The Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) has entered a $269 million regional agreement with the federal government to advance culturally sensitive family and child services and support.
The contract commits $269 million to be spent over the next seven years, with funds going towards reforming the First Nations Child and Family Services Program, with an emphasis being placed on keeping kids at home or in their communities to reclaim First Nations jurisdiction over their children.
STC represents seven First Nations, all within a 200-kilometre radius of Saskatoon. Tribal Chief Mark Arcand and member nation chiefs signed the deal, alongside Minister of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Mandy Gull-Masty, at a news conference Wednesday.
“Today is another significant milestone for the seven nations,” Arcand said, noting he couldn’t receive this kind of investment in language, identity, and culture growing up.
“We look at it as an opportunity. We look at it as a challenge to keep helping our people because we see our people need help each and every day, especially our young people.”
The cash will be tailored to the needs of the First Nations represented by the STC.
The ISC minister described the steady stream of income over the next seven years as predictable, adding that the stability will allow the communities to invest in a full continuum of care.
This care will include prevention services and housing support to manage challenges early and keep children in their homes. It will also ensure there are First Nation representative supports for children and families dealing with the family care system, as well as helping provide support for youth who are aging out of care.
Part of the money will also go towards capital projects and building and maintaining facilities to support families, according to a joint news release shared by ISC and the STC.
“We don’t want to see our children, our grandchildren, in addictions. We don’t want to see them incarcerated,” Arcand said.
“It hurts (caregivers) to see their kids go through what their grandparents and great-grandparents went through at residential schools and the negative outcomes that came of that. That’s the system, and this investment is going to help change people’s lives for the next seven years and beyond.”
Exact details on the implementation of the funding will be determined by the tribal council’s principles, the news release said.
ISC said in a separate email $190 million would go directly to the First Nation communities for programming, while $79 million would be directed towards a family service agency.
Arcand expanded on this, saying the First Nations would be supported by the STC in developing a work plan for programming and putting it into practice. He said there would be a wide range of services eligible for intervention prevention funding, including access to out-of-town programming.
“They could be coming to the city to access hockey programs, soccer programs, to keep their kids active because they don’t have it in their nation,” he said.
“The goal is to really focus on keeping kids in a positive frame of mind.”
Gull-Masty also spoke at Wednesday’s event, saying she hopes to execute this type of regional deal with First Nations across Canada.
STC’s is the first regional agreement of its kind in Saskatchewan, and the first signed outside of Ontario.
“We are targeting systemic change to ensure there are fewer children in care, ideally none, fewer children entering care for the first time, shorter stays when intervention is needed,” Gull-Masty said.
“And more children growing up surrounded by their families, their culture, and their communities.”
She said the regional agreement with the STC is a first step in a program that will have a lasting impact on generations of First Nations and empower self-determination in the involved communities.
“They are truly reclaiming something that should have always been yours – the power to make decisions for your children. The power to ensure that families are doing work and being supported according to your culture, your values and your priorities,” the minister continued.
The regional agreement being directed by its community members will ensure children receive appropriate and prompt care, instead of waiting for the system to catch up to them and their needs, Gull-Masty said.