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Yukon for his very good work on the aboriginal affairs committee. It is a great question. Cutting the program makes no sense.

We acknowledge that a residential school apology situated us so we needed to move forward and ensure there were healing programs in place and all kinds of supports for residential school survivors and their families. We have an evaluation that says the program is an incredible program. It is getting good results. The evaluation itself says that Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects are different from Health Canada.

I can only presume the government is cutting the program for ideological reasons. Absolutely nothing else makes sense about it. Maybe it is because the Liberals instituted the program. I am not sure.


Mr. Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay—Superior North, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am glad of the opportunity tonight to speak in support of this very important program. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides resources that promote reconciliation. It encourages aboriginal people both individually and together with their communities to build and reinforce sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental and cultural abuse in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.

In June 2008 the government stood in the House to formally apologize to former students of the residential school system. The Prime Minister acknowledged that policies of assimilation were wrong and “caused great harm, and has no place in our country”. Meaningful apologies are followed by concrete action. Actions that honour the concept of reconciliation with a focus on healing, building a sense of well-being and moving toward a stronger future are certainly called for in the wake of the residential school legacy.

It is clear that discontinuing this funding is in direct contradiction to the values that inspired that national apology. As we know, the intergenerational impact of assimilation and the residential school system are multi-layered and difficult to face. Violence, suicide, depression, increased probability of facing poverty, erasure of traditional parenting skills and loss of native language are just a few of the negative consequences of the institutional abuses suffered by aboriginal people throughout Canada.

Funding provided by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation directly and effectively addresses some of the intergenerational impacts of the injustices faced by those who attended residential schools. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation currently supports 134 programs that directly address the aftermath caused by the residential school system. This funding has helped organizations and communities offer restoration initiatives that support healing and well-being.

One such example in Thunder Bay—Superior North, the riding I have the honour to serve, is that of Gull Bay First Nation. This community is an example of strength and courage. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has funded a program called the Gull Bay First Nation healing program. It increases access to counselling, talking circles using traditional practices, information on abuse and other intergenerational impacts experienced by residential school survivors and their descendants.

The benefits of the healing program are real and they are pragmatic. Speaking with Chief Wilfred King of Gull Bay First Nation, it is abundantly clear that the funding from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has helped elders from his community reconcile their relationship with Canada. Chief King reports, “This is an excellent program that has met the needs of elders that were directly impacted by the legacy of the residential schools—this program has started to bridge the gap between elders and the intergenerational impact of the residential school system”.

Sixty individuals in that community alone have directly benefited over the last 12 months, but the overall effect has been even further reaching. The services made possible through this funding have helped elders who left Gull bay reconnect with their home community, a central aspect of supporting culture and maintaining traditions.

The same is true in many first nations and other communities across my region such as members of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. In the neighbouring riding of Kenora, the first nations and communities of Lac Seul, Mishkeegogamang, Sandy Lake, Wapekeka, Cat Lake, North Caribou Lake, Sachigo Lake, Slate Falls and Bearskin Lake will all be negatively impacted. They find the support of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation absolutely crucial.

I will be watching with interest to see if the hon. member for Kenora fights to continue funding for these vital programs in his riding. I am disappointed he is not here for the emergency debate tonight. Not only should this funding be preserved, but it could be expanded to other communities who need it across northwestern Ontario. We have many first nations reserves and communities in Thunder Bay—Superior North and if any of them, including—


Mr. John Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think you were distracted momentarily, but the member is making reference to members who are either present or not present in the House. It is most inappropriate to talk about members who are not present in the House. I would ask him to not do that, please.


The Deputy Speaker:
The hon. parliamentary secretary is correct that it is unparliamentary to make reference to a member's presence or absence, so I will remind the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North of that standing order and allow him to continue his remarks.


Mr. Bruce Hyer:
Mr. Speaker, I was not aware of that. I now am and I withdraw that comment. I thank the hon. member opposite for educating me on that matter.

Quite often I am asked, in these difficult times, in northwestern Ontario what pathways I see for hope and optimism. I often say that the future of Thunder Bay—Superior North, northwestern Ontario and, indeed, the future of much of Canada is intimately tied to the future of our first nations people.

It is about empowerment and fairness. It is a matter of treaty rights and applying the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to all Canadians. It is also a matter of practicality. If first nations do well, we will all do well in Canada. If first nations people are not helped to succeed, it will adversely affect all of us.

Keep in mind that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation ensures that each and every funded project has a proven track record of sound financial management. Projects must have a broad reach, including women, youth and elders. Each project must deliver direct therapeutic services.

Even the department, INAC itself, and the chair of the Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission have praised the programs that are possible only because of the support of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. All of the projects are delivered by the people who live and work in each community, providing a grassroots approach to healing and community building instead of a top down approach, which leaves too much room for error, paternalism and waste.

This successful program is essential as it ensures that those communities which receive funding decide independently which services and programs are most needed by their own people. This community-based, grassroots approach is a strong and worthy method of addressing the healing process, building stronger communities, and increasing health and well-being. Community-based, culturally appropriate programs that inspire effective healing represent hope and a willingness to build a stronger future by moving together as a community.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has made a great start in the right direction. Instead of changing course and abandoning it, we call upon the government to continue its commitment to first nations communities in the spirit of hope and reconciliation, and in the spirit of following the national apology with concrete action by ensuring that Parliament extends the funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It is a pragmatic and meaningful solution to a very difficult situation.

Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North talked about an adjacent riding, which is the Kenora riding. The member for Kenora sits on the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. I know his background is nursing and that he has worked as a nurse in remote first nations and aboriginal communities, certainly on the British Columbia coast, northern Ontario, and likely other places as well that I am not immediately aware of. He is a tireless worker in representing his far-flung riding, in which there are approximately 60 first nations communities.

My comment is this. We cannot impugn other members and suggest in any way that they are not motivated to do the right thing in terms of this subject of healing.


Mr. Bruce Hyer:
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member. Just to reiterate what I said, I am going to be watching with interest in the hope that the hon. member he was talking about will, along with us, be fighting to maintain the funding for the communities in his riding.


Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, obviously, everyone in the House is very interested in effective healing results. I will read something from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs about the consequences of closing the program. This is on page 49 of the document from the department. It states:

When asked what the consequences would be if their program were to end, many respondents became visibly disturbed at hearing the question and contemplating the loss of the program. The vast majority of respondents in case studies used words such as “catastrophic”, “disastrous” “a betrayal of trust”; “removal of hope” and other equally strong language to indicate their belief that ending the AHF healing programs at this point would have extremely negative consequences...as the healing is not yet widespread enough or firmly enough established...An Elder...said that “we had 100 years of abuse and 12 years of healing”.

If the member were told this, would he close that program?

Mr. Bruce Hyer:
Mr. Speaker, speaking for myself, I feel very grateful that I am well educated, was supported by a wonderful family in my youth, went through a good educational system, and am white in a country that sometimes favours those who are white.

I think we need to go an extra kilometre to help those who need our help. The New Democrats are about leaving no one behind and helping those who particularly need it the most.


Ms. Linda Duncan (Edmonton—Strathcona, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, among the first nations chiefs I had the privilege of working with, one was Joe Johnson, the former chief of the Kluane First Nation. The many times I worked with him on his land claim, he told me stories of the trauma he felt from residential schools, how he suffered from having to work away from home in British Columbia, and how he wished that jobs could be provided along with healing services closer to his community.

He tried for many years to establish a healing centre and I am not sure if he ever managed. He just could not get the funding. I noticed that there is no money remaining for any healing centre in Yukon, only one in the Northwest Territories.

I am wondering if the member could speak to the need to provide healing centres close to the communities where first nations continue to work.

Mr. Bruce Hyer:
Mr. Speaker, upon reflection this evening and listening to debate from all sides of the House, I am really persuaded that we not only need to maintain the funding, but we need to expand the funding and apply it to more communities.

Mr. Bruce Stanton (Simcoe North, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I am greatly pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the Aboriginal Healing Foundation this evening with my colleagues. I feel strongly that we would be remiss if we did not take the time tonight to acknowledge the difficult but critical work that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has undertaken over the last decade on behalf of Canadians.

The foundation was established with a clear mandate in 1998 and all of those involved with this non-governmental organization should be applauded for their ongoing commitment and tireless pursuit of a better future through healing.

My comments this evening will outline the path our nation has taken over the past decade, recognize and highlight the foundation's accomplishments, and convey a message to the foundation about our hope that its transition phase goes smoothly.

As one of only a handful of nations who have apologized for how past generations treated aboriginal people, I am proud to be a Canadian.

Some of us may remember Australia's landmark apology to its native people in 2008, and all of us will surely remember that on June 11, 2008 the Prime Minister made an apology, on behalf of all Canadians, right here in the House of Commons.

I think we can all agree that the apology certainly represents a giant step forward toward reconciliation and progress.

National Chief Fontaine noted at the time of the Prime Minister's 2008 apology that it would benefit all Canadians because it opens the way to restoring public consciousness about the history of the first nations in this country.

An example of this kind of change can be found in the government's substantially revised and recently published guide to citizenship in Canada. The guide is a significant departure from the version crafted first in 1995.

Notably, the 2010 edition of the guide introduces the concept of three founding nations: aboriginal, French and British. For the first time, Métis leader Louis Riel is introduced to new Canadians. This important document, which communicates a summary of our history and culture, no longer skips over the history of our aboriginal people. Rather, it speaks the truth and duly notes the important role that aboriginal people have played, and continue to play, in our nation's cultural fabric.

I have learned that the act of listening and speaking the truth can play an enormous role in our nation's healing process. Dr. Judith Herman, whose book Trauma and Recovery is widely considered a landmark work on the social impact of psychological trauma and its treatment, states that “Recovery requires remembrance and mourning. It has become clear from the experience of newly democratic countries in Latin America, eastern Europe and Africa that restoring a sense of social community requires a public forum where victims can speak their truth and their suffering can be formally acknowledged. Like traumatized individuals, traumatized countries need to remember, grieve and atone for their wrongs in order to avoid reliving them”.

It is this spirit of recovery that inspired long overdue discussions between key parties of our nation's historical landscape, and in the end through research, conciliation and negotiation, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was concluded with the approval of all parties: the Government of Canada, former students, churches, the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit organizations.

Just as Canada's apology to its aboriginal people marked an historic international milestone, so too does the significance of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement extend beyond our borders.

This agreement is an important part of the reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. It is the first time that a country has recognized, in both words and deeds, the negative effect that its policies and actions had on its first nations.

As members heard this evening, it is important to note that the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement features five main elements:

a common experience payment; an independent assessment process; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; commemoration activities; measures to support healing such as Health Canada's Health Support Program and an endowment to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

It is here in this last item, number five, measures to support healing, that we find the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation predates the agreement by nearly a decade, but this aboriginal-run not-for-profit foundation was established only after discussions were held with survivors, members of the healing community, the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council and the Native Women's Association of Canada.

Strictly speaking, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's original mandate was to disperse a Government of Canada one-time grant of $350 million starting on April 1, 1998. As explained in 2010-15 corporate plan, the foundation defines its role as follows:

We see our role as facilitators in the healing process by helping Aboriginal people and their communities help themselves, by providing resources for healing initiatives, by promoting awareness of healing issues and needs, and by nurturing a broad, supportive public environment. We help Survivors in telling the truth of their experiences and being heard. We also work to engage Canadians in this healing process by encouraging them to walk with us on the path of reconciliation.

Now as we come to the inevitable winding-down phase of the foundation, it is clear that the foundation's approach was indeed successful in achieving its objectives. I can say this with certainty because, as required in the settlement agreement, the government conducted an evaluation of the healing initiatives and programs undertaken by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The evaluation was tabled in the House of Commons earlier this month and underlines the financial and project management skills of the organization. It was a comprehensive evaluation that included the review of 108 documents and literature sources as well as all administrative files, such as annual reports and case studies, interviews with 35 key individuals from the foundation, relevant government departments, aboriginal organizations, project directors from foundation-funded projects and subject experts from across Canada, and a total of 8 community case studies based on 145 interviews with participants and key stakeholders at locations across Canada.

As hon. members may have noted, I referred to the winding down of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation as inevitable. This is the important point worth emphasizing. The foundation was never intended to be a permanent organization. The organization's annual report, corporate plan and initial mandate all make this perfectly clear.

Given this reality, no one should be surprised that the Government of Canada chose not to allocate new funding to the foundation. For more than 12 years, the expectation has been that the foundation would begin a winding-down phase. We are not talking about any kind of cut to any kind of funding. In fact not only is the word “cut” misleading but it does a disservice to the excellent planning the foundation has undertaken in its wind-down strategy, as well as its prudent dispersal of substantial funds, a total of $515 million since 1998, which the Government of Canada has allocated to it.

According to the foundation, the wind-down strategy is to take place over a period of three years. During this time, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will fulfill the remaining work of its mandate through the publication of annual reports, corporate plans and newsletters as well as the production of five more major research projects. In addition, the foundation will begin to reduce staff and space at a gradual and planned pace.

The Government of Canada remains committed, as ever, to providing support to all of its citizens, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal. In fact, it is through an investment made by this Conservative government that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will fund the operation of 12 healing centres across the country through to 2012. In addition, the Government of Canada will fulfill its continuing obligation to provide emotional and mental health supports directly to former Indian residential school students and their family members participating in the settlement agreement through a program operated by Health Canada.

The resolution health support program provides mental health and emotional support services directly to former students and their families as they participate in the various components of the settlement agreement. These include professional counselling services, paraprofessional services through aboriginal community-based workers, culturally appropriate supports through elders and transportation to access supports not available in the home community.

I reiterate that this government has also funded additional initiatives designed to provide support directly to survivors of Indian residential schools, and these include the national Indian residential school crisis line and future care awards. Future care awards are provided through the independent assessment process outlined in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Through this assessment process, claimants may receive future care awards for treatment or counselling services totalling $10,000 for general care and $15,000 if psychiatric treatment is required. To date, the average independent assessment process award is $125,000 and the average future care component is over $8,000. It is also important to note, and members will know, that all of this support will be provided during a time of much-needed fiscal restraint. Although Canada has returned to economic growth following the deepest global recession since the 1930s, the global recovery remains extremely fragile, as the recent 2010 budget speech indicates.

Before closing, I believe it is important to summarize the government's commitments to date in cold hard numbers. The Government of Canada will invest more than $5 billion to implement all components of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Budget 2010 committed net additional resources of $199 million toward the implementation of the settlement agreement, which will conclude in 2014.

The Government of Canada has provided $515 million to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation since its inception in 1998. These funds include the endowment of $125 million granted as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and have supported community-based healing initiatives. These numbers testify to the fact that Canada acknowledges that the Indian residential school system is part of the shared experience that is our nation and validates the important role that counselling plays in healing and in reconciliation.

The community-based work of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has not only been crucial to our vision of a just and caring society but has also successfully created a lasting and positive legacy out of a tragic episode. I am confident that my hon. colleagues will join me in committing all sides of the House to move forward and pursue a bright future for all Canadians.

Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I will ask my question first and then I will comment. I would like to congratulate the member as the chair of the aboriginal affairs committee. I think he does an excellent job and I really enjoy working with him.

Does the government have a comprehensive plan to deal with all these various services in various departments and the survivors of residential schools and also the thousands of people left out in the cold because of closing the foundation? I will leave him a minute to think about that while I make my comment, and maybe the officials want to send in something from the lobby.

The minister made a good analogy saying it was like a puzzle. There are more people who need healing and we heard there are all these healing areas, all the programs in the various departments, all like pieces of a puzzle. The huge piece in the middle is the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. In fact all of these pieces are going to have to swell a bit because the government said there is more uptake so there is more healing, so all these programs will have to get a little bit bigger.

What has been frustrating tonight is that we have heard speech after speech, which have been fine, describing all these pieces of the puzzle that are not being cut. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health made a great speech about all the health programs that are not being cut, that are going to stay there. So all these other programs will stay there and do their work, but no one has addressed the fact that this huge chunk, this huge piece, is coming out of the middle of the puzzle and as I said, one of the 134 projects affects thousands of clients, so that is thousands and thousands of clients across the country and that is what has been frustrating about this debate.

Mr. Bruce Stanton:
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his kind comments.

There is no doubt that this will require a substantial effort, and we have outlined that tonight in the form of the 1,600-odd workers with Health Canada. These are people from aboriginal communities themselves who are specifically trained and knowledgeable in delivering the kind of programs in the community at that level. We heard from the evaluations tonight that native and aboriginal people appreciate those programs and feel they are benefiting from them. Those programs will roll out.

In addition to that, Health Canada continues to support some $200 million in programs that support other outcomes that come from the difficulties people experienced through this kind of reconciliation process and the hurt that has been caused by the residential schools episode.

Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. I do not know him well. He seems like a nice fellow. I assume he understands, because he said he does, the impacts that residential schools had on aboriginal people and continue to have to this day.

I am speaking in part out of the frustration of the people I know who have been involved in the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's work in the northwestern area of British Columbia, who I represent. They have been involved in the six programs that are in existence that have now lost their funding and their capacity to do the community-based work that has been seen as so crucial. It smacks of a certain hypocrisy of the government and a tragic sense of cynicism to say that a report that was sitting on a minister's desk for months, a report that we now know says the Aboriginal Healing Foundation worked and worked well, was released the day after the budget. It was done by Indian Affairs itself, saying how wonderfully this community-based system worked, a family-based system, delivered by first nations for first nations and that it was helping the healing process. The cynicism to cut that program in the budget and then release a report the next day that says what a fantastic program this was smacks of a hypocrisy to the first nations communities that I represent and all across this country. The apology was meant to be followed up by action. That is what we asked the Prime Minister for when we all sat in this place and listened to the residential school apology.

