Good afternoon, my name is Claudie Paul, an Innu from the Mashteuiatsh First Nation.
Today, we are representing the Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtones du Québec, the provincial organization of friendship centres in this province. The friendship centre movement is active across Canada. There are about 120 friendship centres across the country and one provincial association in each province. All friendship centres have the same mission across Canada. It is the largest service infrastructure.
We advocate for indigenous rights and interests in cities. Associations support the development of services within friendship centres in cities. Quebec has nine friendship centres in the following cities: Chibougamau, La Tuque, Joliette, Maniwaki, Montréal, Roberval, Senneterre, Sept-Îles and Trois-Rivières.
Two new centres have been opened in the past two years. They are hubs for indigenous community services, living environments and cultural roots. That's sort of what urban centres represent. Naturally, democratic organizations emerge from communities. The efforts of the indigenous population in cities help centres emerge. We are talking about 50 integrated and interconnected services.
We work in the following areas: early childhood, family and youth, skills development, employability, justice, increasingly, educational success, health, social services, as well as social and economic development. We provide a continuum of services. People who arrive in the cities need support. Today, 53.2% of indigenous people in Quebec live in cities. This percentage is much higher than elsewhere in Canada. There are many reasons for moving to the cities, including housing, education, work and other reasons, including the desire to improve living conditions. We will soon look at how this relates to justice.
I will now give the floor to Ms. Poulin.