Transition 2022 Deputy Minister Wilson Indigenous Services Canada Overview - Book 2

Canadian Human Right Tribunal Orders for the First Nations Child and Family Services Program

• In February 2007, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society of Canada filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act alleging that ISC provided inequitable and insufficient funding for child and family services on-reserve and in the Yukon (compared to provincial funding for off-reserve services). The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society alleged that ISC's conduct constituted systemic and ongoing discrimination on the basis of race and national or ethnic origin.
• On January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that ISC had discriminated against First Nations children and their families living on-reserve and in the Yukon by underfunding child and family welfare services under the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered ISC to cease its discriminatory practices and to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services Program (and the 1965 Agreement in Ontario). It also ordered ISC to cease applying its narrow definition of Jordan's Principle and to take measures to immediately implement the full meaning and scope of Jordan's Principle.
• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has released more than a dozen follow-up decisions on the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan's Principle since January 2016. Canada has been implementing the orders in collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations, the Caring Society, the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
• Canada is in negotiations with those parties to resolve the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal complaint. On December 31, 2021, Canada, the parties and counsel representing class action plaintiffs (in the class actions Assembly of First Nations- Moushoom and Trout) signed two Agreements-in-Principle, one on compensation and one on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
• On June 30, 2022, Canada, the Assembly of First Nations and counsel representing class action plaintiffs signed a Final Settlement Agreement committing $20 billion in compensation for a) First Nations children on-reserve and in the Yukon who were removed from their homes, b) First Nations children affected by Canada's narrow definition of Jordan's Principle or delayed or denied an essential public service or product, and c) certain family members of those children.
• The Agreement-in-Principle on long-term reform committed $19.807 billion over five years to put in place a new funding approach for the Program. The Agreement-in- Principle set April 1, 2023 as the start date for full implementation. Negotiations towards a Final Settlement Agreement on long-term reform are underway.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal must determine that the Final Settlement Agreement satisfies its order on compensation before the compensation process can begin. The Federal Court must also approve the Final Settlement Agreement (a hearing is planned for fall 2022).
• Canada is negotiating with the Assembly of First Nations, the Caring Society, the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation toward a Final Settlement Agreement on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. That Agreement will lay out how the Program will meet the needs of First Nations children and families and prevent the recurrence of discrimination. The Agreement-in-Principle committed to full implementation of the reformed First Nations Child and Family Services Program on April 1, 2023.
• The Child and Family Services Reform Sector is working with other sectors of Indigenous Services Canada to implement the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's order on funding capital assets that support the delivery of child and family services.
• The Sector is working with Indigenous Services Canada's Regional Operations to implement the First Nations Child and Family Services Program's immediate measures (which came into effect on April 1, 2022) and to prepare for implementation of the fully-reformed Program on April 1, 2023.

Key Milestones

• The Assembly of First Nations has taken the lead in seeking the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's confirmation that the Final Settlement Agreement on compensation satisfies the Tribunal's order on compensation. Canada has filed materials in support of the Assembly of First Nations' motion. A fairness hearing before the Federal Court is planned for fall 2022.
• As committed in the Agreement-in-Principle, ISC intends to seek an end to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's jurisdiction over the First Nations Child and Family Services Program by December 31, 2022. It intends to transition the Program to a reformed funding approach on April 1, 2023.

Results and Outcomes

• The Government of Canada increased funding for the First Nations Child and Family Services Program from $676.8 million in 2015-2016 to $1.49 billion in 2020-2021. That funding is meeting immediate needs for prevention and other services. Funding continues to increase.
• Investments in prevention are yielding successes in communities across Canada. As an example, the Tahltan, Kaska and Tlingit First Nations in British Columbia, through the Stikine Wholistic Working Group, are trailblazing best practices in their work to build healthy communities by using local expertise to restore traditional practices and networks of support. They have reduced the number of children in care in the Stikine Region by 50%. In Manitoba, the Assembly of Manitoba Chief's Grandmothers Council has been playing an important role in revitalizing traditional parenting ways, providing traditional knowledge as community customary care models are planned and taking the lead role in preventing newborn apprehensions.

Overview

An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) was passed in June 2019, and came into force on January 1, 2020.