First nations people, despite many generations of broken promises, took the chance and said they would give the Prime Minister the time, saying maybe he would follow up on this action and deliver and support aboriginal healing in this country.

Now we find out that all of these programs are being cut, programs that were working, and the government is saying that it is very interested in this healing process and wants to support it. The way the government can support it is to continue the funding.

To the last point about the so-called time of restraint, the government found $250,000 to send to an asbestos lobby in Quebec to promote asbestos exports to other countries, while ripping it out of the walls of this place. That is $250,000 that could be much better spent on aboriginal healing at a—
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The Deputy Speaker: previous intervention next intervention
Order, please. The hon. member for Simcoe North.


Mr. Bruce Stanton:
Mr. Speaker, the government stands squarely on the side of aboriginal residential school students and their family members who have experienced the tragedy of the episode that we now know so well. I say that because the measures the government has taken in the last several years are unprecedented in our history to cope with this segment, this part of our history.

The fact is that the program we are talking about tonight has been on a scheduled wind-down for years, since 2007. It is all right in the plans. It is right in all of the reports, in the 2010-14 report. In fact, the foundation itself has done a terrific job in putting that program in place. It will stay in place, by the way, until 2012. We will continue to do the work it has undertaken, but this is a scheduled wind-down and the work will continue to be taken up by the important programs of Health Canada.


Mr. Kevin Sorenson (Crowfoot, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Simcoe North for the speech that he has given this evening. Over the last number of years I have had the privilege of sitting close to him and getting to know him a bit. He is a very calm, cool, collected member of Parliament who is very much respected. I know he is also the chair of the aboriginal affairs committee.

It is close to 11 o'clock this evening. I have been sitting here through the debate tonight. One of the troubling points of the debate this evening is we have heard the word “hypocrisy” and a few other words like that used.

The opposition members tonight have come with the argument that the Canadian health care system is not sufficient. They have come tonight saying that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is needed because the Canadian health system cannot provide the proper services that would be expected or required.

I am concerned about that. The opposition members again have found themselves in this position of arguing one thing one night and another thing another night. Tonight we have heard them talk of deficiencies in Canada's health care system. I say shame on the opposition for that. Shame on the opposition for coming here with that message this evening.

My question is with regard to the accountability of the $66 million that will be brought forward into Health Canada. Who is the responsible person in Health Canada who will oversee and provide accountability on the funds and on the programs that will be delivered universally through Canada's health care system?
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Mr. Bruce Stanton:
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, the member for Crowfoot, for his kind remarks.

He actually pointed to an important aspect of this discussion that perhaps has been overlooked and that is that the residential health support program is in fact an existing program of Health Canada. This is something which, as we heard tonight, through budget 2010 will receive an additional $66 million over the next two years to undertake these important initiatives around the residential schools settlement agreement. That work is going to be undertaken by aboriginal people in many cases who are familiar with and understand and work with the community, elders, people who are integrally involved with the community. They are the ones who are going to be doing the work.

By the way, the importance here is that these are going to be skilled Health Canada workers who will actually be healing individually. Tonight we have heard the words “provide programs directly to families and residential school students”. That is the key because they will work directly, virtually one on one with members of the community to make sure Health Canada is delivering the right programs.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul's, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, between the 1800s and the 1990s, over 130 government funded, church run industrial schools, boarding schools and northern hostels operated in Canada for aboriginal children. Many first nations, Métis and Inuit children attending the residential schools suffered physical, sexual and other abuses, loss of childhood, family, community language and culture.

In 1996 the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, RCAP, stressed the urgency of addressing the impacts of residential schools. I remember being there on January 7, 1998 at the Native Friendship Centre in Toronto. It was my first smudge ceremony, and the then minister of Indian affairs and northern development, the hon. Jane Stewart, issued a statement of reconciliation and unveiled “Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan”.

The federal government announced at that time a grant of $350 million for community-based healing of the physical and sexual abuses that occurred in the residential schools, and on March 31, 1998, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was created.

The vision, mission and values of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation were:

Our vision is of all who are affected by the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural, and spiritual abuses in the Indian residential schools having addressed, in a comprehensive and meaningful way, unresolved trauma, putting to an end the intergenerational cycles of abuse, achieving reconciliation in the full range of relationships, and enhancing their capacity as individuals, families, communities, nations, and peoples to sustain their well being...Ours is a holistic approach. Our goal is to help create, reinforce and sustain conditions conducive to healing, reconciliation, and self-determination. We are committed to addressing the legacy of abuse in all its forms and manifestations, direct, indirect and intergenerational, by building on the strengths and resilience of Aboriginal peoples.

It is clear that the mission, vision and values stated “all who are affected”. It is so clear to all in this House tonight that we have only just begun to achieve that vision.

The reporting principles were clear. It had to have clear context and strategies, meaningful performance expectations, performance accomplishments against expectations, and fair and reliable performance information reported. It is very clear by the evaluation released the day after the budget that it worked. The government was getting value for money and putting our aboriginal people back on the road to recovery.

There is no question that the biggest challenge in Canada is closing the gap in the health status of our aboriginal people. The role of residential schools was horrific in their history and to the already damaging effects caused by colonization.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was one of the outcomes of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and probably the most important, the very first entity created and customized to meet the needs of aboriginal peoples, with the flexibility to build upon the cultural aspects of optimal healing and health.

In so many ways, the healing journey has just begun. For some communities, there have been huge successes. For others, awareness has opened wounds that we have the responsibility to ensure have the best possible support for their healing. Other communities that were unable to secure programs have watched the successes of neighbouring communities and have now expectations that they too should be able to participate in their healing journey.

There is no question that the most successful programs were the antithesis of western medicine that the member for Crowfoot needs to better understand. It is irresponsible to close these programs and return to the medical model that has always failed our aboriginal peoples. Aboriginal ways focus on family and community, in positive, culturally sensitive ways. Focusing on the individual has never worked.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation attracted the best and the brightest of our aboriginal peoples and inspired many aboriginal youth to enter the healing professions. The formal evaluations have shown great work and successes. The cancelling of these funds is a tragedy and an embarrassment to Canada.

The government's job is to fund what works and stop funding what does not work.

The evidence for this program is solid. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has had a tremendously positive impact on the healing journey of our aboriginal peoples. It deserves to be funded until the work is done, as it says in the mission, vision and values, until all of those affected have had access to appropriate care and the best possible results.

Of the probably 86,000 survivors alive today, first nations make up 80%, Métis make up 9%, Inuit make up 5% and non-status make up 6%. Almost 300,000 people have been intergenerationally impacted. Of the estimated 205,000 participants in the Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects, only 33% of those have engaged in any previous healing activity. Almost 50,000 participants were in the foundation's funded training projects.

Mr. Speaker, I forgot to mention that I will be splitting my time with the member for Etobicoke North.

The impact of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's funding has shown that 36 months is the minimum time to move through the needs of identification, outreach and initiation of therapeutic healing. Less than one-third of all projects received funding for 36 months or longer. Only 55% of the total target population and intergenerationally impacted have received healing services. Fifty-six per cent of the projects could not meet healing needs and 36% still maintain a waiting list.

The foundation-funded projects identified that almost 76,000, or 37%, of individuals have special needs, such as severe trauma including alcohol abuse and suicidal behaviour. The projects tell us that healing is a long-term process and that healing occurs in stages.

The impact of these foundation-funded activities in the communities, including the level of understanding, awareness of the legacy, level of team capacity and number of participants in healing, are as follows: 20% of the communities are just beginning their healing, 66% of the communities accomplished a few goals but have much work remaining and 14% of the communities accomplished many goals but some work still remains.

Fifty-seven per cent of the participants told us that their goals changed over the course of attending the foundation-funded activities. The commonly cited changes were improved self-awareness, relationships with others, knowledge and cultural reclamation. The majority felt better about themselves because they found strength, improved their self-esteem and were able to work through their trauma.

They evaluated the effectiveness of the healing activities including those that were elder driven, ceremonies, one-on-one counselling, healing and talking circles, traditional medicine workshops, conferences, legacy education, land-based activities, life skills, residential treatment, parenting skills, family counselling and alternatives. Western therapies came absolute last in every single way we would measure it. We cannot send these people back to the medical model. It has never worked before.

Finally, there are aboriginal-led and culturally sensitive modalities that are working. The government claims to want to fund projects that work. This works. It is irresponsible to cut the funding.

An average of 10 years is required for a community to reach out, dismantle the denial, create safety and engage participants in therapeutic healing. Progress and duration of healing is affected by the level of community awareness, the readiness to heal in its individuals, the availability of organizational infrastructure and access to skilled personnel.

Responses to surveys indicated that healing goals are best achieved through services by aboriginal practitioners and longer involvement in counselling. In the big research report given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, they finished the stories that tell harsh truths without flinching, that honour the resilience of individuals and communities who are restoring balance in their lives and that give evidence of a commitment on all sides to transforming relations. They have a chance of becoming part of the grand narrative of Canada.

If the government refuses to fund this exceptional program, that narrative will change. The narrative will be of doors closed again, of dark days and of hopes dashed.

I implore the government to build on the successes of the foundation and make good on the promises that were implicit in the apology in the House, lest that apology be not only judged on the past actions f the Government of Canada but on the future actions of the Conservative government.

Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, before, during and after AHF we will continue to have programs and services available that are aboriginal led at the community level. Why does the member for St. Paul's continue to perpetuate that that is not the case?

We have explained this multiple times this evening. No one has refuted what we are saying. There has been just a complete absence of recognition that we have said something positive. I do not understand it at all.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett:
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the Government of Canada has ever had a series of projects that have been this well evaluated and successful. It is the obligation of the government to fund what works and stop funding what does not work. If the government can show me another series of projects that actually have had the same outcome, I would like them to be tabled in the House. This is the best set of programs we have ever had in this country.

By applying the Law Commission of Canada's economic model on the effects of child abuse, we would find that those intergenerationally impacted cost Canadian society $40 million per year in incarcerations, social services, special education and health.

One little project, the Hollow Water Community Holistic Circle of Healing, indicated that funding for healing is an alternative to incarceration, is cost effective, lowers recidivism and for every $2 spent on a CHCH program, federal and provincial governments save $6 to $16 in incarceration costs. We need to get on with this. It is the right thing to do. It is a whole of government approach. We must do the right thing by our aboriginal peoples.


Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I suppose what we are hearing from the government tonight is that we should trust it because it has a replacement plan in place. It has not shown us the plan and there are no papers or descriptions to the aboriginal communities, to the 134 projects that are ending tomorrow and, more important, to all the people they are servicing, counselling and have built up a trust relationship with over these most incredibly sensitive topics.

We are talking about abuse at a very early age. We are talking about people dealing with addictions. We are talking about folks having a hard time in life that have built up a rapport with this organization, which, everybody agrees, works very well. The government's own report says that it works excellently. My hon. colleague has said that it is one of the best programs the government has ever run.

This foundation works well and is functional but instead the government tells us to trust it because it will let Health Canada do it. Health Canada does not do this kind of work, does not have this relationship and has no rapport with those aboriginal communities we are talking about. It will be doing it on an individual basis when we know from aboriginal communities across this country that while individual counselling is important, community-based and family-based counselling is one of the things that has made this aboriginal program so successful. Now it will undo that very tenet and tell us to trust it but it will not tell us the plan or show us the plan.

Does the member agree that it is possible to trust the government on this issue and how can aboriginal people—

The Deputy Speaker:
The hon. member for St. Paul's.


Hon. Carolyn Bennett:
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. The director of the program from the Minister of Health's riding, Marie Ingram, said that in her Cambridge Bay Community Wellness Centre in Nunavut her staff are panicking. The centre provides a plethora of programs, including services to offenders of anger management and drug counselling. She went on to say:

We saw 190 clients here last month and we won't see next month. Just because our funding stops, the needs don't stop. Right now, I'm just trying to find funding, anywhere and everywhere. ... People should be telling their government that we need this money. They created the social problems here. They should know they take a lot longer to fix.

The Minister of Health has 12 projects in her own riding. What is she going to say to the directors of all these programs? What are the executive directors going to say to their clients, that the funding is not there and there will be no programs and whatever obfuscation the government members are putting forward? Individual people in the midst of their healing will be facing a shut door this spring. This is not fair and it will cost lives.

Ms. Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, a few weathered crosses scar a barren field. The old man who tends to them remembers coming with the religious leaders to bury the small boxes. He has spent a lifetime trying to come to terms with what happened at residential schools, how they shattered his family and how he spent decades trying to rebuild ties. The stolen children, who lay beneath his feet, many friends, never had that chance. Sadly, no one actually knows how many are buried, hundreds if not thousands, their names or how they died. They are the voiceless.

The white crosses paint a bleak picture of a terrible tragedy: children poorly fed, poorly clothed, with little medical help and ideal conditions for the spread of tuberculosis.

One woman remembers being sick along with three other children for days before the religious leaders called for help. When the child came to, the other three beds were empty. The only words, “You are the lucky one. You pulled through”.

I rise today to urge the government to honour the Prime Minister's 2008 apology for the federal government's role in the Indian residential school system with real action, namely to continue funding the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which has been very successful at both achieving its objectives and in governance and fiscal management.

In the 19th century the Canadian government believed it was responsible for caring for and educating the country's aboriginal people. Ideally, children, who were easier to mould than adults, would pass along their new lifestyle of Canadian customs, Christianity and English to their children. Aboriginal traditions would diminish or be abolished in a few generations.

About 150,000 first nations, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend schools. Children were discouraged from speaking their language, and if they were caught doing so they would experience severe punishment. Children rarely had opportunities to see examples of normal family life as brothers and sisters rarely saw one another due to gender segregation. Children were away 10 months of the year. All correspondence was written in English, which many parents could not read.

When children returned to the reserve they often found they did not belong and were even ashamed of their traditions. Frequently they did not have either the skills to help their parents or to function in an urban setting as the skills they learned were often substandard.

As a result of residential abuses suffered in the past, aboriginal people today endure many effects of unresolved trauma, including alcoholism, depression, lack of capacity to build and sustain healthy families and communities, lack of parenting skills, violence, poverty, suicide and weakening or destruction of cultures and languages.

Today some 30% of first nations people have felt blue, depressed or sad for two or more weeks. A statistical profile on the health of first nations in Canada for the year 2000 showed that suicide and self-inflicted injuries were the leading causes of death for first nation youth and adults up to 44 years of age, and first nations youth committed suicide about five to six times more often than non-aboriginal youth.

Tragically, the suicide rate for first nations males was 126 per 100,000 compared to 24 per 100,000 for non-aboriginal males. For first nations females the suicide rate was 35 per 100,000 compared to only 5 per 100,000 for non-aboriginal females. Suicide rates for Inuit youth are among the highest in the world, at 11 times the national average.

Former national chief, Phil Fontaine, has said, “The memories of residential schools sometimes cut like merciless knives at our souls”.

First nations people and Inuit face other serious health related challenges, such as high rates of chronic and contagious diseases and shorter life expectancy.

Compared to the general Canadian population, heart disease is 1.5 times higher, and type 2 diabetes is 3 to 5 times higher among first nations people, and rates are increasing among the Inuit. High rates of diabetes are linked to key health determinants, such as education, employment levels, income, social conditions and access to health care, all impacted by the residential school experience.

While it has been more than 100 years since the former chief medical officer at Indian Affairs sounded the alarm over horribly high rates of tuberculosis in residential schools, TB continues to be a major concern in aboriginal communities. Aboriginal people in Canada face a third world risk of the disease. The tuberculosis rate among status Indians is 31 times higher than that of non-aboriginal Canadians. The rate among Inuit is 186 times that of Canadian born non-aboriginals, equivalent to the rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although not the subject of this debate, the rate of tuberculosis among Canada's aboriginal peoples is an embarrassment that demands a real government strategy, the what, by when and how, and resources. We must call upon the Prime Minister to take immediate action on this 100% preventable disease.

After over 100 years of abuse and neglect, churches implicated in abuse apologized. The United Church of Canada formally apologized to Canada's first nations people in 1986 and offered a second apology in 1998.

Archbishop Peers offered an apology on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada in 1993, stating,

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system which took you and your children from home and family.

Four leaders of the Presbyterian Church signed a statement of apology in 1994 stating:

It is with deep humility and in great sorrow that we come before God and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters with our confession.

In 2009, the Pope expressed his sorrow to a delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations for the abuse and deplorable treatment that aboriginal students suffered.

The Government of Canada finally apologized in June 2008. The government recognized that the assimilation of aboriginal children was wrong, and “has caused great harm and has no place in our country”.

The school's policy and legacy includes social problems that persist in communities today and was profoundly damaging to the language and heritage of aboriginal peoples.

Most important, the Prime Minister said, “We apologize for having done this”, and asked for forgiveness.

Words are not enough. Words must be backed up with action and particularly engaging in a meaningful way with aboriginal community leaders, former residential school students and their families.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides resources that promote reconciliation and encourage and support aboriginal people and their communities in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of cultural, mental, physical, sexual and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts.

In December 2009, INAC released a report that stated,

The Government of Canada should consider continued support for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, at least until the Settlement Agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed.

