I want to talk just briefly about an experience we had where we developed, or are in a partnership around, a trauma recovery program for northern women who have experienced violence.
The women who came to that program really struggled with a European approach to therapy. I find this a constant challenge, in that northern people, Inuit and first nations people across the country, always have to fit their recovery or experience into a European approach that doesn't work.
So at the end of the day, the Government of the Northwest Territories withdrew funding for that program because in their view it didn't work. They didn't take the next step to recognize the great discoveries we had made and to say “Let's move on from there”.
The other brief challenge I'll just highlight is that I find federally and territorially when the government announces funding, there are two problems. One is funding is always announced in the south. As you know, all the centres of excellence of anything are located in the south; but the problems are in the north, and there's never a centre of excellence in the north. We don't have the research resources to demonstrate that we do have solutions that work. At least if you look in Vancouver in Sheway, Sheway is touted as being great, good practice, with the best service going, and I agree. We do the same thing here, but it's looked at like we're crazy, off-centre, not quite right, totally disorganized, and we shouldn't get funded. It's because we don't have the connection to the research or the longitudinal resources to say we do fantastic work.