Media.Knet.Ca

Equay-wuk (Women's Group) is pleased to announce:

Train-The-Trainer 2007 Workshop

March 26-30, 2007.

Sunset Inn, Sioux Lookout

• Are you a community workers seeking facilitator training?
• Are you committed to promoting healthy communities?
• Are you committed to deliver a workshop/s in your community?
• If so, this is the training for you

The main goal of the Healthy Families Healthy Nations Program is to empower community workers to begin healing within their home communities.

Equay-wuk will be hosting a Train-The-Trainer workshop to assist workers in carrying out family violence prevention activities in their communities.  It has been recognized that family violence is an issue that has negative effects on all members of a family and community.

The workshop will be carried out using the newly developed resource, "Minoyawin Dibenjigewining Minoyawin Tashekewining Natamakewin" Healthy Families Healthy Nations Program - Family Violence Prevention Kit.

This workshop will be the 1st of 3 workshops available.  Target communities are those serviced by Equay-wuk (Women's Group). 

Equay-wuk is able to cover all costs for 2 delegates per community.  The first 30 registered will be accepted.  Those registered thereafter will be placed on a waiting list and will have priority seating for the next available training (dates to be determined).

Workers who should attend:

• family violence prevention workers
• family support workers
• shelter/healing centre staff
• NNADAP workers
• mental health workers
• community health representatives (CHR's)
• Health Directors
• other front line workers

Contact Jennifer or Linda:
Phone:  (807) 737-2214
Toll Free:  1-800-261-8294

Or visit our website for more information:

www.equaywuk.ca  (registration form available on-line)

Deadline for registrations is March 16, 2007.

NETWORKING NORTH RETURNS AFTER TRIUMPHANT 1st YEAR

Wasaya Airways is doing its part to promote local and surrounding area businesses to First Nation Communities in Northwestern Ontario

Thunder Bay, Ontario -- Tuesday, February 27, 2007   Wasaya Airways LP will be hosting the 2nd Annual Networking North conference and trade show on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at the Valhalla Inn Ballroom from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Based on the huge success last year, the event will be open to over 35 local and surrounding area exhibitors. Networking North is a significant forum that brings First Nation communities and businesses together to network.

“We gained more exposure for our store, and created awareness of the products we carry and the packages we are able to put together for First Nation communities,” said Mike Fonso of Play It Again Sports following last year’s event.

The delegate numbers have tripled this year, with delegates from 21 communities across Northwestern Ontario, all communities that Wasaya Airways services. Representatives from each community consist of a member of the Chief and Council, store owners and operators, the Economic Development Corporation, or a band manager or administrator. These are the decision makers of the First Nation communities.

Mayor Lynn Peterson will be welcoming delegates to Thunder Bay in the morning, and media are encouraged to attend. Interviews with Tom Morris, President & CEO of Wasaya Airways LP, can also be scheduled.

Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council (OFNYPC)

4th Annual Youth Symposium on Culture, Language and Tradition

For First Nations Youth 15 to 29

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

MARCH 8th, 2007
 
(Depending on availability of space, late registrations may be accepted until March 13th, 2007)

Registrations limited to 300 participants

Check online at
www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/youth
for
Agenda & Listing of Workshops

Host Community Profile
Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, Manitoulin Island

Bring your dancing regalias!    

For more information, please contact Laura Calm Wind, Youth Coordinator 1-807-626-9339 or by email at laura@coo.org

Drug and Alcohol Free Event!!

Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council
4th Annual Youth Symposium on Culture, Tradition and Language

“Now is the time for our generation to learn and preserve our sacred gifts.”

REGISTRATION FORM

Name:_________________________________________________________________

Age:___________________________________________________________________

Gender:_______________________________________________________________

First Nation Community/Organization:________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________________

Telephone:____________________________________________________________

Fax:___________________________________________________________________

Email:_________________________________________________________________

Are you a student?              ____YES ______NO

Academic Institution:_________________________________________________

Why do you want to attend?:__________________________________________

You may be required to share a room. Who will you share accommodations with?_______________________________________________

Are you representing a youth council?_____YES_______NO

If yes, what is the name of your council?______________________________

Mode of transportation to Wikwemikong:

_____Driving _______Airline_______  Bus _______Other

Please fax to:

Laura Calm Wind, Youth Coordinator, Chiefs of Ontario 807-626-940
For additional information, please call
807-626-9339 or email laura@coo.org

www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/youth 

FIRST AID/CPR INSTRUCTOR COURSE

An EMP Canada – Medic First Aid Core (first aid and CPR) Instructor course costing $570.00 has been scheduled:

When:  May  2, 3, 4, 2007

Where:  

Regional Training Center
15 Ocean Av., 2nd Floor
Kenora, ON
(The old St. Joseph Hospital, down the street from Lake of the Woods Dist. Hospital)

The course will include the EMP Canada College Classroom Communicator Self-Study Guide, Basic (Emergency), Basic Plus (Standard), and all levels of CPR. The Self-Study guide must be done 2 weeks in advance and returned.

