Federal government, B.C. and Indigenous nation sign care co-ordination deal
The delivery of child and family services grounded in Indigenous culture and community was celebrated Friday in British Columbia's north Okanagan with the signing of the province's first care co-ordination services agreement.
Indigenous children thrive when they can stay with their families and communities and are surrounded by their culture and language, federal Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said in an interview after the ceremony.
The agreement between the federal, B.C. and Secwepemc Nation governments provides the legal framework and funding for the co-ordinated care services, she said.
“This is an exciting time in the history of our country and the history of the First Nations that are doing this work,” said Hajdu.
The minister said governments over the next 10 years will transfer $136.2 million to the Enderby-area Splatsin First Nation to support and continue their long-standing dedication and work on family and child services.
“This community now has the legal co-ordination of care agreement between B.C., the federal government and the community itself to reassert the rights of Splatsin people to have self-determination over the care of their children and families,” Hajdu said.
The agreement, which is the first of its kind in B.C. and the fifth in Canada, addresses the delivery of emergency services, mechanisms for First Nations children to exercise their rights and sustainable and consistent needs-based funding, she said.
“This is a community that has actually by and large been doing this but with a lot of interference from colonial systems that have made it difficult for Splatsin to keep kids connected to their communities,” Hajdu said.
Splatsin Chief Doug Thomas said in a statement that the agreement continues the responsibility of every nation member to care for children past, present and into the future.
“This high level of responsibility for our children falls not just on the shoulders of leadership, but every Splatsin community member,” he said. “It takes a community to raise a child and at Splatsin we do our best to live by those words.”
Hajdu said the agreement will ensure Splatsin children stay in the communities and remain connected with their culture.
It specifies “how things should unfold to support families to stay well and also to support families that are struggling,” she said.
Mitzi Dean, B.C.'s minister of children and family development, said in a statement the Splatsin have been working for decades to ensure their children and families remain connected to their culture and communities despite the constraints of the child welfare system.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.