The Act affirms the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis who are section 35 rights- holders to exercise jurisdiction in relation to child and family services, contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and establishes national principles, such as: best interests of the child, cultural continuity and substantive equality, to help guide the provision of child and family services in relation to Indigenous children.

The Act also aims to shift the focus toward prevention and early intervention, to reduce the number of Indigenous children in care

Key Files or Projects

Results and Outcomes

Linkages between the Act and the First Nations Child and Family Services Program

• Although they are distinct initiatives, reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and the ongoing implementation of the Act are working towards a common goal. They operate as a continuum to support First Nations towards the reform of child and family services and increased self-determination.
• Recent amendments to the terms and conditions of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program (the Program) have broadened the list of eligible recipients to include First Nations and First Nations-authorized service providers. This would allow First Nations on-reserve to receive or continue to receive funding under the Program from the time their legislation comes into effect and/or until a coordination agreement and financial arrangement are reached. However, this funding will not cover children off-reserve.
• Additionally, through the Program's Long Term Reform Agreement-in-Principle, there are provisions where First Nations affirming their jurisdiction under the framework provided in the Act, will not receive less funding than they would have received under the reformed approach. Funding beyond the next 5 years will be determined through an approach set out in the Final Settlement Agreement.

Snapshot

The Lands and Economic Development Sector's goal is to transfer economic development programming and service delivery to Indigenous-led Institutions. As the sector moves in this direction, it strives for the creation of wealth and the full economic participation of Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs in the Canadian economy, according to community vision and needs.

Through its programming, ISC partners with communities, Indigenous economic development organizations (such as the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business), and other internal and external partners to improve access to capital; foster a climate of economic development within communities; and, leverage public and private sector partnerships and funds.

Services are provided directly to communities through core and targeted funding, as well as indirectly to entrepreneurs through the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and the network of Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Métis Capital Corporations. ISC's economic development programming, services, and policy areas include:

• Entrepreneurial support
• Community-based capacity support
• Legislative and policy support
• Partnerships support

The sector also provides secretarial support services to the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, a Ministerial appointed board that is mandated to provide the government with strategic policy advice on matters pertaining to Indigenous economic development.

Context

• On June 6, 2022, a group of more than 20 national Indigenous organizations released the National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada. This Indigenous-led and driven Strategy includes 107 Calls to Economic Prosperity and seeks action from all levels of government, the private sector and Canadian society. This strategy was supported by ISC and coordinated by the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and is indicative of the relationship that ISC seeks to foster with Indigenous partners to facilitate the development and implementation of Indigenous-led economic development strategies, policies and programs to accelerate the economic development within Indigenous communities.
• In 2017, there were nearly 19,000 businesses located in Indigenous communities (approximately 17,000 in First Nation communities and 2,000 in Inuit communities). Combined, these businesses generated just over $10 billion in total revenue and $0.4 billion in profits in the reference year of this study (A Profile of Businesses in Indigenous Communities in Canada (PDF)).
• The population of self-employed Indigenous peoples continues to grow at a greater pace than that of self-employed non-Indigenous peoples overall, increasing 44% between 2011 and 2016 (Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business - New study gives first impression on the impact of intellectual property on Indigenous businesses).
• There is enormous diversity across location, size, and sector of Indigenous businesses. However, access to capital is a major barrier for most Indigenous entrepreneurs, over half of whom relied on personal savings to start their business (Promise and Prosperity - The Aboriginal Business Survey (PDF)).
• In 2015, the median income of Indigenous peoples was $25,526, which is $9,078 lower than that of the non-Indigenous population. The median income of First Nation peoples who are registered and living on-reserve was less than half of the non-Indigenous population (from Annual Report to Parliament 2020). It should also be noted that 7.4% of Indigenous workers are self-employed, compared to 11.7% of non-Indigenous peoples. Within the Indigenous population, self-employment is highest for Métis.
• Businesses that are incorporated and have employees are more likely to report revenue growth. However, Section 87 of the Indian Act serves as a deterrent to incorporation. Section 89 of the Indian Act restricts the use of collateral for those on-reserve, which has a negative impact on their ability to finance a business.
• There are over 9 million acres of reserve lands, representing 3.7% of Canada's total land mass, with an additional 3 to 4 million acres of land owed to First Nations through existing Treaty Land Entitlement and Specific Claims settlement agreements. Currently, ISC provides some level of funding to support the administration and management of reserve lands, natural resources, and the environment to 46.5% of First Nations.
• There are 103 First Nations who have enacted community ratified land codes, opting out of 44 lands related sections of the Indian Act and reasserting jurisdiction over their lands under the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act.
• 25% of First Nations have developed and implemented community land use plans.
• To date, five regulations have been created under the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act to enable complex developments on reserve at the request of First Nations. Projects range in complexity from Canada's first on-reserve mine in Muskowekwan First Nation lands to a proposed multi-unit housing complex in downtown Vancouver.
• On average, more than 1,000 projects that help communities to manage and dispose of their waste are completed annually.
• There are currently 2,024 contaminated sites on-reserves across Canada, with a known liability of $268.6 million (2020–2021). The Contaminated Sites On-Reserve Program has closed 2,409 sites since 2005.