Will the Prime Minister honour INAC's recommendation and continue the healing so all those who seek healing can access it, so some mothers can build self-esteem, can teach their children and in some cases end the cycle of abuse and addiction?

These programs must be ongoing. It is impossible to erase 150 years, the generations and unspeakable abuses against children without healing. A mistake has been made. Will the government do the morally right thing and restore the funding?

Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member gave us a very moving account of the result of the residential schools that still actually have continued with aboriginal people for generations until today. As she said earlier on, the Prime Minister recognized that in his speech, and I have no reason to doubt that when the Prime Minister made that speech in the House of Commons, he did not mean it with his heart.

What I am suggesting as a physician, and I know the hon. member for St. Paul's is a physician and I know this hon. member has done work with epidemiology in the past, is that if we want to improve healing among aboriginal communities, we would look at what works. We have heard here in the House all evening that in fact transferring our programs into other community-based programs and into Health Canada is going to deal with the issue.

I just want to give some indicators very quickly from a report from the department, INAC, itself. This report came in December 2009, so it is only about three or four months old. It is not an ancient report.

It said the referrals from other health institutions, that is physicians, hospitals and ministries of health in other provinces, to this particular fund has risen 65%. So major institutions are referring to the fund, and there has been a 65% increase in those referrals. We also see, in fact, 40% increased use of the program and that the program has a 15% overhead cost.

Does the member think she can find anything more cost-effective?


Ms. Kirsty Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, I think we all agree that this is such an important program. It is evidence-based, it is cost-effective, and there is almost unanimous agreement among those canvassed that AHF has been very successful at both achieving its objectives and in governance and fiscal management.

The Native Women's Shelter of Montreal held a policy meeting with the leader of the official opposition to call on the federal government to reinstate its support for AHF. The shelter depends on AHF for funding.

The executive director said:

We have been receiving funds from the AHF for the last 10 years, and it goes toward our healing program, and the basics, a roof over the head and food to eat...A lot of people are out of work, and we are going to be grasping at straws now to try to meet the needs of the women.

According to an MLA in Nunavut, many of Nunavut's health and social problems, such as addictions and suicides, have improved. He says:

The momentum towards healing in our communities has begun.

Why take away this program?

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her moving speech and her message about how important it is for all of us, and calling on the government to save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Given the member's speech and the words that we have heard from so many in this House, not just given the good work that we have heard of but to go to the challenges that so many people face in communities across Canada, survivors, their families, young people, if we lose this kind of programming, which after midnight tomorrow will be gone, what will happen to the people who depend on that programming? What will happen to the young people who only have that program to go to in communities in Nunavut? What will happen to the elders who only have that program to go to in their community to share their pain? What will happen to those people, and what will the government say when those young people have nowhere to turn to--

The Deputy Speaker:
Order, please. The hon. member for Etobicoke North.


Ms. Kirsty Duncan:
Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying again that a mistake has been by the government. Will the government do the morally right thing and restore funding?

I will talk again about the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal. The executive director explains:

Your mother didn't go but your grandmother went [to residential schools], so she couldn't raise your mother. It trickles down, and it has resulted in loss of dignity, loss of parenting skills, loss of community, loss of traditional ceremonies.

She states that the people who have suffered these losses cannot be helped by traditional Western healing. She says:

If you carry a lot of grief, your doctor won't prescribe a sweat lodge. But we do, and the women who participate can speak their traditional language and sing traditional songs. It's about releasing the pain in a healthy environment. They come back--

The Deputy Speaker:
Resuming debate, the hon. member for Medicine Hat.

Mr. LaVar Payne (Medicine Hat, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to address the important issue of federal funding of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

My hon. colleagues have already spoken to the legacy that the Indian residential school system has left in Canadian history. Only by working together can Canadians come to terms with our past and create a better future.

Our Conservative government is committed to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools.

Four years ago, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement earned the approval of all key parties: the Government of Canada, former students, churches, the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit organizations. The agreement was the culmination of an exhaustive process of research, conciliation and negotiation.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement features both tangible and symbolic elements. It provides financial compensation, counselling and support services, along with commemorative activities.

The implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is continuing and all Canadians should take pride in this progress. More than $1.5 billion in common experience payments have been made, and more than 99,000 claims have been received.

The independent assessment process has achieved similar success. This out-of-court process aims to resolve claims of physical and sexual abuse suffered at Indian residential schools. So far, more than 15,000 claims have been received, and victims have received more than $270 million in compensation.

Of course, no amount of money can ever hope to compensate for the damage caused by Indian residential schools. All we can do is hope that these funds enable individuals to move forward with their lives and that reconciliation brings aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians a little closer together.

Remember, there is no precedent for such a large-scale reconciliation.

As acknowledged by our Prime Minister, individuals and communities affected by Indian residential schools have been working on recovering from the impact of the residential schools legacy. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has played a leading role in that effort, and for that role we thank it.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was established in 1998 in response to the recommendations arising from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation funded projects to help aboriginal individuals, families and communities to address the effects of abuses and cultural losses suffered as a result of attendance at Indian residential schools.

The Government of Canada appreciates the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's valuable contribution. It is precisely for this reason that the parties to the settlement agreement negotiated an additional $125 million endowment for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. These funds effectively extended the organization's mandate through March 2012 and supports the operation of the foundation's 12 healing centres until that date.

In all, the Government of Canada has contributed a total of $515 million to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation since 1998. The work of the foundation has been significant, providing healing programs and services to address the experiences of survivors of Indian residential schools, their families and communities.

The Government of Canada's decision to fund the Aboriginal Healing Foundation beyond its original mandate demonstrates a commitment to accountability for the legacy of Indian residential schools.

The good work of aboriginal organizations funded by the foundation forms the reconciliation with aboriginal peoples.

The government continues to ensure that the appropriate supports are in place throughout the duration of the settlement agreement. This includes $199 million over two years in budget 2010 for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada to address the increased demand for services due to the common experience payment and the independent assessment process. The bulk of this money, $133.2 million over two years, will cover the greater than anticipated cost of implementing the agreement.

These funds will help Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to manage the independent assessment process and common experience payment. The remainder of the money, $65.9 million over two years, has been allotted to help Canada's Indian residential schools resolution health support program. These programs provide mental health and emotional support services to former students and their families as they participate in the various components of the settlement agreement, such as the independent assessment process and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

It is important to note that this is new money. Budget 2010 does not reallocate funds once allotted to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It is also important to note that these funds enable Canada to fulfill its ongoing legal obligation to provide emotional and mental health supports to former Indian residential school students and their family members as they participate in the various components of the settlement agreement.

Through the resolution health support program, Health Canada provides access to over 1,600 service providers, including professional counsellors, community-based aboriginal workers, elders and traditional healers in every province and territory, in communities throughout Canada. It also provides assistance with the cost of transportation to access services not available in the home community.

This is not a cookie-cutter approach to programming. We recognize the diversity of needs and are responding accordingly. We understand that western-style counselling is not always a preferred service. In fact, while it is important that there is access to psychologists and other counsellors, we are also aware that former students often request to spend time with aboriginal workers from their community or elders who can assist them in their traditional ways.

The resolution health support program is designed to meet these diverse needs. It provides access to community-based cultural and emotional support, as well as professional counselling.

Cultural support services are provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, elders or traditional healers are available to assist former students and their families with specific services determined by the needs of the individual and include dialogue, ceremonies, prayers or traditional healing.

Emotional support services are also provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, an aboriginal community-based worker who has training and experience working with former students of Indian residential schools will listen, talk and support former students and their family members throughout the settlement agreement process.

In addition, the Government of Canada also funds two other initiatives designed to provide support to survivors of Indian residential schools: the national Indian residential school crisis line; and future care, which provides additional funds for counselling of eligible former students. Future care is linked to the independent assessment process. Claimants can apply for funding to cover costs of future treatment or counselling services worth up to $10,000 for general care and up to $15,000 for psychiatric care. To date, the average independent assessment process award is $125,000, and the average future care component is more than $8,000.

The establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is intended to promote reconciliation among all Canadians at both the national and community levels. The creation and preservation of a complete and accurate historical record of the Indian residential school system and its legacy will allow Canadians to confront the past and build a better future. The commission will honour the experiences of former students and their families, pay tribute to their experiences, assign responsibility appropriately and foster healing across the nation.

Further, $20 million has been allocated for ceremonial activities that will promote awareness and public education about the residential school system and its impacts.

Our Conservative government remains committed to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools. This government recognizes that bringing closure to the legacy lies at the heart of reconciliation and renewal of relationships between aboriginal people who attended these schools, their families, communities, and all Canadians.

This government will continue to promote reconciliation for the legacy of Indian residential schools by supporting the settlement agreement. This government also continues to support a range of programs and initiatives that aim to improve the quality of life experienced by aboriginal people in this country.

Canada continues to make significant progress on a broad range of issues that prevent aboriginal people from sharing in the full prosperity of this nation. From specific claims and drinking water to education and family services, a variety of reforms and initiatives are under way.

Tripartite agreements with provinces and aboriginal groups will increase access to programs that are more effective and that respond directly to specific needs. The implementation of a comprehensive northern strategy has generated opportunities for aboriginal people and northerners. Legislation supported by Parliament establishes a specific claims tribunal and extends the protections accorded under the Canadian Human Rights Act to residents of first nations communities.

It is vital that my hon. colleagues consider the issue of Aboriginal Healing Foundation funding in this larger context. This government continues to support a host of programs, initiatives and activities that benefit aboriginal people, including those affected by the legacy of Indian residential schools.


Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, one of the saddest points in the debate tonight for me was when the minister said that we have to look at the fiscal situation of the country when we are cutting this program.

We judge a government by how it deals with the most vulnerable in the country, and why not? What is more important for our government to do, because if not the government, who else? The government should be dealing with those who are frozen in life by the trauma of residential schools, those who cannot continue in life because they have not healed enough to complete their education and therefore cannot raise their families, those who are on the verge of entering the dark world of crime, those on the precipice of falling into the crippling pain of substance abuse, and those who are on the edge of ending their own lives.

Every single member in the House tonight has spoken about this great work for the vulnerable of this country. The most vulnerable should be the highest priority of the government, but the sad thing tonight is that they have been shown to be the lowest priority. This is a terribly bad error in judgment. It is a very sad day for the vulnerable people of this country, and I hope the member will work to rectify that situation.

Mr. LaVar Payne:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to my hon. colleague that this agreement was started in 2007 and had a five year program in place for aboriginal healing. I would like to point out that in addition to that, the Government of Canada has provided another $199 million over the next two years to provide services to aboriginal people. I would also like to point out to the hon. member that we are also continuing the healing centres, 12 of them across the country, and they will continue until 2012. I hope he understands that we are not giving up on this. We are continuing to support this healing process.

Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, keeping 12 out of 134 programs going is a concern to many of us on this side, simply because many of these centres are located in remote and sometimes hard to reach communities. The government has suggested that a 1-800 line is going to compensate for the loss of local counselling, which of course, anecdotally and intuitively, makes no sense whatsoever.

I am not sure if my hon. colleague would have the capacities to answer my question, but I am going to try anyway.

The government oftentimes suggests that it does a cost analysis of any program it either runs or cancels, to understand what the savings would be to Canadians or how it is going to benefit the country. I am wondering if he is aware of any assessment that has been done by his government, by Indian Affairs, Health Canada, the Prime Minister's Office, any department, to study what the cost impacts are going to be on communities when these programs are shut down.

One of the things we have heard, which is in the government's own report, and this is why this is important. The government itself knows that part of the success of the aboriginal healing program has kept people away from some of the more costly government programs such as prisons and addictions services.

Has his government done any assessment at all that he is aware of, assessing the costs to Canadian taxpayers, never mind the human costs but just the costs to Canadian taxpayers, by cutting this program? Is he aware of any such analysis?


Mr. LaVar Payne:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to my hon. colleague across the way that, in fact, the government has put over $515 million into this particular program of settlement, and that has been very beneficial to the aboriginal people in allowing them to certainly be able to grieve, to set up and talk with elders as well as professional help throughout this country.

We are continuing that by providing another $66.9 million to Health Canada in order to ensure that people can continue to have access to the grieving process and to help them in that process.

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across has joined in with his colleagues who, one after the other, have expressed a plan as to what the government is going to do, and that we have heard for the first time.

Not only that, but with speaker after speaker, that plan shifts, whether it is the 1-800 number that is going to be in all the languages, whether it is the transportation that is going to take people to we do not know where, whether it is the NADAP workers who already exist and are already overtaxed with the work that they have in their communities, or the notion that every community has Health Canada employees that do this kind of work, which is patently not the case. Representing 63 communities in northern Manitoba, I can tell members which communities have NADAP workers and which do not.

There is much comfort that the Conservatives are trying to give us with these plans. Where is it in writing? Where is the Minister of Health to tell us this? Where are these answers and how are these answers going to be given in fact form, on paper? When will they be given to first nations, Métis and Inuit people who, after tomorrow, will be left out in the cold, thanks to the government?

Mr. LaVar Payne:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague across the way for her comments--

Mr. Steven Blaney:
Her rant.

Mr. LaVar Payne:
--or her rant or tirade, whatever it happens to be.

However, I would like to point out that our hon. parliamentary secretary has responded to these questions on several occasions and provided the answers that she is looking for. We are continuing to work with the aboriginal community, as well as Canadians right across the land, to help resolve this whole issue of residential schools that has created a bit of a problem for everyone in this whole country.

Mr. Nathan Cullen:
Mr. Speaker, the question was very direct. Apparently the Minister of Health is seizing the day and will take charge of this whole thing but she could not bother to be here for any of the multiple hours of the debate.

The Deputy Speaker:
Order, please. I anticipate that the parliamentary secretary is rising on a point of order that it is unparliamentary to make reference to a member's absence or presence. I will remind the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley again to refrain from doing that.


Mr. Nathan Cullen:
Mr. Speaker, it is important not to mention when members have been absent from a debate that they apparently care so much about that they could not bother to show up to. I will make sure I do not do that again. I suppose the understanding that we have--

Mr. Randy Kamp:
Come on.

Mr. Gerald Keddy:
You want this to be an opposition day.

Mr. Kevin Sorenson:
NDP and three people all night long.

Mr. Nathan Cullen:
This is a remarkable moment actually, Mr. Speaker, to hear the vitriolic words of my colleagues. I would ask my colleague to restrain himself--

The Deputy Speaker:
Order, please. I will allow the hon. member for Skeena--Bulkley Valley a few moments to respond. I will just point out that his reference to the absence or presence of a member and then the way in which he atoned for that mention certainly did cause a great deal of disorder. It is not helping him put his question to do things like that. I will allow him a few moments to finish his question.

Mr. Nathan Cullen:
It is fascinating, Mr. Speaker, that the ire of the government has been raised by a parliamentary procedure and yet it is cancelling the funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation when, by its own assessment, it is doing vital work. This is baffling. In one breath the government says that this was one of our most successful programs, that it worked and that it was cost effective, and in the second breath said that it needed to cancel it and replace it with something else that will not work as well.

Before my colleague gets the speaking points from the centre here, did he manage to do any cost assessment of what cancelling this program means to the Government of Canada--

The Deputy Speaker:
The hon. member for Medicine Hat has less than a minute.

Mr. LaVar Payne:
Mr. Speaker, I certainly am impressed with my colleague across the way with his ranting and raving and his declaration that Health Canada does not seem to be able to provide service to Canadians of all aspects.

I would also like to point out that this agreement was signed by first nations. It was a five year agreement so we are not actually cutting funds. We are actually adding additional funds in the 2010 budget and another $199 million to help this. Part of that money will go to Health Canada to help aboriginal peoples through this process, and I--

The Deputy Speaker:
Order, please. Resuming debate. The hon. member for Vancouver East.

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I will be splitting my time with the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

I am very glad to be rising in the House tonight, even at this late hour, to participate in this emergency debate. The first thing I would like to do is to thank the member for Churchill who applied for this emergency debate, which was granted by the Speaker, and to thank her for bringing this forward so that we could actually participate in this really critical discussion tonight about what is going to happen to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

When the member for Churchill led off the debate at the beginning of the evening, I remember her speaking about the fact that she was not in the House when the historic apology took place on June 11, 2008. I am sure she, like others across the country, was probably in her community with many people who were witnessing that historic occasion.

I remember being here in the House that day. It was a beautiful sunny day. People were gathered outside. I remember hearing the apology. I remember hearing the first nations representatives who came on the floor of the House and spoke. I remember phoning back to my riding of Vancouver East that night and talking to people in the downtown east side who had gathered at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre at Hastings and Commercial.

I remember feeling what they had gone through to some extent. I was not there. I was here. However in talking to people, I heard about the pain that people went through listening to that apology, and the grief, the sense of loss, anguish and trauma that it brought forward.

I also heard from people that they had a sense of hope about what that apology meant. By the fact that it was given by the Prime Minister, the Government of Canada and all parties, it carried this historic weight of something very important.

It is ironic that not quite two years later we are back in this House debating, in an emergency situation, whether or not the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will be able to continue. In fact, it will not be able to continue under the current state of affairs because of the loss of funding.

It is further ironic because the day its funding ends will also be the 50th anniversary of voting rights being extended to aboriginal people in this country.

What is going on here feels totally wrong. We have heard the arguments from the government that all these other programs are going to continue. I have listened to people in my community, people like Jerry Adams who is a very wonderful aboriginal leader in East Vancouver from the Circle of Eagles. He wants to know how anybody can open the doors of pain and not follow up with a healing plan to make it better for the families involved, and how the 400-plus page study that was given to the government about the importance of helping the residential school survivors can be of no importance now.