Register now……

Deadline for Registration is April 14. 2007

Please complete and fax or mail this form to the address at the bottom of the application:

Name: ______________________________________________________________
Company/ Organization: _______________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________
City: __________________________________  Prov.: ______ P.C.: _____________
Tel(W): (       ) _____________   Tel (H): (       ) _________________
Fax: (       ) ______________   e-mail: _________________________

Payment ($570.00): ____________

30 year anniversary of Windigo First Nations Council

Wanted - Qualified applicants for B.Ed.Program

There are 64 days remaining before the application deadline on May 1st.  If you are a Grade 12 graduate and interested in becoming a teacher, email Brian at bhawker@nnec.on.ca with your mailing address and telephone number or leave a message at 1-877-636-0667, ext. 25.

As AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine filed a Human Rights complaint against the Federal Government along with the report, "The $9 Billion Myth Exposed: Why First Nations Poverty Endures", INAC Minister Prentice claims the government is already spending a lot on First Nations (see the Globe and Mail story below). 

AFN report ... The $9 Billion Myth Exposed: Why First Nations Poverty Endures

Click here to read the report (PDF)

Where is the $9.1 billion being spent?

Only $5.4 Billion of all federal “Aboriginal” spending actually ever reaches First Nations.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Department officials have confirmed that only about 82% of policy and program funds actually reach First Nations in the form of grants and contributions. Treasury Board estimates that 11% or $600 million per year is spent on INAC departmental overhead.

It is estimated that only about 53% of “aboriginal issues” funding from other federal departments actually reaches First Nations. This issue requires further study.

INAC’s budget represents only approximately 0.004% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product. Affordability to address First Nations’ urgent needs is not under question. In the last Budget, the federal government applied the $13.2 billion surplus to the debt, and this surplus continues to grow. Meanwhile, it invested $17 billion in military spending ...

Why are First Nations still living in poverty?

The federal system of fiscal transfers to First Nations communities is broken. Quite simply, funding caps on First Nation programs and services over the last decade have made impoverished conditions much worse. First Nations communities have to provide more programs and services, to more people, with less money every year. The result is that the poverty gap has been widening further every year. ...

INAC has found that expenditures per First Nations resident on reserve is less than those in the Territories despite similar demographics, scale of operations and geographic challenges. Under the Territorial Formula Financing Agreement for 2005–06, the per capita grants to the territories were $26,633 for Nunavut, $16,604 for the Northwest Territories, and $15,709 for the Yukon.

+++++++++

From Globe and Mail ...

Minister issues warning ahead of native human-rights complaint
BILL CURRY - POSTED ON 23/02/07

OTTAWA -- Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said Ottawa already spends "an awful lot of money" on natives, delivering a sharp rebuke to the mounting calls for more aboriginal spending in next month's budget.

The minister made the comments yesterday, on the eve of today's full-court press from aboriginal leaders calling for action on native poverty. Their measures will include the formal filing of a human-rights complaint against the federal government for underfunding child and welfare programs on reserves.

Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, will announce the complaint today.

Yesterday, he spoke to the Economic Club of Toronto, where he painted a grim picture of the status quo. Describing native poverty levels as "horrific," he said federal polices are to blame for the hopelessness that leads eight-year-old girls into "survival sex" prostitution and teenage boys to die fighting in gang wars over drug money.

"This is Canada that I am talking about, Canada which has billions of dollars in surplus," Mr. Fontaine said. "I am telling you honestly and most sincerely that our communities right now are reaching a breaking point. The anger and frustration are palpable. . . . Unless that anger and frustration are addressed, I fear the consequences."

Specifically, Mr. Fontaine wants Ottawa to follow the advice of a recent Senate committee report calling for $250-million a year to be set aside for land-claim settlements so that native communities have more power to enter into business arrangements with off-reserve groups.

In response, the Indian Affairs Minister noted yesterday that the first Conservative budget boosted native funding significantly. He said more money is not necessarily the answer.

"The government of Canada spends approximately $15,100 on our first nation citizens [on reserve] if you go right across the government . . . now that's an awful lot of money. It is significantly more than the government of Canada and all other levels of government together spend on non-aboriginal Canadians, if you will. Now the question which first nation citizens and other Canadians are asking is, 'Are we getting value for the dollars?'" Mr. Prentice told reporters.

