Cuts to AHF Funding – Briefing

ABORIGINAL HEALING FOUNDATION FUNDING CUTS

 ISSUE:

On March 31, 2010, funding to the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) will cease as a result of funding cuts to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) in the Federal Government’s 2010 budget.

SUMMARY:

•  As a result of the AHF funding cut, 134 community projects across Canada will no longer provide cultural healing services to Aboriginal people.
• In Montreal, as of March 31, 2010 the culturally sensitive support services of the Native Women’s Shelter will cease. Additionally several key personnel, the majority aboriginal women, will see their positions cut due to a lack of funding. 
• The NWSM asks that the Federal Government reinstate funds to the AHF and the efforts to improve the lives of Aboriginal women and children.

RECOMMENDATION: 

 In the spirit of healing and awareness, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal calls upon the Federal Government of Canada to reinstate funding to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and efforts for the improvement of conditions for Aboriginal women and their children throughout Canada.

 BACKGROUND:

 The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) has provided support to First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and their children who are in difficulty since 1987.

 The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) is an Aboriginal-managed national non-profit institution, established March 31, 1998. The AHF mandate is to encourage and support community-based Aboriginal directed healing initiatives which address the intergenerational legacy of physical and sexual abuse suffered in Canada’s Indian Residential School System. The AHF relies on Federal government funding to meet its mandate.

 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND SOURCE OF FUNDS:

 In eliminating support to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the Federal Government is ultimately removing one third of the funds required by the NWSM for the proper delivery of services to its clientele.

 ANALYSIS:

 The NWSM provides a safe, culturally relevant, and therapeutic environment where Aboriginal women can focus on their various personal challenges namely addictions, mental health, homelessness, and abuse. The shelter provides front line services and in-house programming as a result of the funding received through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada.

 Without funding from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, as of March 31^st, 2010 the NWSM is faced with the immediate termination of all healing programs. The implications of this termination are catastrophic. The shelter will no longer be able to meet its mandate of providing Aboriginal women and children with the support necessary in empowering them to regain their independence and transition successfully within the community and leaving the shelter to provide only the basic services of food and shelter. Moreover, as a result of these cuts the NWSM has no choice but to terminate the positions of several key personnel, 2/3 being aboriginal women. 

 In the 2010 budget speech, Stephen Harper stated that “We need to keep helping those who need a hand up” and further elaborated on providing assistance “to the most vulnerable communities”. The AHF has been a fundamental instrument in the delivery of services which addresses the legacy of residential schools. The $199 million promised to address the legacy of residential schools in the 2010 budget has not been committed to the AHF to carry on their mandate; the Federal government is thus crippling the process of addressing the legacy of residential schools by failing to renew this funding.

 The actions by the Federal government in ceasing funding to the AHF contradicts their promise in the 2010 Budget of ”ensuring that all women in Canada, including Aboriginal women, are safe and secure regardless of the community in which they live.” According to this very same budget, Aboriginal women consist of a particularly vulnerable population who require additional support and protection.

 The implications of funding loss are of particular importance to the Aboriginal community due to the critical need for a culturally appropriate safe space for Aboriginal women and their children to overcome violence, addiction, homelessness, and the impact of the residential school legacy. The NWSM intends to foster collaboration among Aboriginal organizations nationwide in pursuit of this cause.

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