Thank you.
My name is Gertie Mai Muise. I am Mi'kmaq from St. George's, Newfoundland and currently the chief executive officer for the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres.
I am joined today by my respected colleague, Sean Longboat, who is a Cayuga man from Hamilton. He is currently the director of programs at the OFIFC. Sean is a kind man, meaning he is a committed advocate for the protection of indigenous women, children and families. I have asked him to join me today to discuss friendship centre wise practices for ending violence.
We are very honoured to join the committee this afternoon. I thank you for the invitation. Our presentation will provide some highlights from our more substantive brief that has been submitted to the committee.
Our organization supports 29 member friendship centres across Ontario for the past five decades and also additional delivery sites. It has ensured that culture and community are at the core of all of our programs and services.
Ending violence has always been a pillar of our work, which recognizes the disproportionate rate of violence against indigenous women, girls and the two-spirit LGBTQQIA community members. We also never forget the impact of violence and trauma on indigenous men and boys in our communities. Our efforts have contributed to frameworks and initiatives that have influenced the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and in particular, the urban indigenous national action plan.
Going forward from the foundation of evidence provided through the national inquiry and many prior reports and research, I would like to share information on two key areas to inform the committee's study. The first is about three indigenous-led initiatives delivered by Ontario Friendship Centres that have been designed to address intimate partner and domestic violence. I would also like to recommend new approaches that can be adopted by the federal government to effect meaningful change and impact within our current generation.
To begin, I will share information about three key initiatives. The first is the indigenous healing and wellness strategy, which was launched provincially in 1994 to address the increase in intimate partner violence and domestic violence in indigenous communities. The indigenous healing and wellness strategy supports indigenous governed programs and services to reinstate the healing journey in a holistic manner that is aimed at better outcomes at the community level. Since 2019, friendship centres have collectively supported over 12,000 clients, reflecting the sustained need for programs that heal and prevent violence.
The next is the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres' Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program, which is a leading wise practice that empowers indigenous men and youth to take part in ending violence by reclaiming their traditional roles and responsibilities as protectors of their communities. The program provides wraparound care for self-identifying indigenous men and youth who are ready to embark on their healing path or to become advocates for their community to end all forms of violence.
Finally, the federation has a program called the indigenous community justice program. It is a culturally appropriate alternative to the mainstream justice system that supports the prevention of violence through diversion programming. The program is based on indigenous legal principles by involving community members, victims, survivors of intimate partner violence and elders in the creation of healing plans that seek to resolve and restore balance, and mitigate further harm. The program keeps the individual rooted in community, stabilized and connected to long-term healing, subsequently reducing the risk of recidivism.
The indigenous community justice program was recently designated as the indigenous-specific intimate partner violence program by the Province of Ontario. This is a milestone that demonstrates the program's power in addressing offending behaviour through culture-based approaches to justice that reduces indigenous peoples' involvement in the justice system.
Next, I would like to recommend new approaches that can be adopted by the federal government. The first is a new relationship with indigenous people, communities and organizations that actually reflects the lived experience in our communities. The lack of federal strategy to directly support urban indigenous communities impedes improving outcomes across social determinants of safety and health.
The second is to establish a national program to ensure victims' service workers are integrated within urban indigenous community service provider networks and employed within organizations like friendship centres.
The third is for Canada to implement a universal guaranteed basic income program nationally to address deeply entrenched socio-economic circumstances that remain barriers to safety, health, well-being and community connection.
Finally, increase the capacity for urban indigenous innovation, program design and evaluation to support creative approaches to finding new wise practices in ending violence and reducing conflict through culture-based preventative strategies that are informed by those who are most impacted.
This concludes our presentation. Thank you for listening.
We would be pleased to answer any questions you might have throughout the session.
Wela'lin.