Evidence of meeting #44 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was program.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Conservative
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Good morning.
I would like to say that I find this morning's meeting very interesting. I wanted to mention that for my colleagues' benefit. It has not been calm here for quite some time. I greatly appreciate it.
I would like to go back to Indian residential schools. There has been and continues to be a great deal of discussion about this. I will put my question about health to Ms. Langlois.
How does the Resolution Health Support Program address the intergenerational repercussions of the Indian residential school system? We know that the trauma is passed from generation to generation and that many people have been seriously affected by these residential schools. I would like you to explain how the Health Support Program deals with intergenerational impacts.
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
For the purposes of our program, we have established our own definition of “family member”, which allows us to work with family members from several generations. We have established that family members of those who went to residential schools are not only the spouse or partner, but also anyone who was raised in their household, as well as any other family member. This could include a niece, grandchild or great-grandchild who may have suffered the effects of that experience—we know that the effects pass from one generation to the next. If someone says his or her grandfather or grandmother went through such an experience, all we need is the family member's name and date of birth. We would then contact INAC to confirm the information and that person would be offered our services.
That is how we are managing the effects that are passed from one generation to the next. We offer our services to anyone who has been affected by residential schools.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Let us suppose that the grandfather was abused, but he never talked about it to anyone but his family, or he was unable to communicate with you. If I am not mistaken, the request could come from his spouse or his granddaughter. So there is a family perspective that makes it possible to break the silence following the abuse he suffered, right?
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Absolutely, yes.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Also, if you have some information, like the person's name and date of birth, you can help these people.
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Absolutely, yes.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
That's good.
What is the health support program doing to adapt its services to people's specific cultures? They often come from different aboriginal communities and different cultures. It can be a little complicated. How are you ensuring that the program is effective in all cultures?
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
We establish contribution agreements with local aboriginal organizations. There are organizations that serve the groups that are members of specific cultures. They employ aboriginal people belonging to the same cultural group to deliver the services. Our resolution health support workers and our elders and traditional healers from the same culture deliver the services. We also provide training to anyone who delivers services.
According to evaluations, the service is very welcome and very much appreciated. That is also what we always hear.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
So the service is customized and takes their culture into account.
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Yes, it must.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Cathy McLeod
Thank you.
We have time for a third round. It will be a five-minute round
We'll start with Ms. Simson.
Liberal
Michelle Simson Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for appearing today.
This study is on violence against aboriginal women, so I'd like to try to shift my questioning. With respect to the impact of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and to my colleague Ms. Neville's questions with respect to how it's affecting women, the shelters are shutting their doors and programs that were specific to this group are being shut down.
I'd like to refer to a bulletin dated March 29, 2010, from the Assembly of First Nations, wherein they write that:
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada released its evaluation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation this March--one day following the federal Budget. The evaluation, which identifies an ongoing demand for healing, outlines a management response and work plan and reinforces the point that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation has been very effective and efficient in its delivery of programming.
That's because it's integrated and, I also believe, because the communities bought into it. It just seems to me that we're going into a silo situation and that a lot of funding is being given to Health Canada for programs that may not be bought into in terms of who best could utilize the services.
I'd like to ask all of you this question. Would it not have been better to simply find the funding from Health Canada to at least extend the Aboriginal Healing Foundation funding to 2013, which is clearly what the Assembly of First Nations was looking to have done? Since they're the ones who are utilizing it, does it not maybe appear, top down, that we're not doing this?
Director General, Settlement Agreement Policy and Partnerships, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
I would just like to say that the Government of Canada very much appreciates the work of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and that the $125 million provided to the foundation under the settlement agreement was negotiated by the parties. It wasn't a Government of Canada decision. Funding wasn't cut: that was the amount that was originally provided to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation under the settlement agreement. That's what was provided.
Liberal
Michelle Simson Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
But why would the Assembly of First Nations be saying that they want it extended and we're not listening? I know what you're saying about a negotiated settlement. That also concerns me, because that's about the money; I'd like to talk about the outcomes. It's one thing to sit down and negotiate the money. But I'm curious about this. If it was that important to them and to the entire assembly, to all of them, and we're not listening, would it not perhaps have made sense to look at channeling some of that funding to the programs that clearly have been rated as being rather effective?
Director General, Settlement Agreement Policy and Partnerships, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
The Assembly of First Nations was a party to those negotiations for the settlement agreement, which also included the churches, the Inuit representatives, and counsel for the survivors. You'd have to speak with the Assembly of First Nations about why they passed the resolution that you're referring to.
Liberal
Michelle Simson Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Well, it's certainly because it was community-based, and that's something that is of concern to me, particularly as it references violence against aboriginal women. It's not a practical matter to be shifting people around and flying in and talking on the phone.
Right now that is the study we're undertaking, and again, I'm worried about the impact that this decision has specifically as it relates to women. We've travelled to some of the reserves and that is a huge issue: the community-based services are extremely important, particularly to women.
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Perhaps I could just respond to indicate that through the--
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Cathy McLeod
Sorry, a quick response. I wasn't paying attention to time.
Director General, Community Programs Directorate, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Through the resolution health support program, we have contribution agreements with 123 community-based organizations that are aboriginally run organizations.
I have now found my data on the numbers to indicate that the community has indeed bought into this program. In 2008-09 we had 19,000 former students and 7,000 family members use the program. In 2009-10 it doubled, basically, to 35,700 former students and 18,600 family members, so it doubled our demand in one year for this program.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Cathy McLeod
Thank you.
If it's okay with the rest of the committee, my colleagues have indicated that I can have the five minutes--if there are no objections.
Great. Thank you.
Actually, you were starting to reach into what I was going to ask about. So you anticipated about 80,000 current residential school survivors. Are we going to guess that 40,000 are women?
Director General, Settlement Agreement Policy and Partnerships, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
It has been approximately 40,000, half and half.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Cathy McLeod
How many have actually gone to seek help above and beyond the common experience through some of these programs?
