The Saskatoon Tribal Council and the federal government signed an agreement Wednesday that will reform and impact child and family services at the tribal council’s seven member nations for decades to come. “In our seven nations, we’re seeing outcomes and results that are helping children and families,” Tribal Chief Mark Arcand said. “And to us, that was the whole intention of developing our program was to be First Nations led for First Nations people.” Called Māmowōhkamātowin, which means “working together” in Cree, the seven-year, $269 million agreement aims to address pressures facing families before they become a crisis. Arcand was joined by Mandy Gull-Masty, minister of Indigenous Services Canada, who said Wednesday’s announcement was the beginning of long-lasting change in these communities. “This is the first step in something that we are going to do that is going to have a lasting impact on generations of First Nations children and their families,” she said. Following in the steps of Bill C-92, legislation from 2020 that affirms Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services, this agreement will reclaim that jurisdiction for these seven communities. The money will be dedicated to various programs, which include housing supports, prevention programming and outreach services. Housing supports and prevention are aimed at interacting more frequently with children and families before a child is taken into provincial care, while outreach services are slated for families already involved in the child welfare system. Additional money will go towards building, buying and repairing facilities. Rather than have multiple agencies involved in funnelling the money to various programs, Arcand says the STC was negotiating on behalf of its nations, and this money is theirs. “We have heard the communities loud and clear. To say we need to determine this because they’re with them every day, Arcand said. “It’s an amazing opportunity that the agency does not take money from the prevention program to implement that. Every dollar goes to the nation. And that’s why this model works.” Gull-Masty says the grassroots nature of the STC’s model gives her faith moving forward, and it’s a system she would like to see others emulate. “That’s why I have a great deal of trust in that, because of the level of understanding that leadership has,” Gull-Masty said. “And this is why I push an approach that is based on understanding regional priorities.” Wednesday’s signing marks the first regional agreement in Canada outside of Ontario. Arcand says the STC has been working towards this agreement since 2016, when the province took over the STC’s child welfare programs, and now the goal is for the STC’s involvement not to be needed. “We’re trying to get ourselves out of work, and that’s the goal,” Arcand said. “We keep the jurisdiction inside of the communities, and they do what’s best for their citizens.”
