The data collection system has been a thorny issue in setting up a separate atikamekw system. We wanted to have our own data collection system. The provincial government was against it, because it is responsible for funding as per the agreement signed under section 37.5 of the Youth Protection Act.
Because we were refused funding for an independent data collection system that would have been useful and would have been in lockstep with our youth protection system in every way, we are forced to use the provincial system, which is called Projet intégration jeunesse, or PIJ. This means we have to be flexible and we are currently negotiating with the province. The data that the province collects is very useful within the provincial system, but that same data is not adapted to the atikamekw system that we use currently.
We will send you a brief on this issue. For example, the Atikamekw collect information indicating whether the child has been placed in an atikamekw or non-atikamekw family. This type of data, however, is not collated by the province. It is, however, very important for us to have it.