With regards to the proposed establishment of the Edmonton Aboriginal Transition Centre in conjunction with the proposed changes to the Aboriginal Transition Model in urban centres: (a) what specific research has the government done to recognize the need for this centre and what are the comprehensive findings of any studies done; (b) how does the government specifically plan on engaging and cooperating with community-based organizations that already focus on transitioning Aboriginal people in urban locations; (c) if any consultation was done with community-based organizations prior to the planning of the new model, (i) what organizations were contacted, (ii) at what date were they contacted, (iii) where is each organization located, (iv) what were the results and feedback of the consultation process; (d) has this new model received support or opposition from the Friendship Centres on the local, regional, and national levels; (e) if the Friendship Centres do support this new model, how is their cooperation demonstrated, and if they are opposed to the model, how have they displayed their opposition; and (f) what consultation has been done with other governmental departments, particularly the Department of Canadian Heritage, that fund similar services to Aboriginal peoples in order to avoid overlap in governmental expenditures and programming?
In the House of Commons on September 14th, 2009. See this statement in context.