He went on to say other things as well, but it just struck me that he really has hit the chord there. When we look at the evaluation of community-based healing initiatives supported through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation that was done not very long ago, on December 7, 2009, we see it is a very strong and uplifting evaluation.

The evaluation found that the programs delivered through AHF are cost-effective, in demand, successful in contributing to the “increased self-esteem and pride”, to the achievement of higher education and employment and to prevention of suicide among survivors of residential schools, and more recently in the broader aboriginal community.

It seems really quite incredible that, with the apology that happened not quite two years ago and this kind of program evaluation, we are now in a place where this is all going to shut down.

How many times has this happened before? I was just looking back at my own files of letters we have written.

Whether it is about funding that is potentially being lost for the National Association of Friendship Centres and letters that were written to the ministers, whether it is the Lu'ma Native Housing Society and the fact that they were ready to close their doors and lay off staff because the government would not commit to renew their funding under the national homelessness initiative, whether it was letters we wrote in February of this year to Minister of State for the Status of Women about the fact that the Sisters in Spirit from the Native Women's Association of Canada were left in limbo over their funding, or whether it was that the more than 130 groups delivering these programs through the AHF had to find out through the tabling of the budget, on February 4, that their funding would not be renewed by the end of month, again we have to write another letter.

We keep coming back to this place. It challenges the credibility of that apology. This is why we are now facing such a serious situation in terms of what is happening to aboriginal people across the country and the fact that they are living in appalling conditions.

I find it difficult to talk in the community about this place, the House of Commons, the Canadian Parliament. We all talk about the commitment to what needs to be done. We raise it in question period and we hear about the commitments from the government. Yet we keep coming back to funding losses, cuts and programs that are going to be discontinued, even when they are shown to be successful.

It seriously undermines the belief of not only aboriginal people, but all Canadians in the credibility of their government standing for what it believes in, what it says it is willing to put forward. It stretches the credibility and undermines the legitimacy of the work we do when these promises get broken year after year.

I represent the community of Vancouver East, which includes Downtown Eastside. I have seen first-hand the impact of colonialism, the oppression of aboriginal people through the residential schools system. I have seen the devastation it has had on lives of people, successive generations and the community as a whole.

Each year I participate in the missing women's march on the Downtown Eastside. The 19th annual missing women's march was held on February 14. Many women have gone missing and are presumed murdered, many of them aboriginal.

The whole trauma and horror of what has taken place has manifested in this community. There is an impact on people's lives, whether it is through addiction, homelessness, deepening poverty that is made worse by serious cuts in programs, services and income support. Many people in my community live with that and try to survive day by day. I, as their representative, and other representatives try to deal with that.

Even with that kind of tragedy, I have also seen incredibly powerful initiatives come out of the community. For example, right now at the National Arts Centre is a very amazing play called Where the Blood Mixes, which speaks about the residential schools experience. We are seeing incredible creative expression as people try to engage in a healing process and speak to the broader Canadian society about what has taken place.

I have seen organizations, such as Vancouver Native Health Society, the Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society or the women's centre, that have taken this issue on and have provided support and services to people. People like Gladys Radek or Bernie Williams walked 4,000 kilometres across Canada in a Walk4Justice to raise awareness about the missing and murdered women.

Incredible expressions come out of the community of healing, of reconciliation and of people claiming their place and voice. The very least we can do is ensure the Aboriginal Healing Foundation can continue its mandate to provide the resources at the grassroots to the amazing projects that have taken place across the country.

We either get this or we do not. Either we follow through on these commitments or we have betrayed the aboriginal people of our country. That is a very serious question for the government to consider. I am glad we have had this debate tonight. We hope the government will reflect on this and restore the funding that is needed.

Mr. John Duncan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, after five and half hours of debate at the end of a lengthened day, we have been witness to some high level debate and some debate that was not so high level. However, I think we have served a public interest.

At this time, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the speakers, the questioners, the interested members and the people who have continued to watch all or part of this debate. They have seen a clear demarcation of positions but good will all around.

With that, I will say thanks to all and let the member for Vancouver East handle that in the way she is so good at.

Ms. Libby Davies:
Mr. Speaker, that was not really a question. It was a comment. I guess the question I have is this. What will come of it? That is what is going to be left hanging in this room tonight as we approach midnight.

We have had some fine talk. The member said that some of it was high and low. Whatever it was, we had this debate. What will the consequence of that be? What are our party and other members have said tonight is the government has to rethink its position. It has to see the support for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It has to recognize the evaluation that was done has real meaning and real weight.

It is never too late to say that a second opinion is okay, or that a different decision is okay. Maybe a good decision to continue the work of the foundation will come out of this debate. I think all members of the House would applaud that.

Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, every member in the House spoke in favour of this tonight. All the Conservative members have spoken about how good and successful the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has been. I hope they are able to change the government's mind and reverse the decision as the member suggested.

However, if they are not, this will continue. I put forward and had passed a motion in the aboriginal affairs committee that we would study this indepth. If they have not believed the letters we have read tonight, they will see these witnesses and hear their heartfelt testimony of the devastation that this will cause.

Has the member been as frustrated as I have been tonight in the debate, not with the members opposite, but with the propositions that have been put forward? I think the parliamentary secretary put it best when he said that they do not understand. As the minister said, there are pieces of a puzzle and each piece is some healing. There is Health Canada. There are the suicide programs. All of these programs are continuing. They made that point. They are continuing on in their role, which is wonderful.

The speeches written by the departments described all these pieces of the puzzle that will still be there because they will not cancelled. Unfortunately, the big chunk out of the middle, a unique healing program with thousands of clients, is being cancelled and there has been no description of what is going to happen to them. That is what has been sad and frustrating about the debate.

Ms. Libby Davies:
Mr. Speaker, I want to know whether Healing Our Spirit BC Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Society in east Vancouver, will be able to continue its work. That is as real as it is. It is doing incredible work. It is working with people. It has the expertise, the programs and the support in the community. However, as of tomorrow, it will be unable to do that work.

I know this issue is not going to go away. I know the member knows that and we will continue to raise it. However, there is an opportunity here for the government to rethink its position, do the right thing and ensure that the mandate, funding and work of this foundation continues.

Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that it is a pleasure to engage in the debate but unfortunately the circumstances are not ideal because we are talking about something going away that I think there is general agreement worked and was effective, and that was the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

I found myself caught up in the passions of this conversation and frankly the anger I feel about this because I am thinking about the human impact about what we are here talking about tonight.

We are meant to speak to these things in civil tones with one another, understand each other's points of reasons and debate the rhetoric and yet the human side of this conversation cannot be ignored. What will happen to people starting tomorrow when they no longer can find the services that for some folks were what were keeping them alive, that were so vital and able to continue a healing process, of something that we as a country have officially admitted was a devastating impact on an entire culture, an entire people?

In the northwest of British Columbia where I come from there are six service centres operating over a range of 300,000 square kilometres. It was not like we were tripping over them while walking around the northwest of B.C. They were servicing huge areas, some of them as big as a country, and these centres will be closed. The folks who were going to these centres trying to get their lives in order and trying to work through things will not be able to do that anymore.

We have heard from government members that there is some program out there that they cannot produce or show us. It says that it exists but no one believes it because it is a simple trust exercise.

One can forgive the first nations people of Canada for lacking a little bit of trust in the government and, frankly, any government. The simple “trust us” will not cut it.

I really hope the parliamentary secretary takes this back to the Minister of Health who engages with the first nations communities and actually presents them with a plan, shows them where the centres will be and where the resources will be for people. Otherwise we will drop them and, if we drop them, that is worse than anything else.

I hear members saying that it is all there. Where is it ? We are looking for the plan, the dates, the spending and the services that will be there so I can tell my constituents, the people who have been going to these service centres, where they go next when those doors are locked tomorrow morning. Where is the service? If it is not there, then the government should be ashamed.

The government should only hope and pray that it has evaluations on its programs, like the evaluation it received on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, an evaluation that came back and said, “Great work, effective, taking on a difficult problem, a challenging problem of how to heal a people, not just at the individual level”, which the government says is the only cure, “but at the family and community level”, which first nations have said time and again that this is the path forward and have asked that we listen to them. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was a program that did this.

I am not sure if there are many hon. members here tonight or have been engaged in this debate who have actually attended an Aboriginal Healing Foundation forum. This is a powerful, moving and humbling thing to go through when one stands side by side with somebody who day in and day out listens to difficult, tragic, impossible stories and yet goes to work the next day to help folks out.

In the strangest of ironies, the day the Prime Minister stood in his place here, that in my riding, in my region it was the Aboriginal Healing Foundation that hosted forums for first nations people, feasts and discussions to talk about the apology, to discuss it and in fact to celebrate it, despite all the years of evidence showing that the Government of Canada may not be trustworthy.

We all remember that when the Prime Minister stood up, a circle was made here with the leaders of the first nations, Inuit and Métis communities of Canada. The Prime Minister sat with them in the circle along with the Leader of the Opposition and said, in words that felt sincere, that we apologize and that we are sorry. When the apology came forward it was an honest and normal expectation for people to have who were affected by this that there would be action to follow.

My friend from Vancouver East read out the many accolades for this program, The government spent money on this program and it did an assessment of the program. The assessment came back showing that the program was cost effective and was helping to reduce the amount of suicides in a community. The natural inclination for any government, right wing or left wing, it should not matter, should be to say that a cost effective program that is keeping people from killing themselves should be supported and continued, regardless of what was said in 2005.

It is working, and tomorrow it stops working.

I am thinking of the people who go to those programs, the people who attend those sessions. They do not have anything else. That is the point.

Members of Parliament can talk all they want about protocol and discussion and civility, but they should go out into the communities and sit in the villages. I represent communities with 85% and 90% unemployment. It is devastating. My colleague from Vancouver Island faces similar circumstances. If the city of Ottawa were in a similar circumstance, I would give it three months before there was chaos, before there was a tragedy. Can we imagine Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal having 80% unemployment? Yet the communities are somehow managing to survive, despite extremely difficult financial circumstances and social circumstances, some of which was put upon them, such as the residential schools. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is meant to be a mark of that.

This Truth and Reconciliation Commission is going across the country, including to some of the communities in my riding. The idea is that is going to open things up. Part of the idea was to support the healing that was going to be required once these truth and reconciliation meetings happened. The community-based, family-based counselling is simply not going to be there.

I think we can stand together on certain things. Oftentimes in this place people look to right and left, but oftentimes there is right and wrong. Tonight we are faced with a question of right and wrong.

We have a program which, by the government's own admission, works. It is effective. For the life of me, I will not be able to explain to the constituents I represent, the people who are attending those programs, who are getting the help that they need, that their government has a plan in place but it just does not seem to have it ready. How will I explain to them that the counsellor they have been working with for years and with whom they have developed trust, support and safety is just not going to be there? The government said that yes, the program worked and yes, it was effective, but it did not want to release the report until the day after it cut its funding.

I am sorry, but it is difficult to tell Canadians that this is some sort of circumstance of timing and a date on the calendar, that we held this report for so many months, this report that said this was effective, but we had to wait until we had the budget and cut the funding to that program in order to tell people about it. Come on. We can do better than that.

At the end of the day, the dignity that first nations people present themselves with, the struggles they are going through on a community-by-community basis, on a family-by-family basis, they need support. They are willing to work with us. They are willing to trust again and again and again, but it is difficult when a government comes forward with a program that works, by every admission, a program that is effective and then turns to the aboriginal people and says, ”Trust us again. We cut this out from under you. We are going to replace it with a 1-800 line and some program that we haven't articulated, but you have got to trust us. We will be there for you”.

It is a bit difficult and it is a bitter pill to swallow for first nations people from coast to coast to coast.

The government must reconsider this position. It must reconsider what it has done. It can afford this. We can do this. We can continue this program and effectively service aboriginal people who are dealing with the most trying circumstances. I implore the government to see reason.

The Deputy Speaker:
It being midnight, I declare the motion carried.

Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until later this day, Wednesday, at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24.

(The House adjourned at 12:00 a.m.)

[admin]

So why did the Harper government decide not to extend funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?

The following is from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Ms. Aideen Nabigon (Director General, Settlement Agreement Policy and Partnerships, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development):
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to come here today to discuss the government's commitment to mental health and emotional support under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

The government is committed to a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of residential schools and recognizes that bringing closure to the legacy lies at the heart of reconciliation and a renewal of the relationships between aboriginal people who attended these schools, their families and communities, and all Canadians.

This commitment is embodied in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Implementation of the settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007, following the consensus reached between legal counsel for former students, legal counsel for the churches, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit organizations, and the Government of Canada.

The Government of Canada is continuing to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations under the settlement agreement by providing mental health and emotional support services to former students and their family members participating in the common experience payment, the independent assessment process, and Truth and Reconciliation Commission activities. Canada will provide these support services throughout the life of the settlement agreement.

The government has provided the following health support services to former students participating in all phases of the settlement agreement: an endowment of $125 million to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for community-based healing services; health and emotional support services to former students and their family members through Health Canada's resolution health support program; and additional initiatives designed to support survivors, including the national Indian residential school crisis line, at a cost of $5 million per year, and future care awards for treatment or counselling services through the independent assessment process.

Mr. Yvon Lévesque (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, BQ):
Could you please speak a little more slowly, Ms. Nabigon, for the benefit of the interpreters?

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Oui, bien sûr.

In addition to the $125 million provided under the settlement agreement, the Government of Canada endowed the Aboriginal Healing Foundation with $350 million in 1998 and a further $40 million in 2005, for a total of $515 million. The last endowment of $125 million was for a five-year period, to 2012, as described in the healing foundation's corporate plan, released in December 2009. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is currently implementing the wind-down strategy described in that plan.

The Government of Canada commends the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for the work it has done over the last 12 years; however, the foundation's annual report and corporate plan make it clear that it was not intended to be a permanent organization.

It is also important to note that budget 2010 funds for Health Canada have not been reallocated from funds that were previously intended for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Budget 2010 committed $66 million in additional resources to the resolution health support program over fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12. The additional funding is to meet the demand for program services resulting from the increased volume of independent assessment process applications and hearings, and for upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission events.

Budget 2010 also committed additional resources of $133 million to INAC. So far, our original projections remain valid with respect to the number of CEP applications received and paid out. To date, $1.5 billion has been paid out.

However, when the agreement was reviewed by the courts in 2006, they added an intermediate step in the appeal process, called “reconsideration”. This is a review, performed by INAC, of the initial research, including any new information provided by the applicant. Approximately 24,500 requests for reconsideration have been received, of which over 95% have been processed.

The reconsideration process was not originally forecast and added to the cost of processing common experience payment applications, especially since more detailed research is required. Originally, the projection established in 2006 for the total number of claims to be submitted under the independent assessment process was 12,500; as of March 31, over 15,000 claims had been received, so the forecast for the remainder of the agreement until September 2012 has been revised upward to 21,000.

Another key component of the settlement agreement is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission will hold the first of its seven mandated national events this June at The Forks in Winnipeg. The Government of Canada is committed to accompanying former students and their families at this event. The federal government will participate fully in this and future events and will ensure that emotional and health support services are provided through Health Canada's resolution health support program.

In addition, we will continue to work with the commission on the $20-million commemoration program that is part of the settlement agreement.

At this point, I'll turn the microphone over to my colleague from Heath Canada, who will provide you with more details on the resolution health support program.

Thank you.

The Chair:
Thank you, Ms. Nabigon.

Go ahead, Ms. Langlois.


Ms. Kathy Langlois (Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health):
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the invitation to appear before you and for the opportunity to respond to any questions the committee may have.


In follow-up to my colleague's presentation, I will describe Health Canada's Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program to you and the steps we have taken to support former Indian Residential School students and their families, including current action to reach out to clients of Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects.

Through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the Government of Canada is responsible for providing mental health and emotional support services to former students of Indian residential schools and their family members as they participate in the common experience payments, the independent assessment process, Truth and Reconciliation Commission events, and commemoration activities.

Health Canada provides mental health and emotional supports through the resolution health support program, which includes a range of culturally safe services for eligible former students and their families to address issues related to Indian residential schools, as well as the disclosure of abuse, throughout the settlement agreement process.

The resolution health support program comprises four elements: cultural supports, emotional supports, individual and family counselling, and transportation assistance.

Cultural support services are provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, elders or traditional healers are available to assist former students and their families. Specific services are determined by the needs of the individual and include dialogue, ceremonies, prayers, and traditional healing.

Emotional support services are also provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, an aboriginal community-based worker, who has training and experience working with former students of Indian residential schools, will listen, talk, and support former students and their family members throughout the settlement agreement process. These community-based workers are of aboriginal descent and many speak aboriginal languages.

Access to professional counsellors is available for those who need their services. Professional counsellors are psychologists and other mental health professionals, such as social workers, who are registered with Health Canada and who have experience working with aboriginal people. A professional counsellor will listen, talk, and assist former students to find ways of healing from residential school experiences.

In addition to these services, assistance with the cost of transportation is provided so that an individual can access professional counsellors or traditional healers if they are not available in the individual's home community.

Through this program, Health Canada provides access to over 1,600 service providers, including counsellors, community-based aboriginal workers, elders, and traditional healers, in every province and territory in communities throughout Canada.

As a result of a greater number of common experience payment applications and increased rates of independent assessment process hearings, demand for the resolution health support program has increased significantly in recent years. Program expenditures have steadily increased as we have provided service to more people: from $5.1 million in 2006-07 to approximately $37 million in 2009-10.