About the Service

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC, working with Public Services and Procurement Canada and Treasury Board Secretariat, is implementing the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business and the minimum 5% mandatory Indigenous procurement target across 95 federal departments and agencies.
• ISC is developing a national engagement and consultations strategy to continue robust and meaningful engagements and consultations with Indigenous peoples towards a longer-term transformative Indigenous procurement strategy.

Key Milestones

• The mandatory minimum 5% Indigenous procurement target is being phased-in with the following milestones:
  • making immediate changes to the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business, including broadening the definition of "Indigenous business" and expanding the size and number of geographic areas where procurements are limited to Indigenous businesses;
  • government-wide mandatory target of at least 5% of the value of federal contracts for Indigenous procurement for all departments and agencies to be phased-in over three years beginning in 2022-2023, and to be fully implemented by 2024-2025;
  • implementing mandatory public reporting to ensure that all federal departments and agencies are held accountable to meet mandatory target of at least 5%;
  • continuing meaningful engagement with Indigenous partners to co-develop a transformative Indigenous procurement strategy, including transfer of service to an external to government Indigenous-led organization(s);
  • the Minister of Indigenous Services along with the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and the President of Treasury Board will provide an update to colleagues in the 2023-2024 fiscal year; and,
  • The proposed approach will be phased in for federal departments and agencies by 2024-2025, with some key exceptions to reflect operational requirements.

Results and Outcomes

• It is anticipated that about 2,000 additional Indigenous businesses will register in the Indigenous Business Directory and that modernization of existing policies and processes will improve inclusion of Indigenous businesses in the federal supply chain.
• Each federal department and agency will increase the percentage (minimum of 5%) of the value of contracts awarded to businesses managed and led by Indigenous peoples.
• Guidance material for both internal and external partners are developed and bid- bonding and database tools are co-developed and piloted.
• Grow Indigenous businesses, increase self-reliance, and create and increase employment and training opportunities for Indigenous peoples.
• Following robust and meaningful engagements and consultations, co-develop options for a transformative Indigenous procurement strategy will be developed that continue along the path of transferring services to Indigenous organizations.
• Federal bodies will report annually to ISC on the percentage of the value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses for monitoring and consolidating publication.
• Contracts over $10,000 would also be publicly disclosed quarterly to ensure transparency and accountability.
• To date in 2022-23, ISC has awarded 3.6% of its contracts to Indigenous businesses; last fiscal year ISC awarded 9.7% of its contracts to Indigenous businesses. This difference is partly due to two large contracts currently with Indigenous businesses that are up for renewal this year. ISC is developing additional processes to improve planning, prioritization and tracking of contracts with Indigenous businesses, and ensure success in meeting its target for 2022-23.

