The stained glass window in Centre Block of Parliament commemorates the legacy of former Indian Residential School students and their families, as well as the Prime Minister's historic Apology in 2008.The design was created by Métis artist Christi Belcourt and was installed in October 2012.
OTTAWA, Ont.-Over decades, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous Canadian children were removed from their homes and communities to attend residential schools.
To partially atone for wrongs done to First Nations families, in May 2006, the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was approved. The implementation of the Settlement Agreement began in September 2007 with the aim of bringing a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools.
Canada was compelled to contribute $125 million toward a healing fund as part of the residential schools settlement agreement. The fund was endowed to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to address "the legacy of harms suffered at Indian Residential Schools including the intergenerational effects."
Implementation of the residential school settlement agreement began in 2007 and included the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the common experience payment and the independent assessment process.
Across the country, 135 organizations have been financially supported through these funds. The healing fund was seen as an essential piece of the settlement agreement to support survivors and their families with culturally safe and trauma-informed care. The federal government renewed funding for the health support program for three years in Budget 2018 for a total of $248.6 million.
However, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is set to run out in March 2021, without having met all the needs that have been pinpointed. First Nations leadership have been calling for a renewed funding commitment from the federal government but there's been no such commitment as of yet.
Leaders at The Indian Residential School Survivors Society, one of the organizations financially supported by the program, says there is cause for concern. The organization will cease to exist without funding. That means, the work the organization's team does-on-demand crisis response, individual counseling, public education about impacts of residential schools and more-will cease, even though the demands for their services have grown. Many clients have compounded layers of trauma, these leaders say, that grow and expand over the years, as they are now seeing four generations affected by the residential schools.
The Assembly of First Nations recently published a report advocating for the continuation of the fund.
"There is no predetermined timeframe for healing and recovery from manufactured trauma," the report stated.
"The Assembly of First Nations is coming together with survivors, their families, support workers and community organizations to advocate for the continuation of the program and the sustained healing of survivors."
The report included statistics to illustrate the demand for the programming from the fund, looking at a seven-year period.
It found, "Almost 900,000 survivors and their families have reached out for cultural and emotional support some 5.8 million times. . . . And more than 66,000 survivors and families have participated in almost 500,000 counselling sessions to March 31, 2019."
Indigenous Services Canada, the department that distributes the funds, has said that there currently are no commitments for funding renewal, though a spokesperson has reaffirmed the Canadian government's commitment to continuing to strengthen access to culture- and community-based mental health.
The organizations out in the trenches with the residential school survivors and their families hope for the best-renewed funding-but are preparing their workers and clients for the worst-the sudden, possibly-abrupt end of services in March.