Budget 2010 announced an additional $66 million over two years for the resolution health support program. This new money, plus the existing program budget, will result in a total budget of $47.6 million in 2010-11 and $46.8 million in 2011-12, allowing us to meet the demand for services under the settlement agreement, including the commencement of Truth and Reconciliation Commission events.

The resolution health support program is one of several mental health and addictions programs funded by the federal government that provide important community-based services to first nations and Inuit families.

Health Canada provides over $200 million in funds annually for mental health and addictions services to first nations and Inuit communities through a variety of programs, including: the national native alcohol and drug abuse program and the national youth solvent abuse program, which provide both residential treatment services in over 60 facilities and community-based prevention programming in over 550 communities; the Brighter Futures and Building Healthy Communities programs, which address mental wellness issues and crisis intervention programming, with funding provided directly to communities to support action on their own mental health priorities in over 600 communities; and the national aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy, which provides support for over 200 communities for youth mental health and suicide prevention strategies.

Also, there is the non-insured health benefits program, which supports a short-term mental health crisis counselling benefit to first nations and Inuit clients across Canada.

Health Canada recognizes the important work the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has funded over the past 12 years. Since the budget 2010 decision that no further funding would be provided for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Health Canada has focused on ensuring that all eligible former students and their families who have received services from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation have access to the health support services provided by Health Canada through the resolution health support program.

Health Canada is proactively responding to the needs of these former students and their families by increasing awareness of the resolution health support program and by ensuring access to this program. With regard to increasing awareness, prior to the end of Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects on March 31, 2010, Health Canada's regional directors wrote to or made direct contact with the managers of AHF projects to make them aware of the process to refer their clients to the services offered by the resolution health support program.

This effort to raise awareness is in addition to other ongoing activities. For instance, since 2007, over 420,000 brochures describing the program have been sent directly to former students, band offices, community health centres, native friendship centres, nursing stations, treatment centres, and many other meeting places across the country.

Health Canada is also working to increase access to underserved communities that were previously served by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects. We're doing this by identifying communities with high numbers of eligible former students and low rates of resolution health support program demand, and negotiating new service agreements to provide health supports in communities with former Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects, consistent with the resolution health support program criteria, to build on the staff and services previously funded by the foundation.

In Nunavut, for example, on March 26, 2010, Health Canada officials met with the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre, the Kivalliq Outreach Program, and Coral Harbour Men's Group in Rankin Inlet regarding the need to ensure continuity of services. As a result of this meeting, the groups are collaborating with Health Canada to develop a viable funding proposal to provide resolution health support program services. Initial contact has also been made with projects in the Kitikmeot region--Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk--and Qikiqtaaluk--Iqaluit--as well as with the Government of Nunavut.

In British Columbia, two of the 17 former AHF projects operating in the province have contacted the department to explore ways to continue to provide services in their communities.

These are some examples of how Health Canada is responding. Our most recent update is that there are in play 60 new or amended contribution agreements to respond to the needs of former students in relation to Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects.

Health Canada's Regional Offices will continue to work with those former Aboriginal Healing Foundation Projects located in areas of high need that have low Resolution Health Support Program uptake, to explore how these local aboriginal organizations can provide services consistent with the Resolution Health Support Program criteria.


These steps demonstrate the Government of Canada's commitment to ensuring that former students are aware of and have access to mental health and emotional support services. The government remains dedicated to supporting communities, families, and individuals to recover from trauma to support their full participation in Canadian society.


The Chair:
Thank you, Ms. Langlois.

We will now go to questions from members.

You have seven minutes, Mr. Bagnell.


Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.):
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the committee for agreeing to this important study I have asked for.

Thank you to the witnesses for coming here today. It's a great program, obviously, from the evaluation, and we have to keep that work going.

You gave us some figures from Health Canada on the resolution health support program for the three years of 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12. Can you tell me how many clients you had for each of those three years?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
I don't have the exact client data with me. I have more financial data with me, so I could tell you how some of the money has been spent according to those--


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Could you get back to the committee?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes, absolutely.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
You also outlined the great point that $33 million had been added for this year and next year and that $37 million was spent last year. The $33 million of new money added to the $37 million makes $70 million for this year, but you said there is only $47.6 million. Why does it not add up?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
There was $37 million spent in 2009-10. The $33 million is for 2010-11. When you add that to the $14 million or so that we already have, you get about $47 million that is available. If you take the difference between the $37 million and the $47 million, we have about $10 million additional to spend this year.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Sorry--come again?

You said there was $37 million spent last year...?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So if we just carried on with the regular money, there'd be $37 million this year. The budget added $33 million new, so $33 million and $37 million makes $70 million. You added it up to $47 million.

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Okay. The $37 million was spent last fiscal year, 2009-10. The $66 million we got over two years is for this fiscal year that we're in right now, split between two years. So $33 million and $33 million--

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Yes--new money to add to the $37 million every year.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
No, to $14 million that we already had in the base, so $14 million plus $33 million is $47 million, and that compares to the $37 million that we spent last year.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, with 134 organizations, some of them with over 1,000 clients, needed $25 million a year to deal with all those clients. You're increasing it by $10 million, from $37 million to $47 million, basically. How are you going to deal with all those clients with less than half the money?


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
What we are doing is looking at each individual project. We have reached out to all the Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects. We are going to be serving the clients based on the criteria of our program. We have different criteria. Our program provides counselling with elders, traditional healers, emotional support, and professional counselling.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provided things on top of that, which we aren't going to be in a position to fund, so we do not expect to fully replace the $134 million.
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Hon. Larry Bagnell:
That's very good. Thank you. Because we've been saying all along that there would be a lot of things that won't carry on if this Aboriginal Healing Foundation doesn't go ahead, so I thank you for clarifying that and agreeing with what we've been saying.

I have another question about your speech from INAC. I'm not sure if it says this exactly, but it kind of implies that for the foundation's corporate plan, the money went to 2012, and the corporate plan is leading to that wind-down to 2012, and that's what the Aboriginal Healing Foundation wants.

My colleague, Mr. Russell, has the corporate plan here. Instead of what you said--winding down, with all the money gone like it is right now, and profiled to be nothing after 2012--their corporate plan actually says, and I'll quote: “To this end, we have approached Government for a $125 million funding commitment to help us extend healing projects another three years, to March 31, 2013—closer to the anticipated end of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s mandate”.

That is what's in the corporate plan. Maybe that's what you should be referencing.

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
The healing foundation did request an additional $125 million in budget 2010, but the corporate plan planned for the eventuality that they didn't get it.

They have made a decision--and I understand the healing foundation will be presenting after us--to continue to fund, as I understand it, 12 healing centres until 2012. They've shut down the 134 projects.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
You kind of pre-empted my next question by giving the very good answer that obviously you can't do all the things the healing foundation can do, but let's try it geographically.

Are there areas--for instance, I know I have one in Watson Lake in the Yukon--where Health Canada does not have an office but where some of these 134 projects across Canada may now exist and where people can come in the door? Just for the record, of course, as a lot of committee members have said, some of these healing foundation projects are so local and so comfortable that people go there who wouldn't go to other government programs.

But just geographically...?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Well, first, let me start by saying that the resolution health support program is available to all eligible former students and their family members by contacting the 800 number in their region. Once that contact is made, the regional coordinator in the region will ensure that services are provided according to the criteria of the program: elder supports, emotional supports, or para-professional supports. If travel is necessary, that will also be arranged--

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So you'll go to any community in Canada.

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Anybody in any community who's eligible under the settlement agreement has access to this program. It--


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So in spite of the fact that we're being cut from $25 million a year to $10 million, you're going to add all this travel across Canada out of that limited amount of money. There will be even less services than 40%.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Well, we are trying to find efficiencies by looking at where the healing foundation projects were offered and where we didn't have a presence--

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So do you think they didn't do their best to be efficient?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Absolutely not. I think the efficiencies are in the way that you describe all these costs. What we're going to try to do is cut down on travel costs by looking at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects and saying, “This makes sense for us to actually enter into a contribution agreement with a local organization because there are enough former students and family members to justify a project, according to our criteria”. Then we would enter into a contribution agreement. So we wouldn't be flying people all over the country.

It's efficiencies in our program that I was meaning--not in comparison to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.


The Chair:
All right then.

We will now hear from either Mr. Lévesque or Ms. Deschamps.

Go ahead then, Mr. Lévesque.

Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
Good day, ladies. I say ladies, because all of our witnesses today happen to be women.

As you know, things work a little differently in Quebec. Your report does not contain any statistics on the Inuit of Nunavik, or on the James Bay Cree.

Have you entered into agreements of some kind with the provincial government, or do you deal directly with the communities in order to manage the program?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
In Quebec's case, we have a total of 19 contribution agreements with provincial organizations. I believe we are also in the process of concluding an agreement with Nunavik—and we'll monitor these developments—and one with the Cree as well. We are in discussion with officials from the Cree Board of Health and Social Services, which serves Mistissini, Waswanipi, Chisasibi and Eastmain. We are concluding contribution agreements with these organizations as part of our program.

Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
So then at this point in time, there are no actual agreements in place. You note on page 5 of your report, Ms. Langlois, that the deadline for completing projects funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation is March 31. That deadline has already passed.

Will other initiatives be considered, or was that date merely the deadline for submitting projects that will be carried out at a later date?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
As a matter of fact, we are in discussion to secure contribution agreements. So then, it is possible that we might encounter some service delays at this time.


Ms. Johanne Deschamps:
This is the first time I have attended a meeting of this committee, so my question might seem somewhat simplistic to you.

What conditions must be present in order for a claim to be reconsidered? Is the applicant in fact the one who requests a review of his claim? I see that a number of requests for reconsideration have been made.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
I don't understand your question about requests for reconsideration.

Ms. Johanne Deschamps:
Can a person ask that his claim be reconsidered, for various reasons unbeknownst to me? I'm not sure if you were the one who mentioned it, but we heard that 24,500 requests for reconsideration had been received. That's quite an impressive number.


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Yes. There has been.... In 2006, a year after we started implementing the common experience payments, the courts decided to add a step in the appeals process. Applicants who have had their applications denied for various reasons can go to the national administrative commission, or committee, for an appeal. The courts added a step before that called reconsideration, during which they apply to INAC. It's an internal INAC process.

They ask us to take another look at their claim. They provide us with two additional pieces of information, and that can be about the school they went to, their teachers, their classmates, just something to help us verify the claim that they did in fact go during the time period that they said they went. It's just an extra step in the appeal process before it goes to the national administrative committee.

Ms. Johanne Deschamps:
The fact is that people have been receiving help from the Foundation for many years now, for at least 12 years, if not more. As of the end of March, the Foundation is no longer receiving any funding. This could create some confusion for the aboriginal population that is accustomed to working with the Foundation. Even though you work to get a lot of information out to them, there will probably be some confusion for a while, as people wonder who they can turn to for assistance. The Foundation was an independent body but now, people will have to turn to the government.

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Mr. Chair, there's some confusion between the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which was delivering healing supports to survivors, and the common experience payment process, which is a payment for individuals who went to residential schools. It pays them, based on a formula, for their experience--their loss of language and culture at the schools. That's what the reconsideration process is for. It has nothing to do with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is a separate part of the settlement agreement. It was provided with $125 million. My colleague from Health Canada is speaking about the process they're going through to try to ensure that clients who have been receiving services under the healing foundation are now able to get services through Health Canada. That's a separate part of the settlement agreement.
next intervention previous intervention

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Mr. Chair, I would add that as individuals are going through the reconsideration process, because that does tend to cause some needs for mental health and emotional supports, our program is there to support them. Our program is available.

The Chair:
Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Deschamps.


Now let's go to Ms. Crowder.

Thank you for helping us with that little technical problem. I think we're okay now.

Go ahead, Ms. Crowder, for seven minutes.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP):
Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming today.

When I was reviewing things like the annual report from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and other material, it seemed evident that the mandate of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was to have community-based healing projects in place. When I look at the mandate of the Health Canada program, it appears very much individually driven. Based on that, it seems that they have two separate focuses.

I'm not clear on how you think the Health Canada program is going to replace that community-based initiative. It's not evident to me in the presentation you made, nor in the Health Canada information.


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Do you want to explain your program and the differences?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Sure. Our program is individual- and family-based for those who are eligible under the residential settlement agreement to receive our services. When we work in a contribution agreement setting, it's possible to do group counselling as well.

However, you should appreciate we are not going to be able to go as far as the community-based types of approaches that the healing foundations had. Nonetheless--


Ms. Jean Crowder:
It's clearly going to be a different approach in terms of healing. I want to just come back to the Health Canada site for a second, because you've outlined that it would be a former student, regardless of status or place and all those kinds of things. Then I see that they have to call the health regional office, so already they don't have local community support. They're going to be calling a 1-800 number.

I don't know what your experience has been, but my experience has been that in many of these rural or remote communities telephone access is uncertain sometimes, and calling a 1-800 number is not the way people who may or may not be in crisis will reach out.

So they'll call a 1-800 number and they'll have their counsellor or therapist submit a treatment plan. Of course, that's presuming that they have a counsellor or therapist in their community. That will include the number of sessions and costs of treatment, developed based on an assessment of your needs, obtaining approval from Health Canada before treatment begins, and so on.

I guess what I'm seeing is that rather than it being community-based, where someone can go into their local centre and get immediate assistance, they're going to phone a number and get referred to a counsellor who may or may not live in the area. Then there's a transportation issue in terms of them having to leave the community.

And to determine whether there's a treatment plan that's going to be acceptable to Health Canada..... Again, with respect, in regard to other professionals who are dealing with Health Canada, some of those professionals are withdrawing their services because of the rigmarole they have to go through in order to be paid by Health Canada: dentists, pharmacists....

So explain to me how this is going to meet a community-based approach for people who may or may not be in crisis.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
What you've described represents about 13% of the spending in our program. Fully two-thirds of the spending in our program is for resolution health support workers and cultural service providers, that is, elders and traditional healers.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
So you're saying those people will be on the ground and able to respond immediately.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
What I'm saying is that if an individual needs to connect to the program and has not already connected to it, they may find out about their program in their community from their nursing station, from the NNADAP worker, or from the other community workers in the community. To connect to the program, they do need to call the regional office, but the regional office will put them in contact if they say they want to see an elder. The regional office will assess whether there are elder services already in that community. If not, they'll try to connect them up.

Where there's a critical mass of a demand, such as we are seeing now with the loss of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects, we are prepared to enter into contribution agreements to provide those services locally.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
We're not talking about the same kind of service that people currently have through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. That's clear. There will be more steps involved. There will be more back and forth; it just isn't going to be the same kind of service.

With the evaluation that was done, it seemed that the program was highly regarded. I wonder why we would replace a service that was working with something that may not work. I don't understand that.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation, in this report, indicated back in 2001 that there were 1,500 individual communities and approximately 60,000 individual participants, and by the time 2009 rolled around, there were 140 contribution agreements. Clearly there were large numbers of people who were being adequately provided service under this program. Why would we can it?

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Mr. Chair, the healing foundation was never intended to be a permanent organization.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
I understand that. I think most of us here understand that it was a sunsetted program. By the government's own putting forward of additional moneys to deal with some of the dispute resolution processes, it acknowledged that in terms of the residential school situation the participants and their families had not fully gone through healing processes--because there was more money.

So we all understand that the program was sunsetted, but the question is, why would we not have extended the funding for a program that was working in dealing with the residential school survivors, their families, and their communities? What's the rationale? I don't understand.


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Mr. Chair, the parties to the settlement agreement negotiated funding for all parts of the settlement agreement, including the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It was through that negotiation process by the legal counsel for the churches, for the students—

Ms. Jean Crowder:
Again, I understand all of that. I understand the legal negotiations and the residential schools settlement, but I still am not clear why we would sunset a program that was working.

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Well, the healing foundation continues to exist until 2012.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
For 12 projects only.

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
For 12 healing centres.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
That's right.

I'm just looking for an answer, because when we had the emergency debate in the House, everybody got up and said what a wonderful program it was, so I can't find a good reason to not extend it.

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
The obligation under the settlement agreement for the Government of Canada is to provide health and healing services, which it will continue to do. The Government of Canada will continue to fulfill its obligations under the settlement agreement through the resolution health support program.

The Chair:
Thank you, Ms. Crowder.

Now we'll go to Mr. Rickford for seven minutes.

Mr. Rickford, go ahead.

Mr. Greg Rickford (Kenora, CPC):
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses. I want to say that you do great work.

As somebody who was involved in this as a signatory for more than 900 survivors, from the outset of this process, what we have seen overall is a fully integrated process, from the largest class action settlement in the history of the western world, to say the very least, the common law.

And in the implementation, it's worth pointing out that this government has, in many instances, gone above and beyond what they actually agreed to as signatories to that agreement. Certainly we saw in the last budget an infusion of resources into a couple of key areas, and binding on that agreement, people were fully aware of some of the programs that were going to come to an end or sunset. I think it's important to point out that there are a number of healing centres that do important work through the AHF that will continue.

I know I don't share the views of some of my colleagues that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation necessarily got to all of the communities or constituents that it intended to. That may be somewhat overinflated, but I do know, with more than 25 isolated and remote first nations communities, that I have a tremendous respect for the work of the resolution health support program, because it's actually intended to deal more uniquely with survivors and their families, and it's delivered through elders, which is an underlying community concept or component to it.