About the Service

• ISC supports economic development through the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program, which funds a broad range of entrepreneurial pursuits across all Indigenous distinction groups.
• The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program consists of five sub-programs:
  • The Aboriginal Business Financing Program offers Indigenous entrepreneurs funding (non-repayable contributions) to improve their asset base and business support services, such as help writing a business plan, to then access business loans.
  • The Aboriginal Development Loan Allocation offers a 13% subsidy to Aboriginal Financial Institutions to encourage developmental lending.
  • The Interest Rate Buy-Down provides a subsidy to Aboriginal Financial Institutions for the cost of accessing lending capital (line of credit).
  • The Aboriginal Capacity Development Program offers capacity and training support for Aboriginal Financial Institutions.
  • The Enhanced Access Loan Fund provides loan capital for Aboriginal Financial Institutions to provide services to entrepreneurs in remote and/or underserviced regions.
• Administration of the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program was transferred to National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association in 2015 and partially transferred to Métis Capital Corporations in 2019-2020. The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program is delivered by a network of 59 Aboriginal Financial Institutions, including 5 Métis Capital Corporations, located in all regions of the country.
• The Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Métis Capital Corporations are Indigenous-owned financial institutions, which provide tailored services to Indigenous entrepreneurs to start up small and medium enterprises that traditional banks generally do not serve. They have strong on-the-ground presence and reach deep into the communities that they serve, often investing considerable time and energy up front to help position a business for success.

COVID-19 Mitigation Measures

• The Indigenous Business Initiative (formerly called the COVID Indigenous Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Initiative, or COVID-ISI) was resourced with $306.8 million for Indigenous entrepreneurs and the Indigenous institutions that support them. It was announced in April 2020 and funding began to flow in June 2020.
• In the first phase of the pandemic, this measure provided support to Indigenous small- and medium-sized enterprises with up to $40,000 at a ratio of 25% non-repayable to 75% repayable. In December 2020, a second phase increased the maximum per business by $20,000 (for a total of $60,000 per business) in a ratio of 50% repayable and 50% non-repayable funds.
• Uptake of the benefit has been lower than expected due to a delayed rollout and the high ratio of repayable funds. The COVID Indigenous Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Initiative was extended until June 30, 2021, to allow more Indigenous small- and medium-sized enterprises to participate. This extension was well received and during this period, close to 300 additional loans and grants were issues totaling over $20 million.
• In 2020-2021, to support Indigenous tourism businesses in the wake of the pandemic, $16 million in targeted relief funding was provided to Indigenous tourism businesses that experienced a decrease in revenue due to COVID-19. This funding flowed through the Business Opportunities stream of the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program and was delivered by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. Indigenous businesses received up to $25,000 as a non-repayable contribution.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

Key measures to support Indigenous entrepreneurship were announced in Budget 2022, including:

• Administered through the Access to Business Opportunities stream of the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program, an investment of $4.8 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to support its operations, which continue to help the Indigenous tourism industry rebuild and recover from the pandemic.
• Currently, a third of Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Métis Capital Corporations loans go to support businesses owned by Indigenous women. In 2019, the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association launched the Indigenous Women's Entrepreneurship initiative, which tailors supports specifically to Indigenous women to start or expand their businesses. Budget 2021 included $22 million over three years to expand the Indigenous Women's Entrepreneurship. Following acceptance of the Treasury Board Submission, this dedicated funding will flow to the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association but is accessible to staff and clients of the Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Métis Capital Corporations network.
• The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program is undergoing an evaluation, with results expected in2022-23. Further engagement with Indigenous partners is planned for the coming year to assess both Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Métis Capital Corporations planned use of the Indigenous Growth Fund and the suitability of the program's current structure.
• Budget 2022 proposes to forgive up to 50 per cent of the COVID-Indigenous Business Initiative loans that supported businesses in need during the pandemic. This action will help ensure that Indigenous-owned businesses are positioned for long-term success.

Key Milestones

• ISC is implementing the final year of the Métis Economic Development Strategy. A total of $25 million over five years will have been provided to recapitalize Métis organizations and capital corporations.
• This funding has been used for, among other initiatives, the establishment of the first Métis Capital Corporation in British Columbia; the development of regional economic development strategies in several of the Métis governing members and the increase of loan capital for the Métis Capital Corporations allowing Métis-owned businesses to expand their operations, primarily in Ontario.

Results and Outcomes

• In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association reported the following results, with some projections:
  • The total number of businesses supported was 1,156, including 478 start-up businesses and 678 expansions;
  • Approximately 3,730 jobs (full-time equivalents) were created or maintained; and
  • Lending was up by approximately 10%, from $110 million to $121 million.

