Long-term funding, I think we've heard many times, is so important to being able to establish stable long-term relationships with the communities we're working in. What we have been able to do since the first commitment of funding, our first long-term funding agreement with the federal government, is to actually say to communities and say to students, “We will be here for the next five years, so you can plan on our being able to provide employment opportunities. You can plan on our being able to support your education. If you're 16, we'll be here when you're ready to go to university. We'll provide those steps and those pathways.” That is so fundamental to being able to actually provide the real foundation of what community-based and community codeveloped programming is, which is the strong relationships that are necessary to make it happen.
On March 8th, 2023. See this statement in context.