Furthermore, with respect to the future care plan, I want to revisit an issue that you did very well at describing for one of my colleagues here. The four overarching components of the agreement were: the common experience payment; the individual assessment program, which has been called something different previously--ADR; the Aboriginal Healing Foundation; and truth and reconciliation.

As a component of the IAP, I think it's worth pointing out that the future care plan--and I've written hundreds of these--was actually intended to, again, deal with specific emotional and psychological needs of the survivor. That did in fact involve, at times, the participation of family members and the broader community, providing, within the criteria of the future care plan, that the emphasis was on the healing of the survivor.

Would that be a fair statement, Aideen?

Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Absolutely.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
To that end, I think the health committee has looked at some important work around the resolution program. There was a 2006 mid-term evaluation of the Indian residential school national resolution framework. It found that 90% of claimants who responded to a survey utilized one or more of the health support services that were in fact funded by Health Canada.

Can you confirm that, Kathleen?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes, I can.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
It also found that “93% of the survey respondents indicated that their experience was safer and more supportive as a result of the health services provided” and that, furthermore, the participation of elders in those programs was key to its success.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Absolutely.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
I think it's more important, or as important, that 89% of the claimants who received counselling indicated that the resolution process was a positive experience.

So quantitatively and qualitatively, we have data here, driven by our own health committee, that support unequivocally, in fact, that many of the programs Health Canada was offering and were integrated into this agreement at one point or another are quite complementary to the work that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has done.

In fact, I understand, Kathy, that you are doing a best practices approach in terms of how you're refining some of the programs that you're going to deliver in communities across Canada. Is that true?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
We are always looking to base our programs on evidence, so we continually do an evidence-based review and amend our programs as necessary. For example, with regard to the item you cited there, when we did the mid-term evaluation in 2006, we heard from former students that elder support services and traditional healing were key, so we ensured that in future funding we would build in significant amounts for that.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
I think it is important here for everybody to understand that in addition to what the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was intended to accomplish during the time span that was indicated in the agreement and signed on to by all stakeholders--and most importantly, the survivors, as they may have been represented by legal counsel and of course the AFN--the work that Health Canada is doing is going a long way to address one of the things that I saw first-hand we were missing out on through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which was that our isolated communities, ones that were not accessible by road, had a mechanism.

You mentioned the nursing station. I spent a number of years working in more than 30 of them across Canada as a nurse, prior to my legal career.

We understand that this was an important link for survivors and their families. Many of them deal with the nursing station almost every day in some way, shape or form to get connected to a different kind of service that may be focused on their specific needs or the specific residual needs of their family with respect to the residential school survivor legacy. Is that a fair statement?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes. In fact, that is why we ensured that the information on our program is available in many of the community sites, including the nursing stations.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
Thank you.

How much time do I have?


The Chair:
You still have about 40 seconds. I know you're not used to the seven-minute time spot.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
Because we have 40 seconds, Aideen, could you just build on your perspective as director general on what the future care plan activities have historically intended to accomplish? Maybe you could give us a couple of examples for the benefit of the members here to show what an important part of the healing recovery legacy we're engaged in.


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Sure. The future care award, which is paid out through the independent assessment process and negotiated as part of that process, includes $10,000 for counselling or treatment and up to $15,000 if it includes psychiatric care. The average payments to date have been about $8,200. The average IAP payment is $125,000.


The Chair:
Okay.

Thanks to both of you.

I'm sorry. Did I cut in there? Were you finished?


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
No, you didn't. Thanks.


The Chair:
Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Rickford.

Now let's go to Mr. Russell. Then there will be one final question by Mr. Dreeshen.

Mr. Russell.


Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.):
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for coming and meeting with us on this very important issue.

Very quickly, when does the mandate of the resolution health support program end? Is there an end to your mandate?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Our mandate is to provide supports throughout all phases of the settlement agreement, so there are common experience payments, the independent assessment process, truth and reconciliation—


Mr. Todd Russell:
Is there an end date?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
At this point in time, I think the end date for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, if I'm not mistaken—


Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
It's 2014.


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
—is 2014. I think that's as far as we go.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Okay. Have you undertaken an evaluation of your particular program, the resolution health support program?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Can that evaluation be shared with the committee?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes, absolutely. The evaluation we were talking about just now was conducted in 2006, and all evaluations are posted on the web. We definitely—


Mr. Todd Russell:
Has there been no evaluation since 2006?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
At this point, there hasn't been. The last one was in 2006. We redesigned the program in 2007 to be consistent with the provisions of the settlement agreement, and we built the recommendations into the program at that time. We've seen a consistent growth in that program, year over year, of over 100%.


Mr. Todd Russell:
But there's been no formal evaluation since 2006? The most recent evaluation for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was done in 2009 by INAC. INAC said it was a great program. It was doing great work. It was efficient. It was all these types of things. Would you say that the programs that the AHF offered and what you offer are complementary programs in many regards?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
That, indeed, is how we have described them. The resolution health support program provides professional counselling, cultural supports, and elder supports.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Would you agree that there is some validity in offering these complementary approaches to some very complex issues?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
What we are doing now is following through on the government's commitment under the settlement agreement to ensure that these services—


Mr. Todd Russell:
Okay, but I'm just asking, would you agree that there is a need for these complementary types of services?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
There also are other programs, as I indicated in my remarks.


Mr. Todd Russell:
No. I'd just like a yes or a no. I'm just asking a simple question: do you think there's a need for these complementary—


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
There are many programs that are complementary to the resolution health support program, including the ones that are also offered by Health Canada, as I described earlier.


Mr. Todd Russell:
You've all agreed that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was doing great work.

Did I get it right that you said you are now dealing with 60 of the organizations that had contracts with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Yes. What I said is that about 60 contribution agreements are in play at this time in terms of whether we are increasing the value of the ones that we already funded or are having a look at where there might be gaps.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Obviously this tells me that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was providing a very valuable service that Health Canada was not providing, particularly when you say, “Look, we want to renew close to 50% of all the work that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was doing”.

If Health Canada is taking up 50% or more of the work that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was doing, and if you agree that the services were complementary, why would we not continue with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and you continue with your good work? The work is complementary.

I don't understand what the rationale was for getting rid of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Nobody was saying it was going to be there forever. In fact, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, as you said, had anticipated in its corporate plan a sunset of their program. Of course, they wanted to extend the sunset a little longer because they wanted to match it with what was happening with the TRC.

I just fail to understand, based even on the evidence you're giving, why we would want to get rid of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It was working, it was efficient, and it was complementing what you were doing. And now, even by your own admission, you are assuming 50% of all of the work that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was undertaking.



Ms. Aideen Nabigon:
Mr. Chair, I would just say again that the money provided to Health Canada under the settlement agreement was not reallocated from funds intended for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. The healing foundation was not intended to be permanent. The government has an obligation and recognizes that obligation to provide healing services and health support services throughout the life of the settlement agreement, and it will do so through the resolution health support program.


Mr. Todd Russell:
I know that my time is running out, Mr. Chair, but very quickly--


The Chair:
It actually has run out, as a matter of fact, Mr. Russell, but thank you for reminding me.

Very good. I know the five minutes go very quickly.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Can we submit written questions to the department through the committee as part of our study?


The Chair:
You can, by all means. We can do that at the end.

Let's go to Mr. Dreeshen for five minutes.


Mr. Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer, CPC):
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, ladies, for being here to enlighten us about the things that are happening with the program.

Last November our committee was in the north, as part of its northern economic study, and we had opportunities to go to healing ceremonies taking place there. I could see their significance. In speaking to the elders who were there, you could tell how important these ceremonies were to each of the individuals. That's where I'm coming from here.

I just wondered if perhaps you could tie in the types of ceremonies that happened there with what you see as the role of the resolution health support programs taking place in the communities, because these are also elder-driven. Could you give us more details on that?


Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Thank you very much for the question.

Indeed, the resolution health support program is mandated to offer elder supports and traditional healing supports. These would include ceremonies, prayers, and traditional healing methods. We will be able to continue those services under this program.


Mr. Earl Dreeshen:
Thank you very much.

One of the comments presented earlier was that Health Canada wasn't particularly fulfilling its role, but I would think that there is a lot done by health care providers as well. I just wonder if you could expand on the types of opportunities these individuals have in the programs being supplied through Health Canada.
next intervention previous intervention

Ms. Kathy Langlois:
As I said earlier, we offer three different kinds of services. First are the traditional professional services from psychologists and social workers--main-street types of services. Individuals can contact our regional office to receive those services. They constitute about 13% to 15% of our program.

The bulk of the program is comprised of the other two types of services. There are the services of a resolution health support worker, who is employed by a local aboriginal organization. This is an individual of aboriginal descent who speaks aboriginal languages, for the most part, and provides emotional support as the person is on their journey through the settlement agreement. Then, from contribution agreements with local aboriginal organizations, there are the services of elders around traditional healing ceremonies and prayers.

That's the array of services. When services aren't available in the local community, we provide assistance with transportation to the services.


Mr. Earl Dreeshen:
Thank you. That was the other question I was going to ask--how you were able to deliver the services.

To expand on what Mr. Rickford mentioned before, you were about to describe some of the best practices approaches. I wonder if you could expand on the types of things you see going forward that might work with Health Canada, but also with those particular centres that will be continuing here for the next couple of years.



Ms. Kathy Langlois:
Again, I think the reference to best practices clearly has to do with the information and learning we've had clearly from the people we serve. They've indicated that traditional types of services and services from aboriginal mental health workers are their priority and they are the kinds of services they seek out.

So we are always looking to improve our services to ensure that we are sensitive to the needs of the clients around cultural services and cultural service providers. Indeed, in our other programs, we are increasingly bringing those elements of services to the fore.


The Chair:
Thanks to all of you for your questions. At this point, we will take a brief recess. Then we'll begin the next hour.

Thanks to all our witnesses for coming here this afternoon and helping to inform this study.



The Chair:
Thank you. We're resuming consideration of the study on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

On behalf of all members, I welcome Michael DeGagné, the executive director of the foundation. Accompanying him is Terry Goodtrack, the chief operating officer for the foundation.

Your agenda shows that the president was supposed to be with us. He was unable to come and sends his regrets.

Gentlemen, we're glad to have you here. We'll begin with the customary 10-minute presentation and then go directly to questions from members.

Mr. DeGagné.


Mr. Michael DeGagné (Executive Director, Aboriginal Healing Foundation):
Thank you very much.

Thank you for the time you've given us to make a few comments about the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and also for the opportunity to give my regrets from our chairman, Georges Erasmus, who lives in Yellowknife and was unable to attend.

Mr. Chair, vice-chairs, and members of the committee, I am pleased and honoured to have this opportunity, and I thank you for it.

As you well know, a great deal has been written and said about the government's decision to place resources for survivors from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation into Health Canada. There was a thorough debate in Parliament, which I believe represented well the arguments in favour of continued funding for community initiatives and, alternatively, for Health Canada's mental health support program.

As I am here to represent the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, I will do my best in the time allotted to speak from the perspective of community impacts.

In the short term, to be blunt, there is concern about increased suicide rates and alcohol and drug use in our community as a result of this decision. The end of funding for community-based healing programs has also resulted in higher unemployment, often in places where unemployment was high even before these recent losses.

I want to provide a quote from Annie Popert, the manager of an Inuit project in northern Quebec. She talked to us about the following, and she said:

Another important development in the region is as we gain a greater understanding of the link between trauma and the challenges we are faced with today, including childhood sexual abuse, we have begun to look at the types of programs we are going to have to access or develop in order to combat these challenges. The project--

That's our project, through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

--has provided tremendous insight and knowledge, which are the first things we must have in order to be able to empower ourselves to begin the process of taking responsibility for our lives.

Similar points have been made by other communities that write us letters as they dismantle their projects. Their shared fear is that all the learning, all the building, all the progress, and all the groundwork--the investments of money and time and labour that we have made and they have made--will quickly be lost. These are the short-term impacts we face.

Many of our funded projects have gone to government for funding. We are hearing from them that, yes, Health Canada is funding counsellors in the community, but there will be no support for the really innovative transformational work that communities have been developing through their community projects.

Here I'll quote George Dunkerly, of Rankin Inlet, in Nunavut. He said:

Youth are a prime concern here in our area. Many youth, and lots of older people, have issues that they refuse to deal with openly. Our projects division gave them something to draw them in.

This is the division of their program that deals specifically with our projects.

Once in an activity with other people, they were encouraged in an indirect way to participate in discussions regarding their issues. What made the Kivalliq Outreach Program work so well was the combination of counselling and projects. The projects division allowed people to come to the program and drew them into counselling services when needed or requested. Our staff team was also well known in our district, so we had projects that were fun to join, with people they knew and trusted that just happened to be professional counsellors. Under Health Canada, we will have “support workers”, but counsellors will be brought in from the south when required. This is not an ideal situation, as our clients will not know or trust the counsellors brought in for short periods of time. But it's what we have to work with, as [we have found] the parameters of the Health Canada funding to be very rigid.

We have long known that these community-based projects are drawing in people who have never participated in healing before, and I find this, frankly, surprising. Many of the traumas people have experienced through residential schools happened decades and decades ago, and yet this is the first time in their lives they feel safe enough, and that the trust is high enough, to come forward to deal with some of their issues.


Perhaps most importantly, I'd like you to hear this point that I'm about to make: that this leads us to the longer-term impacts, the principal one being that we are now once again on a road that is leading in the direction of dependency for aboriginal people.

Instead of moving toward empowered communities that take control of their well-being, government has chosen to put its resources into a government service delivery model. This of course is their prerogative, but there are impacts to this decision that I hope we can impress upon you.

All of the research and anecdotal evidence from the communities was showing that the two together--government services working in partnership with community expertise--were getting the best results. Just last month we released a study on the common experience process, which I have with me and which makes this very point.

The loss of these community projects is a blow to the communities and to the government as well. They will have a harder time now delivering services on the ground. The model of transferring, cultivating, and enhancing community capacity is a model that has proven to be successful.

In the longer term, communities are expressing their concern that the legacy of residential schools will remain unresolved. There is a concern that this decision will disempower aboriginal people, leading to greater desperation. We at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation share this concern, and I can tell you, if we can't resolve the residential school experience, what will we do with the “sixties scoop” and those experiences that will soon be before us all as Canadians?

We believe the residential school system deprived us of the means to sustain our communities in a healthy manner. That's why our vision statement at the healing foundation speaks about addressing unresolved trauma in a comprehensive and meaningful way, putting to an end the intergenerational cycles of abuse, achieving reconciliation in the full range of relationships, and enhancing their capacity as individuals, families, communities, nations, and peoples, to sustain their well-being.

Our goal as an agency is to help create, reinforce, and sustain conditions conducive to healing, reconciliation, and, ultimately and perhaps most importantly, self-determination. We're committed to addressing the legacy of abuse in all its forms and manifestations, direct, indirect, and intergenerational, and we do this by building on the strengths and resilience of our own people. This vision, this goal, is built into every one of the projects and has been since the day we began.

There's a vast longer-term difference between this holistic model of community development and the government's model of service delivery. I want to emphasize this: this is not to say that the government's model is wrong or bad. I worked for Health Canada. I worked with these models. As an aboriginal person, I worked with a government service delivery model, but I never for a moment thought I was delivering a native program.

These are simply different things. That is why they're complementary to one another. There is a place for both of these service delivery models.

On the horizon, of course, we have the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Over the next few years, many survivors will be telling their stories of abuse for the first time--and I emphasize again--after many, many decades of silence. These traumatized individuals will not be prepared in many instances for what happens when you open up publicly, often for the first time, and you tell strangers your innermost secrets of pain, shame, and suffering as a child. There's no way a person can know this.

Health Canada will have to step into this very difficult situation where there is, as a result of this funding decision, less trust than there was before. Health Canada simply does not have the capacity or expertise to do this. This is not criticism; it's a fact. They shouldn't be expected to have this kind of expertise. No one, except for the community itself, except for aboriginal people themselves, has been directly engaged in this work to this extent. This is new territory, but now this nationwide network will not be there.

Granted, we were not present in every community--far from it. We had 134 projects on the ground, with most recently dismantled, but we were providing valuable experience-based lessons across the country, some of which took the better part of a decade to learn and to perfect.


With this loss of service, community trust is going to be a serious long-term impact. There is no substitute for the difficult work of trust building. Without trust, no program or service can work.

But let's assume the best of all possible outcomes. Even if the mental health services prevent suicides and reduce rates of addiction, violence, and unemployment, at the end of this road, we will be no further ahead on the way to community building.

What we're hearing is that communities that had an Aboriginal Healing Foundation project were making progress with their young people as well. Now, particularly in the north and in remote areas, the projects have had to close their doors and youth have nowhere to go. Anyone who has travelled to the north knows that there are not alternative resources around every corner. This represents our future. This is the long term. These are the youth who got a taste of hope and who have now seen it disappear.

We were moving along a path where the active principle driving our journey was that aboriginal people can take control of their destinies, that they can create a better future for themselves if they have support. Today, that seems far less certain across this country, and the mood out there is very sombre, but our people are resilient, as they always have been, and they have not given up on us.

Let me conclude by saying that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was never intended to last forever, absolutely not, and that was an understanding we all had, but it was our hope that it would last at least through this critical time in our history. We are grateful for what we've been able to do, we acknowledge Canadians who provided these funds, and we acknowledge especially aboriginal communities who worked so diligently to provide support to one another.

Thank you.


The Chair:
Thank you, Mr. DeGagné.