About the Services

• The Lands and Economic Development Services Program, core and targeted funds, provide First Nation and Inuit communities with supports to enhance their economic development, land and environmental capacity, while supporting activities that create the conditions for economic development to occur.
  • Lands and Economic Development Services Program-Core provides core financial support to over 600 First Nation and Inuit communities to help provide lands, environment and economic development capacity services in communities.
  • Lands and Economic Development Services Program-Targeted involves regional proposal-based funding to support capacity development and funding to National Organizations.
• The Community Opportunity Readiness Program provides project-based funding in the provinces for First Nation and Inuit communities for a range of activities to support their pursuit of economic opportunities.
• The program's long-term objective is for First Nation and Inuit communities to pursue and implement economic and business development opportunities, while leveraging private and public sector funding. A minimum of $5 of community economic benefits is expected for every $1 invested by the program.
• The program is oversubscribed, with $41.9M of funding requests in 2021-2022 and only $38.7 available.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Through Budget 2022, the Government of Canada is providing timely investments to facilitate a fair and equitable post-pandemic recovery, and support to Indigenous communities, businesses and institutions to grow both the Indigenous and overall Canadian economy. Budget 2022 announced:
  • $150 million over five years (2022-2023 to 2026-2027) for the Lands and Economic Development Services Program (LEDSP) and Community Opportunity Readiness Program (CORP), to advance shovel-ready economic opportunities in First Nation and Inuit communities.
  • $35 million over five years (2022-2023 to 2026-2027) to increase economic capacity supports to communities, including specialized training opportunities delivered by Indigenous-led organizations. This will include$20M to regional economic and environmental capacity support organizations and $15M to the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association.
• Support capacity-building efforts in communities to improve the delivery of economic development services and build on successful investments by supporting projects that leverage private sector investment and lead to higher community revenues and employment.

Key Milestones

• A second call for proposals under the Community Opportunity Readiness Program will take place in Q3. While this year's funding is currently expended, communities will be invited to demonstrate interest and need, as the program is set to receive additional funding according to the Budget 2022 announcement in May 2022 to help with economic development.

Results and Outcomes

• In 2020-2021, the Community Opportunity Readiness Program funded 16 projects valued at $21.6 million through a national ranking process. These projects leveraged $1.70 for every $1 that ISC contributed. Up to 266 full-time jobs are projected to be created from these investments.

About the Contaminated Sites On-Reserve Service

• The Contaminated Sites On-Reserve Program provides funding to First Nations to assess and remediate contaminated sites on First Nation reserve lands.
• The program's objective is to reduce environmental, health and safety risks posed by contaminated sites, thereby increasing the amount of reserve land available for community or economic development and reducing federal environmental liabilities.
• There are currently 2,024 contaminated sites on-reserves across Canada, with a known liability of $268.6 million (2020–2021).

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• A significant amount of remediation work targeted for high-risk sites (i.e., Class 1) did not progress in 2020-2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions in place in many communities. Funding was redirected to communities where work could be undertaken, resulting in increased remediation activities for moderate and lower risk sites.
• In 2021–2022, the program will assess approximately 55 contaminated sites and undertake clean-up activities in roughly 176 sites.
• Notably, program funding has been allocated to remediate contamination in the area of several former Indian Residential Schools on-reserve to prepare these sites for demolition or rehabilitation.
• ISC will be working with the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan to secure funding for contaminated site work on First Nation reserve land from 2025-2030.

Key Milestones

• ISC received a five-year funding envelope from the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan in April 2020. Specifically, ISC received $185 million for the assessment and remediation of contaminated sites on-reserve from 2020-2025, supplemented with $45 million to perform additional assessment work on non-eligible projects under the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.
• Starting in 2021-2022, ISC will be collecting indicators on Indigenous labour force working on contaminated sites, as well as dollar amount of contracts awarded to Indigenous companies undertaking work on contaminated sites on-reserve lands.

Results and Outcomes

• As of September, 2021, there were 4,433 contaminated sites on-reserves identified in the federal contaminated sites inventory. Since 2005, the Contaminated Sites On-Reserve Program has closed 2,409 sites.
• Even though COVID-19 restrictions limited access to reserve land for assessment and remediation in 2020-2021, ISC was able to complete desktop reviews and move forward with the closure of 30 sites, previously assessed or remediated.

