Human Resources committee  I obviously was strong in my comments and I probably surprised some by the strength of them in criticizing the bill. It's because I think it is so critical that we get this right at the outset, because it would be leaving such a significant portion out. We certainly support the

Human Resources committee  In the design of these programs, there are always trade-offs in terms of access and accessibility. Even in the largest communities across Canada, there are significant aboriginal populations that would need day care spaces and facilities for 30 or so kids. It's a pretty small thr

Human Resources committee  I don't think there's any question the services are needed. In the brief we provided to the committee, we talked about the need for an early learning child care system. We were involved in some of the previous consultations leading up to this, and I certainly think it needs to oc

Human Resources committee  Absolutely. In terms of suggesting people or organizations that should be involved, this committee has the resources at its disposal to talk to some of the leading experts in the field. As humble as we are, we'd welcome the opportunity to talk about how we believe urban aborigina

Human Resources committee  Thank you. I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for the opportunity to present before you today on Bill C-303. My name is Peter Dinsdale and I am the executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres. In case you're not aware, friendship centres are

Human Resources committee  One of the success stories is seen when we partner, either as first nation urban people or with women's associations or with employers, to have more successful outcomes. On our own we're silos, but when we better case-manage in communities and when we partner, as friendship centr

Human Resources committee  I don't think that was the question, sir. Frankly, I think he has asked us what we would need across the board. We may have a partial agreement in one region. If you want to get into the technicalities of what that is, in Ontario we have an agreement under which people who do b

Human Resources committee  One thing we don't have is a formal relationship in employment training in AHRDS at all. We have no formalized relationship whatsoever. We think that the delivery infrastructure you talked about and the kinds of programs that are available in those community centres should play a

Human Resources committee  The funding we receive from the Department of Canadian Heritage for our program is $16.1 million annually. We give that funding to local friendship centres, and they leverage that into additional programs. So the total amount, $89 million a year, is being spent in communities acr

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. Thank you to this committee for the opportunity to appear before you. I've taken a brief look at your employability study so far. You've been going to a lot of places and hearing from a lot of people, so I hope you have something to add in the dialogue. I

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. For every dollar the friendship centre receives from the federal government for our core funding program, we've leveraged seven additional dollars for other areas of programming. This year, we have about $114 million in revenue spent through the friendship centre progr

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We were summoned to talk about Kelowna and Bill C-292, which is why our remarks are directed as such. I would love to have an opportunity to present to this committee on what specific urban aboriginal action plans are required to effect meaningful change for people in communitie

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We tried to hold an information rally instead of a demonstration. We had assurances from the Prime Minister in May that there would be accommodation made for service delivery. It didn't occur. We had assurances from the Minister of Indian Affairs and some other ministers at the 1

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our concerns with the Kelowna accord and the distinction-based approach you talk about are nuanced, because we certainly support the measures they contain. I'm a status Indian. Throughout the friendship centre movement, many of the people we serve are status Indians, and we wan

Health committee  My one major recommendation would be that this committee recommend significant programming for the six-to-twelve age group in recreation. I think that will have a tremendous impact on child obesity in the long term. It's a well-heeded investment that will have maximum impact, we