Roy Fiddler, Muskrat Dam Education Director, and Doug Beardy, IFNA Education Coordinator, are in the middle of a two day, 90 kilometre walk on the winter road from Bearskin Lake to Muskrat Dam.

They are raising funds for the 18th Annual Gospel Jamboree to be held in Muskrat Dam on March 2, 3 and 4, 2007.

They started walking yesterday morning at 9 am. They walked for 10 hours covering a total of 50 km before breaking for the day. They started again this morning to complete their walk. Roy's wife, Shirley is providing transportation support for the walkers.

This afternoon, the students at Samson Beardy Memorial School will join Roy and Doug to complete their walk as they come into Muskrat Dam.

Roy and Doug raised over $1,000 before leaving Muskrat Dam on Wednesday evening from local supporters before even the start of their walk.

Anyone interested in donating to this event can do so by calling the school at 807-471-2524 or either radio stations in Bearskin Lake and Muskrat Dam.

AFN press release ...

Canadian Human Rights Complaint on First Nations Child Welfare Filed Today by Assembly of First Nations and First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

OTTAWA, Feb. 23 - Today, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada formally filed a complaint today with the Canadian Human Rights Commission regarding lack of funding for First Nations child welfare.

"There are more than 27,000 First Nations children in state care. This is a national disgrace that requires the immediate and serious attention of all governments to resolve," said National Chief Phil Fontaine. "Rational appeals to successive federal governments have been ignored. After years of research that confirm the growing numbers of our children in care, as well as the potential solutions to this crisis, we have no choice but to appeal to the Canadian Human Rights Commission."

"I have said all along that I would rather negotiate than litigate," added the National Chief. "But we have the right to determine what is best for the future of our children. Our children must have an equal opportunity to grow-up with their families, in their communities, and in their culture. No First Nation child should have to forgo this opportunity as a result of poverty or an inability to access basic services."

"First Nations leadership have been forced into the position of launching this formal complaint against the federal government", said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Lawrence Joseph. "It has become clear to our leadership that governments do not respond to demonstrated, real and growing needs in First Nations child welfare."

"We are not interested in conflict, we are seeking a just, equitable, and proactive resolution on behalf of our First Nations children and families," added Chief Joseph.

"According to the Department of Indian Affairs own website, 'fundamental change in the funding approach of First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies to child welfare is required in order to reverse the growth rate of children coming into care, and in order for the agencies to meet their mandated responsibilities'," noted Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. "We could not agree more. We have worked diligently with the AFN, First Nations child and family service agencies, and Indian Affairs to develop a detailed, evidence based solution to the problem."

"The federal government still has not acted on the recommendations," added Ms. Blackstock. "We can no longer stand still as the safety and well being of First Nations children depends on implementing this solution so we are proud to stand with the Assembly of First Nations in filing this human rights complaint."

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

For further information: Bryan Hendry, A/Director of Communications, (613) 241-6789 ext. 229, cell, (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca;. Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor - Office of the National Chief, (613) 241-6789 ext 243, (613) 298-6382, npine@afn.ca.

++++++++

Click here to read Speaking Notes for Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

In preparation for today's filing of a Canadian Human Rights Complaint on Discriminatory Treatment Against First Nations Child Welfare Agencies by the Assembly of First Nations National Chief, and First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, a set of commonly asked questions and answers are being made available to clarify the reality of the challenges and opportunities facing Canadian society today.

The INAC funded research is now in place in the form of the 2005 Wen:de reports that are available on line at www.fncaringsociety.com ... THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!

Click here for a copy of the LEADERSHIP ACTION PLAN ON FIRST NATIONS CHILD WELFARE

First Nations Child and Family Services - Questions and Answers 
 
February 2007

1. What is the First Nation child welfare issue all about?

Child welfare is about working with First Nation families to ensure the safety and well being of their children. In an ideal scenario, concerns about a child’s welfare are resolved by providing services to help the family, but in some cases these services are not enough to ensure the child’s safety and the child is removed and placed with extended family or in foster care.

One of the challenges for First Nations children on reserve is that the federal government does not fund First Nations child and family service agencies to provide prevention or support services to families to enable them to keep their children safely in the family home. The absence of these services is a major reason why so many First Nation children are in care.

Another significant factor is that First Nation Child Welfare agencies receive approximately 22% less funding than provincial agencies.

2. What is meant by an “over representation” of First Nation Children in care?

The unfortunate reality is that 1 out of 10 First Nations children are placed in care compared to 1 out of every 200 non-First Nation children in Canada.

