Good afternoon, committee.
My name is Patsy McKinney. I am the executive director of Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton.
I want to recognize that I am joining you today from the unsurrendered, unceded traditional lands of the Wolastoqiyik in Fredericton.
I want to thank you for the invitation to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health today.
The indigenous population in Canada is young, rapidly growing and largely urban-based. Nationally, approximately 65% to 80% of Canada's two million indigenous people live in urban settings. The urban indigenous population continues to expand at a rate four times faster than that of the non-indigenous urban population.
Despite being one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the Canadian population, urban indigenous children face a range of complex health challenges across a variety of social determinants. Our children continue to be denied their inherent rights and equitable access to culturally grounded, quality services due to unstable and insufficient funding, lack of continuity in a patchwork of programs and services, jurisdictional ambiguity and a lack of indigenous control over the planning, design and delivery of programs.
I want to talk briefly about the friendship centre movement and its work.
With a vast majority of Canada's indigenous population living in urban environments, friendship centres fill an essential gap in service provisions as one of the few organizations directly catering to urban indigenous needs in a status-inclusive model. For more than 50 years, friendship centres have aided first nations, Inuit and Métis living in urban environments. Collectively, we refer to our network of over 100 local friendship centres as the friendship centre movement. We deliver over 1,300 programs and serve over one million people per year. The friendship centre movement is Canada's most significant and comprehensive urban indigenous service delivery network.
Historically, the Government of Canada has failed to uphold the rights of children and care for their well-being. Public policy decisions and budgetary allocations often do not prioritize Canada's youngest citizens, which is evident at all levels of government.
Indigenous children continue to be disproportionately represented in the Canadian child welfare system. This ongoing and growing crisis is the result of the lasting impacts of colonization and the residential school system. Compared with non-indigenous children in Canada, our children are more likely to grow up in families affected by intergenerational trauma and the multiple and interrelated downstream effects of poverty. They are more likely to be removed from their homes, cultures and communities by the contemporary child welfare system.
Urban indigenous children, youth and families face additional barriers to accessing culturally safe programs and services that reflect their needs and best interests, both as indigenous people and as children. The need for culturally safe and accessible urban indigenous-specific and urban indigenous-driven community support is high and continually growing.
There is an urgent and pressing need to ensure that all indigenous children, regardless of residency, can fully appreciate their rights both as indigenous peoples and as children. All indigenous children ought to receive culturally relevant programs and services offered by indigenous-owned and indigenous-operated entities, whether they reside within their respective communities or in an urban setting. Solutions to the health crisis facing indigenous children can be found within our own communities and our organizations.
Friendship centres have a long and demonstrated history of effectively supporting the health and well-being of indigenous children through wraparound services. Friendship centres across Canada will continue to support the holistic well-being and safety of urban indigenous children, youth and families.
The ongoing threats to the health and well-being of children and the violations of children's rights in this country warrant immediate attention, investment and action by all levels of government. With a solid majority of indigenous people living in urban areas and as a young and fast-growing population, effective policy, programs and legislation must adopt an urban lens. Urban indigenous communities and indigenous-led organizations must be part of any solution to meaningfully improve the lives and future of Canada's children.
The friendship centre movement is unique in its ability to uplift and support urban indigenous communities, mobilizing advocacy and collaboration through a national network. All levels of government should be prepared to work with friendship centres, community leaders and indigenous peoples in urban setting to develop collaborative and meaningful solutions that consider the perspectives of all affected individuals and communities.
I want to thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.