2018-19 Operating context: conditions affecting our work

As part of the journey towards Reconciliation, the Government of Canada has taken an important step to renew the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, by announcing a profound shift in the way the Government delivers services and advances self-determination and self-government of Indigenous peoples.

In order to develop structures that are better aligned to support Reconciliation, on August 28, 2017, the Prime Minister announced the intention to create two new departments:

• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNA), which will advance nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, and government-to-government relationships; support Indigenous peoples' vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North; and
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), which will improve access to high-quality services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis; support and empower Indigenous peoples to control the delivery of those services; and improve the socio-economic conditions, quality of life and safety in their communities.

A key step was the taken on November 30, 2017, with the creation of ISC, formalizing the creation of a new Department that brings together essential and mutually reinforcing services: First Nations and Inuit health services (formerly with the Health Canada), education services, essential social services, child and family services programs, and housing and infrastructure services (formerly with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada).

In 2018–2019, ISC will focus, in partnership with Indigenous peoples, on the following five interconnected priority areas: health, education, children and families, infrastructure, and a new fiscal relationship.

ISC has been mandated to create systemic change in how the federal government delivers services to Indigenous peoples and ultimately transfer the design, the planning, management and delivery of these services under to Indigenous control. This is to be achieved by promoting consistency and quality, improving accountability to Indigenous peoples, taking a distinctions-based approach in the delivery of services and developing partnership models.

In order to achieve this transformation agenda, the department will have to build a culture of services and a supportive internal environment internally. This will be possible by engaging Indigenous partners in the governance of the department and; by building the national and regional organizational structures that allow greater participation of Indigenous partners in departmental operations and create the foundations for the emergence of successful devolution models. It will also be sustained by promoting cultural safety and Indigenization of organizational practices, including an increased Indigenous representation in the workforce.

The Government of Canada recognizes that the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples has been built on colonial structures, which has contributed to the current unacceptable socio-economic gap. While day-to-day realities in Indigenous communities must continue to be addressed directly, there must also be a path to systematic change.

Following the creation of the two new departments, there is now an opportunity for the federal government to implement a new organizational culture — a new way of delivering services — developed in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners.

However, this is only the beginning. The full composition of the new Department, including the possible inclusion of additional services, will be shaped in partnership with Indigenous peoples, recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples and the distinctions between and among First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nations. The end goal is not only that the design, delivery and control of services — in all areas — are led by and for Indigenous peoples, but also that the Department will disappear over time.