3. What does it mean when 1 out of every 10 First Nation children are in care?

It means that too many First Nation children are in care. It is estimated that there are as many as 27,000 First Nation children in care today. This figure includes children in First Nation agencies and provincial agencies both on and off-reserve. This number is three times the number of children that were in Residential Schools at the height of their operation.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Minister Jim Prentice, alleges that there are only 9,000 First Nations children in care. This figure of 9,000 refers to First Nations children in the care of First Nations agencies only, and not First Nation children in care throughout provincial agencies. Further, the Minister recognizes there has been a 65% increase of First Nation children in care since 1996.

The AFN believes that all First Nations children should be safe and well cared for, and in some cases that means placement in foster care. However, the gap in funding to service First Nation agencies is a critical issue. It is common for foster families funded through First Nation agencies to be subsidized at a much lower rate than their provincial counterparts, making the overall shortage of qualified foster families an even bigger challenge.

4. Why are so many children coming into care?

The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS): Final Report (2005) reports that the primary reason why First Nations children come into care is “neglect”. The root causes of neglect are directly linked with abject degrees of poverty, poor housing conditions and high instances of alcohol and substance abuse. Without considerable family supports and community program investments, parents do not have the supports they need to address family challenges and to prevent their children from being placed in care.

The AFN agrees that systemic reform must occur, and that means addressing inequality in First Nations child welfare funding while also focusing on the needs and strengths of First Nation children and their families, as opposed to focusing solely on assessing risks.

5. What is the Alberta Response model?

The Alberta response model is also referred to as a “differential model”. This model utilizes a range of community partners (all levels of government, the voluntary sector, businesses and non-profit organizations) which are mobilized to support children and their families. Children require less urgent, less disruptive interventions, and protection placements are shifted into an alternative track where they access a well coordinated short and long term range of services tailored to meet their specific needs. One challenge is that in order to be successful, families must have access to family support services and as we described earlier this is just the type of service that the federal government under funds for First Nations children.

6. Does the AFN support Alberta First Nations in their efforts to secure investments in child welfare for Alberta?

Yes, the AFN supports INAC’s approach of recognizing the Alberta Response model in this region. However, the AFN would be seeking national authorities to refocus the First Nation child welfare program from intervention to protection and emphasize the importance of providing incentives in other provinces to build the required conditions for prevention services to be successfully implemented.

7. Is there a way to ensure that children do not come into care due to jurisdictional disputes?

Yes, a “child first” principle to resolving jurisdictional disputes has been proposed called Jordan’s Principle, in memory of a child who stayed in hospital unnecessarily for over two years while governments tried to resolve a jurisdictional dispute regarding the services he needed for home care. What this means is that when a jurisdictional dispute arises between two levels of government regarding who will pay for the services provided to a Status Indian child, and those services are otherwise available to other Canadian children, the government of first contact must pay for the service and then resolve the jurisdictional dispute later. This means that children come first and the jurisdictional dispute can still be sorted out.

This child first principle would cost government nothing and yet has still NOT been implemented.

8. What is the difference in funding levels between First Nation agencies and provincial agencies?

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Child and Family Services Program provides 22% less funding per child to First Nation agencies than is received by provincial agencies. This fiscal imbalance and discriminatory treatment of First Nations child welfare agencies is a critical issue. The AFN agrees resources in child welfare alone are NOT enough. Resources for overall community development to address poverty and neglect – the root causes of children being taken into care – are needed.

9. Is there an evidence based solution to redress the funding situation that demonstrates to the federal government where the money will be spent and why?

Yes, the 2005 Wen:de series of reports are based on national research that was funded by INAC and was generated by third party AND joint INAC-AFN collaborative studies. The reports not only identify some of the challenges in the current federal child welfare funding formula, but they also present solutions that are supported by over 600 pages of evidence compiled by leading researchers in Canada.

10. How much would it cost for the federal government to fully implement the Wen:de recommendations for child welfare funding?

The Wen:de recommendations conservatively estimate $109 million is needed immediately to bring the First Nation agencies to the same level as provincial agencies. INAC has estimated $125 million but this figure includes the need for increased capacity within INAC itself.

11. Are there any benefits for the rest of Canadians if the Wen:de solution was implemented?

Yes, as the World Health Organization has found for every dollar government invests in prevention services it saves $5-7 dollars in costs in future services. Investing in children is one of the best investments society can make because it positions them to grow up to be healthy, content and contributing members of society.

12. It has been reported that this situation has existed for years, why has the AFN decided to consider a Human Rights Complaint now?

