Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.
I am pleased to stand in the House today to describe some of the concrete actions the government is taking to promote and protect the health and well-being of former students of Indian residential schools and their family members.
In his commitment toward reconciliation, the Prime Minister made his historic statement of apology for Indian residential schools. We recognize that while the settlement agreement is an important milestone in Canada's effort to deliver on its commitment to a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, it can also be a source of deep emotion and sometimes pain.
As such, the government continues to ensure that the appropriate supports are in place throughout the duration of the settlement agreement. This includes $199 million over two years in budget 2010 to ensure that necessary mental health and emotional support services continue to be provided to former students and their families, and to support the independent assessment process and the common experience payment.
Although there are many mental health strengths among first nations and Inuit communities, including connections to traditional cultures and extended family networks, there are also some significant challenges. Many communities face high unemployment rates, widespread poverty, low educational outcomes, remoteness from health services and the loss of traditional language and culture. Some of the 80,000 former students from residential schools are coping with the loss of culture and language. Others may have the after-effects of trauma resulting from physical, sexual and emotional abuse. This may lead to various mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions and personality disorders.
It is in acknowledgement of these impacts that the mental health support services offered by our government through Health Canada are available not only to former students of residential schools but also to their families. The commitment we made through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement enables us to move forward in providing mental health and emotional support services to former students of Indian residential schools and their family members. Support is provided as they participate in the common experience payments, the independent assessment process, Truth and Reconciliation Commission events and commemorative activities.
Our health minister , through her department, provides these mental health and emotional supports through the resolution health support program. The resolution health support program seeks to ensure that former students and their families have the health supports they need to participate in the settlement agreement's process. The resolution health support program provides a range of culturally safe services to ensure that eligible former students of Indian residential schools and their families have access to mental health and emotional supports so they may safely address issues related to the Indian residential schools and disclose any abuse throughout the settlement agreement process.
Through the resolution health support program, Health Canada provides access to more than 1,600 service providers, including professional counsellors, community-based aboriginal workers, elders and traditional healers in every province and territory, in communities across Canada. It also provides assistance with the cost of transportation to access services not available in the home community.
We want to ensure that eligible former students and their families have access to mental health and the emotional supports they need. Of the $199 million over two years in new funding for Indian residential schools included in budget 2010, $65.9 million is for the Indian residential schools resolution health support program over the next two years. The demand for resolution health support program services continues to grow as a result of the volume of common experience payments and independent assessment process hearings, and so does the demand for upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission events.
Through this program, former students and their families have access to a range of culturally safe services, many of which are delivered in communities by experienced aboriginal providers. We recognize the diversity of need and are responding accordingly. It is also important that there is access to psychologists and other counsellors. Former students often request to spend time with aboriginal workers from their communities or elders who can assist them in their traditional ways.
The resolution health support program is designed to meet these diverse needs. It provides access to community-based cultural and emotional support as well as to professional counselling. Cultural support services are provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them, elders or traditional healers are available to assist former students and their families. Specific services are determined by the needs of the individual and include dialogue, ceremonies, prayers or traditional healing.
Emotional support services are also provided by local aboriginal organizations. Through them an aboriginal community-based worker who has training and experience working with former students of Indian residential schools will listen, talk and support former students and their family members throughout the settlement agreement process. In addition to these services, access to professional counsellors, such as psychologists and social workers who are registered with Health Canada, is available to those who need it.
We understand the importance of providing effective services. The 2006 midterm evaluation of the Indian residential schools national resolution framework found that 90% of claimants who responded to a survey utilize one or more of the health support services funded by Health Canada and 93% of survey respondents indicated that their experience was safer and more supportive as a result of the health supports provided. Most importantly, 89% of claimants who received counselling indicated that the resolution process was a positive experience.
Since the implementation of the settlement agreement began in 2007, there has been a greater demand for various services available through the resolution health support program. The independent assessment process is hearing more claims and the need for services does remain high.
Our government has responded to the needs of former students and their families, spending approximately $80 million since the time of implementation to ensure that sufficient mental health and emotional supports are available to former students and their families through the resolution health support program.
Health Canada and its federal and aboriginal partners are being proactive by continuing to increase awareness among former students and their families of the available services by the resolution health support program. We have also been reaching out to projects currently funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to ensure that eligible clients are aware of and able to access the resolution health support program services. This effort to raise awareness is in addition to the other activities that have been ongoing.
For example, since 2007, over 421,000 brochures describing the resolution health support program have been sent directly to former students, band offices, community health centres, native friendship centres, nursing stations, treatment centres and many other meeting places across this country. The resolution health support program is but one of the several mental health and addictions programs funded by the federal government and which provide important community-based services helping aboriginal families.
Health Canada funds over $200 million in mental health and addiction services to first nations and Inuit communities throughout a number of programs. These include the national native alcohol and drug abuse program and the national youth solvent abuse program, which provide both residential treatment services and community-based prevention programming.
The brighter futures and building healthy communities programs provide funds to address mental wellness issues and crisis intervention programming, which communities use to support action on their own mental health priorities. The national aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy supports over 200 communities to support youth mental health and to prevent suicide.
These actions clearly demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that former students are aware of and have access to the mental health and emotional support services that they need. We have taken this responsibility seriously. We have demonstrated our commitment to meeting the needs and we will continue to do so.
In conclusion, I just want to go over some of the different programs that are available, because there has been some debate in the House that has not been as factual as it could be. We want to take the high road here and let the House know that there are elder supports. There are community-based elders and traditional healers available. There are emotional supports. There are aboriginal community-based mental health workers, many of whom speak aboriginal languages. There are clinical supports and psychiatrists and psychologists who provide the counselling.
These services are designed to help former students and their families safely address issues related to the Indian residential schools as well as the disclosure of abuse throughout the settlement agreement process.