We'll now go to questions from members.

We'll begin with Ms. Neville, for seven minutes.


Hon. Anita Neville (Winnipeg South Centre, Lib.):
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for being here.

You said the mood is very sombre. I would say it's very sombre in here as well. The mood is one of concern.

I have here a comment from the 2009 evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, which concluded that “there is presently no equivalent alternative that could achieve the desired outcomes with the rate of success the [Aboriginal Healing Foundation] has achieved”.

When that evaluation came out, did you have discussions with the minister on the efficacy and the role of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?



Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Is the evaluation you're quoting the one that was most recently released, done by the Government of Canada?


Hon. Anita Neville:
It's from 2009.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
That's the one. We have not ever had a discussion with the minister specifically about that evaluation.

The evaluation was requested by the minister and conducted by the department, but it was finished in draft in November and released early in March. We never had a discussion on the specifics, but the specifics, I would believe, are well known to the department given that it had been there for three months.


Hon. Anita Neville:
You acknowledged that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was time defined. I've held public office long enough to know that time-defined projects and such are frequently put in place. But I also know that there is flexibility when a project is achieving or exceeding the objectives and expectations as originally set out.

I'm struck by the fact that you have produced an Aboriginal Healing Foundation corporate plan for five years hence. Did you have any indication that there might be some opportunity to continue with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
What was clear to us was that there was no promise that we would continue as of March 31 of this year when we were looking for another infusion of cash, but what was clear was that we began in 1998 with $350 million. We were given an additional amount of money, $40 million, and then additional money that was court-ordered within the settlement agreement, $125 million.

We were under the impression, I think as most people would be, that the better you perform. the greater the likelihood of being refunded, and the evaluations we had were outstanding. Our corporate plans of course refer to a winding-down strategy, but corporate plans—that one is templated by the Auditor General—are required to show wind-down strategies. It's not something that we had actually anticipated.

So we had never received a promise, but at the end of the day, we were still surprised.

Hon. Anita Neville:
There are two areas I quickly want to go to.

I sit on another committee that is currently looking into the whole issue of violence against aboriginal women. I've heard from a number of organizations that have been funded under the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to deal with violence against aboriginal women, either in total or in part. Is there any sense...and my other comment is that those I've spoken to--and I wish I had the opportunity to ask the previous presenters--have had no representation from government in terms of how they're going to survive, what they're going to do, and how they're going to deliver service.

Can you comment on that particular aspect of it? We're talking about missing and murdered aboriginal women, and we're talking about violence against women, and yet it's like one doesn't know what the other is doing.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
I guess the comment I would make is that you get a sense of the gravity of these things. This isn't the closing of a building. This is the closing of programs that serve human beings who are often in violent situations or have experienced severe traumas. I think it gives you some sense of the gravity here.

The real impact of this will be how quickly this happened and with little lead-up. We have been talking about renewing this fund for the better part of a year now. All we asked was that we be given proper notice so that our projects would have a responsible amount of time to deal with clients, and that wasn't provided.

Hon. Anita Neville:
I have one quick question. I don't know how my time is. Is there much program or dollar slippage that you're aware of? If so, is it being reinvested or is it going back into general government coffers?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
That, I don't know. There's certainly no slippage on our end, but....

Hon. Anita Neville:
Okay. That's fine.

Do I have more time?

The Chair:
You have about a minute and a half, Ms. Neville, if you want a bit more time. Or to one of your colleagues--

Hon. Anita Neville:
Larry wants to ask something.

The Chair:
--whatever works.

Go ahead, Mr. Bagnell.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
I have just one question, Michael.

The minister, in a speech we just heard from Health Canada--you were here--seemed to imply that in your corporate plan, which you referred to, there's a wind-down strategy, as if we're just acceding to your wishes. I assume that most of your board is made up of aboriginal people. Is it the wish of the board that you wind down by 2012?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
No, sir, but it's the wish of the Auditor General that you have to deal with the dollars you have on that day and produce a plan five years out. The fact of the matter is that our last corporate plan is a five-year snapshot and we aren't even going to be around in five years. We didn't even anticipate that last year.

So the winding down in the corporate plan is putting the cart before the horse here. We were required to show a wind-down because no other moneys were guaranteed at that time.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
So the minister's officials shouldn't be using that as your will--


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Absolutely not.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
--as the will of the board or the people involved that it should be shutting down?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
That's right.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Thank you.

The Chair:
Mr. Lévesque, for seven minutes.


Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Can you hear me, Mr. DeGagné?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Oui.

Mr. Yvon Lévesque: Monsieur DeGagné--

Mr. Michael DeGagné: Oui.

An hon. member: You speak French.

Mr. Michael DeGagné: That's as French as it gets, I think.

Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
Among other things, the Royal Commission called for the creation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. The federal government acted on that recommendation in 1998 and provided a total of $350 million in funding over an 11-year period. After the budget was allocated, an emergency debate was held to discuss requirements which were not being met by this level of funding. An additional $125 million in funding was approved. However, if I understand what Ms. Langlois from Health Canada was saying, most of the 134 agencies that work in the communities will be forced to suspend their activities.

Regarding Nunavik in particular, in terms of health resources, I see that aside from some support measures for Inuit women, very few members of First Nations act at the community level. The Bloc Québécois believes that a program of this nature should involve securing resources from First Nations who then act at the community level.

I would like to hear what you think about the time that could have been spent on training the necessary resources and on delivering services by the 134 agencies set up under this program.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
I have a couple of comments.

How long should this program have been to deal with the problems you see in Nunavik, for example? What we were requesting was not how long we thought healing would take; we were requesting a much shorter period. We were requesting something that would coincide with the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Especially in remote parts of the country, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission under way in the next couple of years, we felt that there would be a lot more attention paid to problems of childhood abuse and institutional abuse. Our wish was not to continue indefinitely; it was to continue for three more years past March 31 and use our network of services as they were, scattered throughout the north and south, to deliver supports to people as they went through the truth and reconciliation process.

That's what we were requesting. We didn't have a 25-year window or anything like that. We were looking for three years. I hope that deals with at least part of your question.


Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
You had the resource persons who were in a position to deliver services and carry out the projects until the objectives were met.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Yes, sir. We had 134 projects that employed probably 900 people, including therapists, already in place and fully implemented across the country. Some of those people had been operating for 10 years in the same community. We were ready.


Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
In your opinion, does the government want the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to carry on with its mandate? Does the government believe that it has lived up to its obligations and has thus been exonerated of any wrongdoing? By putting its faith entirely in Health Canada to help those who suffered abuse, is the government denying the wrongs that were inflicted upon communities and denying the effects of that abuse on children and grandchildren, as well as on various aboriginal cultures?

I would appreciate an answer to that question in writing.

Mr. Chair, I will now turn the floor over to my colleague.


The Chair:
You have two minutes left.


Ms. Johanne Deschamps:
Thank you very much for your generosity.

My question is along the same lines.

In this case, are we not simply putting a lid on the problem? If I understand correctly, the Foundation takes a group approach, whereas now, an individual approach is being proposed. Whether we like it or not, the entire community was affected by what individual victims endured. If we view the problem solely from an individual standpoint and disregard the impact on the community, I think our efforts will be wasted. Under the circumstances, what steps can the Foundation take?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
You're absolutely right. I mean, these are community problems. These are problems that are affecting all the members of the community. That is why there's a certain danger in approaching things one person at a time or one family at a time. We have programs that deal just with suicide, or just with addiction, or just with healing. But at the same time, these things have to be integrated: they're the same people, the same families, and the same communities.

We also find that if we deal with things as a community, as a collective, we're helping in other areas. You can put all the money you want into economic development in aboriginal communities, but if people are not well or not able to use the money effectively, it will be wasted. We need to deal at a community level and at an individual level.

We talked about complementary activities through Health Canada and through the healing foundation. I think the community wins and that, ultimately, the kinds of things the government does improve.


The Chair:
Thank you, Ms. Deschamps and Mr. Lévesque.


We'll now go to Ms. Crowder for seven minutes.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming.

I also want to thank you for quite clearly explaining that this should not be an either/or situation. Health Canada has a role to play. It delivers some services to individuals. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects are community based and have a role to play.

As for why we're in the position of talking about an either/or situation, it really doesn't make any sense to many of us. Were you ever given any reasons for why the program was allowed to sunset, aside from the legal agreement that was in place?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
No. We haven't received a definitive answer. We've heard that we weren't present across the country in the way government services can be, which is quite correct. We also heard that it was never promised that the program would continue indefinitely, which is also quite correct. Aside from that, we haven't had a dialogue in which someone has said that this is the evaluation and this is what we found to be deficient.

I think the government has in fact been very respectful in terms of acknowledging the good work we've done. They haven't disparaged the work we've done as an excuse to end funding, but we haven't had a definitive answer yet.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
I think it's a valid point. We haven't heard anybody say that the foundation and the projects that were funded were not good projects. We've fairly consistently heard that they were good projects.

I think there's a layered approach here. People have spoken to residential school survivors. I talked to one young man who told me that, first of all, he received treatment for drug and alcohol addictions. When that was finished, he went into trauma treatment. He was then going into another layer of treatment.

It was a healing fund project. There was a complexity in the treatment required, based on a community-based setting that seemed appropriate to the needs of the community and the individual. I'm not clear on whether or not he would have been able to access the same level of service on an individual basis. Is that your experience as well?

Mr. Terry Goodtrack (Chief Financial Officer, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations):
Yes. That's our experience as well.

I can think of a number of projects that complement each other with Health Canada, especially the NNADAP program. People are referred to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation project within the community. In the event they have some of these addictions, they're asked to first go through the NNADAP program.

When they come to our program, they are free from those types of issues and able to grasp the programming we undertake in our projects, whether it's anger management and so forth. They need to have a clean bill of health from NNADAP to be able to move to our program.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
So it's a really good example of the kind of partnership that can exist between the Health Canada programs and the healing fund.

Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
Yes, absolutely.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
Are you aware if any analysis was done on the needs of individuals and their families and communities in this transition from closing down the healing fund projects to just being able to access Health Canada?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
No. I don't think there's been any analysis.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
You're not aware of anything.

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
No. There hasn't been a lot of research.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
Do you know how many healing fund projects have actually closed their doors now?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
It's 134.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
It's 134, and that means for some of them that the infrastructure that would have been in place to keep the doors open is gone.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
That's right.

Ms. Jean Crowder:
That experience would be hard to regroup in short order if funding should become available.

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Yes, it would be.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
In terms of not all communities being covered, we agree that not all communities were covered; it just wasn't possible with the funding that was available. Again, don't think that should be used as an argument to not keep funding the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. It just doesn't make sense.

I mean, if you have communities that were being serviced by AHF--recognizing that there are many other communities that are not--there wouldn't be a reason to use that as an argument for closing down, for sunsetting the program.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
No. In fact, it's the other side of the argument that I'm most concerned about.

The other side of it says that you can take the amount of money that we put in from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, that if you take $7 million off the top of that, you can now extend the service to every aboriginal survivor in Canada and their families, and if you can't deliver it in the community, you can provide transportation services to the nearest therapist. It's not possible with that amount of money.

It's a claim that Health Canada would be under an enormous amount of stress to live up to.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
Do I have time left?


The Chair:
You have about a minute and a half.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
I guess I'm troubled by the thought that you can transport people out of their community for healing. The ongoing support that's required in a healing journey is difficult to do on an individual basis. In a lot of communities, some psychologists and psychiatrists fly in. We know that; there are fly-in psychologists.

But to take people out of their community to do a comprehensive healing journey doesn't make sense to me. They were already removed from their communities, or their families were removed from their communities. I don't understand that argument.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Yes, our experience has been that the closer you can get to the family and the community, the better off you are, first in terms of access. These are difficult processes to go through.


Ms. Jean Crowder:
I know that with drugs and alcohol, they say that every person who is an addict touches at least seven other people in their lives. If you don't heal the whole group, it's difficult to heal just one individual.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
That's right.


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
That's why a number of our projects are not just dealing with the individual, but also with the family, with the spouses, and with everybody who is affected. I can think of the Hinton Friendship Centre in Alberta, where the core of their program deals with the community, the family, and so forth, and not necessarily just with the individual.

The Chair:
Thank you very much, Ms. Crowder.

Now we'll go back to Mr. Rickford for seven minutes.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for coming today.

I must qualify any questions that I ask by first directly addressing my colleague who said that the mood in this room was “sombre”. She does not speak for me, especially, or for members of our caucus here.

I think we need to be proud of the record we have with respect to a number of key components, not just the Indian residential schools agreement at the time, because we were not in government, but subsequent to that, with the recognition and a further infusion of resources to a myriad of activities that occurred under that agreement. Most recently, as of 2010, in fact, we added a number of key resource allocations, with more than $285 million for a number of programs that may mostly indirectly, but directly as well, impact and deal with a number of health and mental health issues in first nations communities.

I take that seriously, sir, because, like you, I worked for Health Canada for a great deal of time. I'm not sure I share your view that in the final analysis Health Canada, as this legacy is dealt with under the agreement and as a matter of policy within Health Canada and INAC, isn't well served by an incorporation into its existing government services.

I know that in the great Kenora riding we have 25 isolated communities with nursing stations situated. I'm wondering then if you, as the executive director, can tell me, then, how many communities in the Kenora riding, for example, are you aware of that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation had direct contact with.


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
In your riding in particular, we have Eagle Lake. I did a site review there about a year and a half ago and it's just incredible, the work they are doing with the youth. The focus was primarily on the youth. The reason was the intergenerational effects. They integrated that program with their whole health component, which obviously is funded by Health Canada,so it really showed the complementary part of it.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
So you're saying, Mr. Goodtrack, that an integrated concept or an incorporated concept is a good thing.

Eagle Lake, by the way, is a great community, and you're right to point out that they do a great job in their service delivery. They're about 25 kilometres outside the city of Dryden.

Let's move, then, if we might, to the 25 isolated communities that cover an area of more than 320,000 square kilometres in my riding alone. Are you aware of how many communities the Aboriginal Healing Foundation reached directly?


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
Yes. I'm going to share with you the projects that we have in your community, sir.

Mr. Greg Rickford: Five communities.

Mr. Terry Goodtrack: Windigo is one. It covers Bearskin Lake, Sachigo Lake, and Cat Lake. That's outreach, too, because for some of our projects, what we try to do as well is increase the catchment areas where we can and provide those outreach services to them. In Windigo, we were able to do that.

In Mishkeegogamang we have a project with the Ojibways of Onegaming and Wapekeka, providing one-on-one counselling, home visits, focus groups, healing centres, and information referrals to long-term support and counselling, including treatment centres and, certainly, the after care support.

So we have five projects covering a number of those first nations. Do they cover all of them? No. There is a coverage issue.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
So you have reached five of the 42 first nations communities that are in my riding?


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
Yes.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
And I do acknowledge, Mr. Goodtrack, that you did have some funding through NAN, which has catchment within my riding—


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
That's right.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
—that delivered, finally and eventually, services to programs to participate in communities within NAN.

I guess the point that I want to make in this is to suggest that there were indeed and in fact good services provided by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Nobody disputes that, to a certain degree, although I have had serious residual concerns about how that resource got to a number of other communities.

It's worth pointing out that in the city of Kenora, which has a catchment of dozens of first nations communities, all of which were directly involved in two or three Indian residential schools that were located right in Kenora or not that far from it, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has really not been present there, which kind of surprises me, to be honest with you, Mr. Goodtrack.

I appreciate that Lac Seul First Nation, which is a road-accessible community and in fact had an Indian residential school program there, did a good job.

But I want to move, as I often do, to talk about the isolated communities and the serious challenges that we face there--


Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
Yes. I mean, the question is, have we actually been everywhere in the country? We haven't. When we started this program, it was proposal driven based on what we called “community readiness”. The communities had to submit these proposals, based on what they felt, saying that they were ready to undertake a program like this.

Has every community across the country done that? No. Certainly it was subjected to the funding that we had, so there are certain--

Mr. Greg Rickford: Mr. Goodtrack, I was wondering--

Mr. Terry Goodtrack: I'll just finish. So certainly, some of those isolated communities, we did the future funding and those are the ones we would be targeting. That's over and above the amount we're currently doing. We're restricted by the amount, because that's what government would fund at. So if we were over and above that amount, we would go to those communities that you're talking about.


Mr. Greg Rickford:
Yes. I think what's important is that moving forward there's a responsible decision to incorporate some of the broader funding and certainly departments to be able to administer some of the services where they may not be getting to. That's probably a fairer statement and a better characterization of that.

Just very quickly, yes or no, do you have quantitative and qualitative analysis, including surveys, that can tell us as definitively as we heard from the Health Canada resolution support program of the impact by survivors and their families from those communities—for example, the ones that you directly provided services for?

If you do, could I have those?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Certainly. This is funded by Health Canada. We're the ones who did the research.

Mr. Greg Rickford:
Thank you.

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
I think it's probably important to realize, too, that it's a part of our mandate, and a very significant part of doing research will be lost as the foundation winds up. One of the important things, as you'll appreciate, is that we need to drag some truths out of what we're doing. If we put money into communities, we have to be able to tell people what it is that we learned—


Mr. Greg Rickford:
I can appreciate that.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
—and we have a 27-piece research project that does that. I'd like to see the same level of detailed research coming out of Health Canada. It'd be an interesting comparison to make.

The Chair:
Okay. We'll leave it at that.

Thank you, Mr. Rickford.