The AFN and First Nations have been working in partnership for about ten years to develop the evidentiary base to support these issues. Further, the federal government has been seeking this research prior to supporting any investments in this area. That work has now been completed and comes in the form of the 2005 Wen:de reports (available on line at www.fncaringsociety.com). Unfortunately, the federal government still has not acted on this report and the recommendations.

The reality is the funding inequality is directly linked to First Nations children being unnecessarily placed in foster care and First Nations can wait no longer to act. Therefore, the AFN Chiefs-In-Assembly by way of Resolution 7/2006 approved the submission of a joint complaint by the AFN and the First Nations Child Family Caring Society to the Canadian Human Rights Commission in July 2006 with the goal of forcing the government to do the right and just thing for the current and future generations of First Nations children.

13. Will the AFN get any financial benefit if the Wen:de recommendations are implemented?

No. There is no funding in the Wen:de recommendations targeted for the Assembly of First Nations – it is all targeted for First Nations child and family service agencies so that they can better serve First Nations children and families.

14. Didn’t the federal government announce a $25 million dollar/year increase in First Nations child welfare funding a couple of years ago?

Yes, however, INAC held back $16 million per year to off set their increasing maintenance budget costs and to address other internal cost pressures associated with a program audit and evaluation related to the child welfare program. The end result is that only $8 million was provided to First Nations child and family service agencies nationally and this fell far short of what is needed.

15. INAC Minister Prentice has stated that INAC is providing an 11% increase in funding for the First Nation child welfare program, how is this not enough?

Each First Nation child welfare agency has a budget which is comprised of two portions: maintenance and operations. The 11% increase that Minister Prentice refers to is the growth rate of the maintenance portion of the budget. The maintenance budget reflects the cost of children in care, the higher the cost, the more children there are in care. Interestingly, INAC will cover the costs of children in care regardless of the amount but they will provide minimal funding for children to be cared for safely in their own families.

Added to this is the fact that these resources have been taken from within existing INAC funding by reallocating funding from other essential INAC funded programs such as capital, housing and income assistance. For example, we have heard that some child welfare resources are being re-allocated and applied to emergency water measures in some regions.

The INAC operations portion of the budget directly impacts an agency’s ability to assess and protect children, and this has been capped at 2% for the past decade. There have been NO cost of living or population based increases beyond a 2% cap for the program overall since 1996. Program funding has decreased overall per child in the system. More importantly, this is also the portion of the budget that would allow for prevention services.

16. How many people are working nationally in the federal government on First Nations child welfare given the crisis facing First Nations children?

INAC has only two staff people overseeing the First Nations child welfare program. The AFN and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society provide First Nations child and family service agencies with policy support. Together these two organizations have five people working on First Nations child welfare with only one position funded with any support from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. In comparison, it would not be unusual for a provincial child welfare agency with similar numbers of First Nations children in care to routinely have up to 60-80 people working in similar positions.

17. Are there other child welfare experts and organizations that have independently commented on the inequality in First Nations child welfare?

Yes, the inequity in child welfare funding for First Nations children on reserve has been documented in several provincial government reviews such as the Baby Andy Inquest in Saskatchewan, the British Columbia Children’s Commissioner, the Children’s Advocate in Saskatchewan, the National Children’s Alliance, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and over 200 supporters of Jordan’s Principle (view list at www.fncaringsociety.com). The Government of Manitoba has issued a press release in partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs supporting the AFN human rights action.

18. If provided with more funding what could First Nations agencies do that they can’t do now?

Prevention services for families and children. The most critical missing component is prevention, or the ability of the agencies to link families with support services that will ensure child safety and enable the family unit to remain intact whenever possible. It should be noted that investments in prevention will not realize its full potential if not accompanied by investing in core services such as information management and professional development.

Information Management. With many agencies still using pen and paper record keeping, increased resources would allow for computerization of information management to help with planning and evaluating services to ensure the programs offered to children and their families are effective.

Professional Development. Increased training and wage parity are two important issues. The low level of funding for staff in the current funding formula makes it more difficult for First Nations child and family service agencies to recruit and retain qualified personnel.

Research and Standards. First Nations child and family service agencies are committed to ensuring that the children and families receive the best services possible and this means being able to base service access on culturally based research and standards.

19. Are all First Nations child and family service agencies ready to move into providing prevention services?

Yes, all regions have determined how they would utilize additional prevention services funding in a way that families and children could get the most benefit. Years of under funding of First Nations child and family service agencies has had an impact on their services, but with additional funds they would be able to move more quickly to establish the infrastructure for a holistic and culturally based continuum of child and family services.