Kwe, hello.
My name is Amélie Lainé and I am the Director, Partnerships and Programs, at the Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtones du Québec. I am also a member of the Wendake nation.
This morning, I am happy to be working on the territory of my Wendat ancestors.
I want to thank the committee for having me here, virtually, and allowing me to speak about the needs, problems and challenges facing indigenous families living in urban settings and the impact of Bill C-35.
The Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtones is a provincial association that supports ten indigenous friendship centres and three service points in Quebec. They are located in the cities that indigenous people visit in significant numbers. The Regroupement helps develop tangible solutions and public policies to improve the well-being of the increasing number of indigenous people living in urban settings. This is a constantly growing population in Quebec but also across Canada. The Regroupement also implements innovative and proactive strategies to address indigenous people's needs and support the development and implementation of projects and programs.
The Regroupement and its centres are also members of the National Association of Friendship Centres, a network of over 120 centres that is the largest infrastructure for the delivery of services to the indigenous citizens of Canada. This infrastructure has been in existence here for over 70 years.
The indigenous friendship centres are frontline service hubs for indigenous people. They offer a range of services, such as health, well-being, social services, education and employability. They also offer family and early childhood services. They are places that value identity and culture and that offer traditional knowledge and indigenous language teaching.
The impacts of the activities of the friendship centres are numerous and documented. Well-being and health improve; a safety net is created for indigenous families living in cities far from their communities; families are empowered; diverse spaces, opportunities and experiences are created that contribute to children's healthy habits; and, most importantly, we see a desire for lifelong learning.
The early childhood services that are delivered by the friendship centres depend on the resources and the realities and issues of the urban indigenous community that supports the friendship centre. The services include early childhood learning services and guidance and psychosocial support for families. As I mentioned earlier, there are front-line services such as health clinics that enable indigenous families living in cities to overcome a number of challenges. These families experience several combined vulnerability factors. There are also programming of day camp workshops, family outings on the land, perinatal activities, various cultural activities, spaces for children to have access to educational materials, goodwill visits to pregnant women and new parents, parental respite services, and food and emergency assistance, among other things.
Bill C-35 includes funding agreements with indigenous partners to enable indigenous governance and partnerships in this area and program delivery. Those agreements are necessary: despite the multitude of early childhood and family services available, many needs are still unmet.
As we know, indigenous families living in urban areas use little to no public services, whether in Quebec or in the other provinces of Canada. There is racism and prejudice and people don't trust government institutions, so community organizations like the friendship centres become reference points, and, most importantly, places where they can access services that are culturally appropriate and safe. It is important that these families have access to specialized services, since some of them are also in the youth protection system.
To fulfil the federal government’s vision and goal for early learning and child care, Bill C-35 must take into account the diverse realities and the needs of indigenous children living in urban settings.
Co-development, partnership and collaboration are the best ways forward. Unfortunately, place of residence too often affects access to quality education services. The result is discrimination on two fronts, direct and indirect. More than 50 per cent of indigenous people in Quebec live in cities. In Canada, it is more than 60 per cent. That population is continuing to grow and needs access to high quality services. Organizations that support urban indigenous communities, like the indigenous friendship centres, continue to face jurisdictional disputes when they seek funding.
Stable, substantial and equitable funding is needed to support our families living in urban settings. At present, urban indigenous organizations that offer services have little or no access to funding relating to the early learning and child care framework for young indigenous children, to consolidate and develop their early childhood and family services, since the funding is administered by the indigenous political institutions. The investments must therefore use equitable funding models that reflect the rights and jurisdiction of all indigenous people. Urban indigenous organizations need to be able to receive equitable, flexible funding that enables us to offer services. We must have access to resources...