Now I'll go back to Mr. Bagnell for five minutes, followed by Mr. Duncan, and that will be our last question.

Mr. Bagnell.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Thank you very much.

When people are in the toughest and saddest situations in Canada, it's very hard to find solutions sometimes, and we've actually found a solution, as shown by the evaluation, I think we can see what the problem is when that's being closed and at least one government member is not distressed.

Related to the health centres in the member's riding, of course they're not the same as healing centres. Because we don't have time during these questions, perhaps you could write to us, if you want to, about the fact that a vast number of the centres and health offices in Mr. Rickford's riding are not doing this professional healing. They have a nurse, etc.

I also think that Mr. Rickford, Madam Crowder and you made a good point that even with this extra work you did not have enough to cover everyone, so you should actually have more funds. If you have time, could you later provide the clerk of the committee a map showing the locations of your projects, the approximate number of staff and volunteers, and the approximate number of clients? It would be a good visual for the committee.

A voice: Certainly.

Hon. Larry Bagnell: The question I want to ask is related to when healing goes on, when it's needed. I was a bit distressed when you and the INAC officials talked about it being a contract and a deal that ends in 2012. But healing doesn't end then. I think you gave examples. You could perhaps write down some examples for us of where some of these things occurred 20 years ago and the healing's not finished yet. INAC has said that there are thousands of people coming in the next couple of years.

That healing for these very, very serious problems goes on for a long time. When we found out that H1N1 wasn't solved halfway through, we didn't cut off the money. We kept providing more vaccines. If a bunch of people are starving and CIDA's project has run out, we don't cut off the money. We put in more money. If a child is dying and he doesn't have enough medicine, you don't stop the medicine because the contract and the dose are done. It's a success, you keep going until the job's done, and you make the arrangements there.

Perhaps you could talk about the fact that the healing does not end in 2012 for tens of thousands of people from residential schools.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Do you mean in writing or do you want me to comment a little bit about that?

The Chair:
You have a couple of minutes.

Hon. Larry Bagnell:
You can go ahead right now.

Sorry, but I'll give you one other question, and then can you put in writing for the committee what you don't get finished?

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Okay.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
As Health Canada has said, there are a number of services—everyone agrees they're complementary—they won't be able to provide. They're getting only 40% of the money you got. You did other stuff that they cannot provide in the future. Could you also send us in writing some of the things that your projects have done that they won't be able to do so that people understand more concretely their complementarity?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Yes, I will do that.

In the minute or so that I have, I will say that the complementarity was in the statement. It's in the questions. At no time did we believe that integration of services works; there's a vast difference between a government service run by an aboriginal person and an aboriginally designed and operated program. They are night and day. We're not pretending that those two things are the same, nor are we pretending that one is any better than the other. We need both.

We have had $125 million over the last three years. That was a government obligation under the settlement agreement. We put that to use with the community side of this equation. We welcome the ramping up of individual counselling under the RHSW program, but one can't replace the other.

I'll be happy to also provide this type of research. We have a lot of it. I won't bury you with it, but it's a qualitative study exploring the impacts of this agreement on recipients. I'm sure that some of the members would find it very interesting.


The Vice-Chair (Ms. Jean Crowder):
You still have 30 seconds.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
Could you go on about the fact that healing is not over in 2012 for tens of thousands of...?


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
The healing is not over in 2012, absolutely not. One of the hardest and most difficult things we have to impress upon the Canadian public is that something that happened a long time ago could still affect you today. There are a lot of people who say, “Look, I didn't have anything to do with that, I don't remember that, and I wasn't part of the residential school system, so how can I be asked to be a part of that solution?”

The fact of the matter is that we all inherit things from previous generations that we have obligations for today. One of our obligations is to heal a part of our community that has been broken.


The Vice-Chair (Ms. Jean Crowder):
Thank you.

We'll now go to Mr. Duncan.


Mr. John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, CPC):
I heard a voice and thought it was the next questioner. You're sitting in a different chair now.


The Vice-Chair (Ms. Jean Crowder):
It's me. You're in luck: no more questions from me.

Mr. John Duncan:
Thank you.

I assume you have probably either read or followed the debate we had in the House on the AHF--


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
Exhaustively, sir.

Mr. John Duncan:
Yes, it was exhaustively.... In any case, I have some unanswered questions.

Mr. Goodtrack, you did say that originally 134 communities were chosen, and they were proposal-driven, if I understood that right, but the question really is how we got to 134 and why were those selected?

For example, I live on Vancouver Island, an island with a population exceeding that of New Brunswick, and we had one centre there, which I now see is one of the 12 that will continue. Yet it seemed that in the north there was pretty broad general coverage.


Mr. Michael DeGagné:
The best way to categorize how these decisions were made was that we are operated by a 17-member aboriginal board of directors taken from aboriginal citizens from across Canada--all the provinces and territories. The process they went through at the very beginning was a very difficult one, because most aboriginal communities are used to formula funding; in other words, everybody gets their share and everyone is equally unhappy.

One of the things our board decided to do was to look at an application process whereby people could prove that they have the skills and abilities to deliver a project for their fellow citizens. They made very hard choices in saying, “You get one because you can deliver a service, but you don't get one”. That didn't make them popular. It took several years to work through this strategy, but that's the way we approached it. Over the years we've funded about 1,600 different projects.

Terry will tell you a little more about the specifics around how that process works.

Mr. Terry Goodtrack:
Thank you.

We have funded 1,662 projects in different waves, which initially started in B.C., then went into the Prairies, and then into the Inuit region. It was based on when the community was ready, as I talked about earlier. How did we get to the 134? There were 134 projects and 12 healing centres in addition to the 134. It has been a debate. There was some confusion around it, but nevertheless that's what it was.

In 2005 the reason we got the extra $40 million was to take as many of our projects as possible to March 31, 2007, to just before the settlement agreement. At that time, we even had to cut a number of very good projects. Our board didn't want to cut any, but based on the funding that was provided to us, we did, and we got down to that amount.

Then we had to make a decision in 2007 on what to do: whether to do an additional call or continue to fund the existing healing network we had. We know that it takes a year and a half to get up and running, and to build the trust between the therapists and the survivors would put us into two or two and a half years. Our board decided that if we started a new project we'd have to shut down.

The most responsible thing we could do at that time, in 2007, was to retain those 134 projects and run them to 2010. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, we had the 12 healing centres.

Again, to summarize, we had a number of projects in 2005. Because of funding limitations, we had to cut a number of them, and we based that on what we called the best projects. We retained those that were well-governed and those that provided direct therapy, one-on-one counselling, group counselling, and traditional healing. Those were the criteria we set for those 134 projects.

Mr. John Duncan:
Also, I understand that for the funding that was supplied, the $125 million--the last big amount--there was a maximum five-year timeframe put on that, but it was up to AHF to determine the period in which that would be spent. Or am I labouring under a misconception?

The Chair:
Again, just give a brief response, if you can.

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
You're labouring under a common misconception.

Mr. John Duncan:
Okay. Well, let's clarify it then, if you would, please.

Mr. Michael DeGagné:
We were provided with a five-year mandate but were given three years of funding. During the negotiation process for the settlement agreement, it was very clear that we could not operate on anything less than $25 million a year.

For some strange reason, we were provided with three years of funding, which was to sunset on March 31, 2010, but were given two additional years to do our wind-down strategy, which would help us to complete things like our research agenda and so on. So three years of funding was provided, with zero flexibility to extend, unless we wanted to cut a third to a half of all the projects.

Mr. John Duncan:
Thank you.

The Chair:
Thank you, Mr. Duncan.

Thank you to our witnesses for taking the time this afternoon to join us.

Thank you, members, for all your interventions and questions.

I'd also like to thank our two vice-chairs, who helped out this afternoon by presiding over the meeting.

Mr. Bagnell, do you have a question?


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
I was just wondering if it would be possible to ask the researcher to do a map for us of where the Health Canada offices are that are delivering this program. It would be helpful for us visually.


The Chair:
We'll ask the department. They may have it. We'll check into that.


Hon. Larry Bagnell:
If the health department does it, that would be fine too.

The Chair:
Sure. We'll see if we can source that for you.



One moment, Mr. Lévesque.



We'll have time to take your question.

Just before you go, members, next week we will be having the second meeting on this study. That will be on Tuesday. We have a very full slate on Tuesday.

On Thursday, we'll take some time to wrap up this study in terms of getting instructions to our analysts so that we can get a short report ready, as was compelled by the motion.

We'll also start resuming consideration of the northern economic development study. That's what's in store for next week.

Monsieur Lévesque, vous avez une question.


Mr. Yvon Lévesque:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Earlier, I asked Mr. DeGagné to respond in writing to the clerk. I merely want to clarify that his response should be addressed to all members of the committee.

The Chair:
To our witnesses, you have that, and you've understood that commitment. Can you refer those back to the clerk? If they're not in both official languages, we'll have those responses translated and then sent out to all members, of course.

Go ahead, Mr. Russell.


Mr. Todd Russell:
Mr. Chair, I just have a quick question. If I want to submit a written question to a witness, what is the procedure?


The Chair:
Aside from posing the question while you have the floor--

Mr. Todd Russell:
Yes.

The Chair:
--you're welcome to send questions directly to the witnesses. I'm sure they would have no problem responding. Or if you wish, you can send them to the clerk, and we can send them under the signature of the committee. It doesn't matter either way. What happens, though, if it goes out under the signature of the committee, is that when the response comes back, it is sent out to all committee members.

It's your choice.

Mr. Todd Russell:
Thank you very much.

The Chair:
Thank you very much.

Have a safe and wonderful evening, all of you. Take care.

The meeting is adjourned.

[admin]

Turtle Island Native Network notes that the all-out effort to support the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has not fallen on deaf ears . . .

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

June 18, 2010 -

Parliamentary committee recommends Harper government extend and fund the Aboriginal Healing foundation.

The House of Commons Standing committee on Aboriginal Affairs issued a report on its study of the issues and says it "supports the very real need to continue to provide the appropriate and meaningful supports to all those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the immeasurable harms of the residential schools system.

Having carefully considered the evidence placed before us, we now recommend as follows:

Recommendation 1: That the Government of Canada take immediate steps to renew the mandate of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and provide sufficient funding to support its community-based healing projects for another three years.

Recommendation 2: That Health Canada, in close collaboration with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, take immediate steps to ensure that the mandate and criteria of the Indian Residential Schools Health Support Program be expanded to include community-based and delivered healing services; and that regular progress reports be provided to this Committee by Health Canada on an annual basis, with the first report to be tabled on 15 June 2011.

Recommendation 3: That the Government of Canada ensure that funding allocated in Budget 2010 for the mental health and emotional support services to former students of residential schools and their families be fully targeted to supporting the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's funded community-based
healing projects. Recommendation 4: That Health Canada ensure that services provided by the IRSRHS program, including services provided by the Resolution Health Support Workers and
the 1-800 number, be available to former Inuit students of residential schools in the Inuktitut language."


Committee Findings and Recommendations
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33198623/STUDY-AND-RECOMMENDATIONS-OF-THE-STANDING-COMMITTEE-ON-ABORIGINAL-AFFAIRS-AND-NORTHERN-DEVELOPMENT-CONCERNING-THE-ABORIGINAL-HEALING-FOUNDATION#

The Committee recognizes the unique and valuable work undertaken by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in addressing, in a comprehensive and integrated manner, the healing needs of communities and individuals who continue to struggle with the profound effects of the residential schools system. We also acknowledge that the Foundation’s success in addressing the needs of communities rests, to a large extent, in having communities design, control and deliver the healing programs themselves. Not only does this approach help build the capacity of communities to sustain their own health and wellness systems, but it has proven to have positive outcomes for former students of residential schools and those touched by its legacy. While the Committee is aware that a mid-term evaluation of Health Canada’s Indian Residential School National Resolution Framework was conducted in 2006, and that it showed positive results, that evaluation would have been completed before the IRSRHS Program was formally established in that same year.

This Committee is mindful, however, that the federal government has not withdrawn its support for providing mental health and emotional support services to eligible former students and has in fact committed additional funds in Budget 2010 to help meet increased demands for such services. We also note, with significant interest, that Health Canada is attempting to negotiate and conclude a number of contribution agreements with organizations that provided healing projects that were initially supported by the AHF. We were told that sixty such agreements are currently being considered. While we strongly encourage Health Canada and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to continue their efforts in this regard, we recognize that not all 134 AHF-funded projects will meet the criteria for government funding. While efforts to secure alternate funding are being undertaken, the 2009 evaluation suggests that such funding will be difficult to find as many agencies will not have matching mandates. For example, Ms. Nakuset, of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, told the Committee that, under some federal programs, eligibility criteria is restricted to registered or Status Indians, thereby excluding their Innu, Métis and non-Status clients.39 We are equally concerned that this may leave several communities without healing supports, at least for a time, with potentially serious and disruptive effects in communities and on those who had been actively participating in treatment.

We find merit in the view expressed by witnesses that the mandate of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation should have been extended until the Truth and Reconciliation Commission completes its important work. We believe this would have been considerably less disruptive to affected communities at such a critical juncture in the reconciliation process. We note that a number of these same communities are now negotiating contribution agreements with Health Canada to re-establish healing services that had been in place - pursuant, however - to the criteria established in the IRSRHS program. Even so, we acknowledge that however technically proficient government programs may be, they are not a substitute for what was described as the “real, innovative, transformational work that communities have been developing through their
community projects.”

[admin]

AFN National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo calls on federal government to follow the recommendations of a new Parliamentary Report which supports renewed funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation

OTTAWA, June 18, 2010

Today, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn At-in-chut Atleo called on the federal government to support the recommendations of a new report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANO) which says the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) should be funded for three more years.

A three-year extension would allow the AHF to support 134 community-based programs across Canada that provide First Nation-driven, community based healing and health supports to those impacted by the Indian Residential School system for the duration of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

"First Nations communities and families are concerned that Aboriginal Healing Foundation projects are closing at a time when they are most needed. Compensation processes and the launch of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will create a rising need for health supports in our communities," said National Chief Shawn At-in-chut Atleo. "It is our hope that this latest report signals a growing recognition by all parties that the continuation of First Nations driven community health supports are critical to supporting Survivors and their families through the next three years of the settlement process."

The National Chief noted that a renewal of the program would be consistent with the 2008 federal Apology to Indian Residential School Survivors and the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

"Powerful emotions are sometimes triggered by the various processes Survivors and their families have to go through - such as applying for the Common Experience Payment, or the statement taking activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," said AFN Regional Chief Bill Erasmus who holds the national portfolio for Indian Residential Schools. "The community-based healing support offered by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation cannot be replaced by individualized services offered through outside agencies."

The latest report by AANO is the second government report to recommend continued funding to the AHF. An earlier independent evaluation of the AHF commissioned by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), and released in March - one day after the federal budget - recommended that the Government of Canada should renew support for the AHF, "at least until the Settlement Agreement compensation processes and commemorative initiatives are completed." The evaluation report also stated that "healing has only just begun" in communities and warned that ending the AHF healing projects at this point could have extremely negative consequences.

However, a proposal to complement current funding levels of the AHF in order to enable the continuation of existing community projects was not approved within the budget. Health Canada has stated that they will try to fill the gaps for health supports in communities; however regions such as Manitoba, Yukon, PEI and Quebec have been left without community-based healing projects.

"Without the Aboriginal Healing Foundation communities and Survivors are losing the ability to design projects tailored to their needs and will also lose a level of self-governance and capacity-building in healing processes that is not achievable through federally-run programs," said AFN Regional Chief Angus Toulouse who holds the national portfolio for health.

Both the original evaluation and the most recent report by AANO state that there is a rising need for services created by the settlement process, including the launch of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the ongoing compensation processes. In its last year, the AHF saw a substantial increase (average 40 percent) in its program enrolments, but was often unable to meet the growing demand because of a less than adequate funding base for the past three years.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides resources to Aboriginal communities that promote reconciliation and support in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes that address the legacy of physical, sexual, mental, cultural and spiritual abuses in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts. It has operated 1,345 quality projects since its inception in 1998.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

-30-

[admin]

"The churches have an obligation to us."

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

July 21, 2010

"I think we need to get more aggressive, more militant to show our displeasure to the government of Canada for terminating the funding that's required in our respective communities."

Those fighting words are from Chief Ovide Mercredi, Grand Rapids First Nation - Misipawistic Cree nation (a former National Chief) at the AFN Annual General Assembly in Winnipeg.

He spoke in support of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF), and made recommendations to the chiefs.

"We have to do something, we cant accept the decision of the government. I think we need to develop a strategy beyond 'please reconsider'. I for one believe that the federal government should honour the apology that the Prime Minister expressed on behalf of the country. He made a mockery of the apology by terminating the funding for the Healing Foundation, and we should make that very clear to them." Chief Mercredi also suggested that First Nations go to the churches for funding to carry on the necessary residential schools healing in our communities. "The churches have an obligation to us. If we pressure the churches to fund the Healing Foundation, I'm sure they'll apply the appropriate political pressure on the government of Canada to reconsider their decision."

Aboriginal Healing Foundation president George Erasmus told the chiefs that the Catholic Church finally is providing funds as part of its obligations under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. "We'd expected this money three years ago. . . but I guess better late than never."


Erasmus explained that the funds that are "very limited in scope", started trickling in at the end of the fiscal year. The good news is that these funds from the Catholic Church will allow the AHF "to continue funding the existing twelve healing centres for a longer period, and possibly with some enhanced funding".