About the Service

• Under the Impact Assessment Act, ISC has a responsibility for participating in the impact assessment process of designated projects as well as conducting environmental review for non-designated projects on-reserve land.
• With respect to designated projects:
  • ISC is named as a Federal Authority, required to provide expert advice/information to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, at every stage of the impact assessment process; and
  • advice is focused on impacts to Indigenous Peoples and may pertain to various areas of expertise within ISC, such as education, employment health, environment, and social development.
• With respect to non-designated projects:
  • ISC is required to ensure that non-designated projects on-reserve lands do not negatively impact the environment; this is done by conducting an environmental review through the Environmental Review Process. Non-designated projects are usually small- to medium-sized type projects and rarely are determined to be of high risk and cause adverse environmental effects. An environmental review is conducted when ISC supports the non-designated project through leasing, permits and/or funding.
  • ISC Regional Environment Officers and Program Officials oversee all aspects of environmental reviews, which includes supporting proponents and/or First Nations, ensuring that all necessary information is provided, and determining the level of review in relation to the significance of the potential impacts.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Work is currently underway to establish a business case to secure funding to ensure ISC has the necessary resources and tools needed to deliver on the expanded legislated requirements under the Act. These resources would ensure that ISC can fulfil its role as a Federal Authority (i.e., Regulator), support timely and high-quality impact assessments, minimize the impacts from resource development on the rights and interests of Indigenous communities, and leverage related economic and employment benefits.
• Continued collaboration with all sectors of ISC, utilizing table-top exercises, to identify knowledge/data gaps and update internal guidance documents to adequately reflect ISC's current mandate within the impact assessment process under the Act.
• Develop a strategy to enhance readiness for service transfer to First Nations.
• Seek additional resources to strengthen community capacity to participate in the Environmental Review Process, as well as to modernize the process to respond to climate change considerations.

Key Milestones

• Development of an internal records management system to facilitate and oversee project tracking/status and coordinate input for projects subject to the Impact Assessment process.
• ISC's Environment Directorate worked with regional offices in 2020 and 2021 to update the Environmental Review Process and the related guidance in order to comply with new requirements under the Act.

Results and Outcomes

• The team is participating in the review of 42 designated projects under impact assessment, including three in the Atlantic Region; seven in Quebec; 18 in Ontario; one in Manitoba; one in Saskatchewan; five in Alberta; and seven in British Columbia. ISC has conducted 1,243 environmental reviews in 2019-2020, and 759 in 2020-2021. Since 2014, ISC has conducted on average approximatively 1,000 environmental reviews annually.
• Approximately 99% of project were assessed through the first level of review due to their low-risk level, while only 0.5% represented higher risk and were assessed through a detailed review.
• The majority of environmental reviews are for infrastructure projects, including buildings or residential developments, representing approximately 76% of projects evaluated in 2020-2021.
• Regional variations in relation to the number of environmental reviews conducted may be affected by:
  • number of communities;
  • regional infrastructure investments; and
  • specific regional activities.

About the Agency

• Based out of Tsuut'ina First Nation in Calgary, Alberta, Indian Oil and Gas Canada (the Agency) is a special operating agency that reports to ISC via the Assistant Deputy Minister, Lands and Economic Development Sector, ISC. The Agency manages and regulates oil and gas resources on designated First Nation lands.
• The Agency has a dual mandate of:
  • fulfilling the Crown's obligations related to the management of oil and gas resources on designated First Nations lands; and
  • furthering First Nation initiatives to manage and control their oil and gas resources such as governance.
• A Co-Management Board oversees the Agency with representatives from the Indian Resource Council, an advocacy-based organization that promotes changes to federal policy to improve economic development opportunities for 180+ First Nations and their First Nations members.
• The Agency operates pursuant to the Indian Oil and Gas Act, RSC 1985, c I-7 and the Indian Oil and Gas Regulations, SOR/20-19-196, which were modernized and came into force on August 1, 2019.
• Approximately 33 First Nations had active oil and gas production in 2020-2021, with an additional 17 First Nations with inactive oil and gas infrastructure (50 First Nations total).
• In 2020-2021, the Agency collected $49.3 million in oil and gas revenue, down seven percent from the $53.1 million collected in 2019-2020.

Top Current Files or Projects

• Economic Sustainability and a Revised Partnership for the Transfer of Oil and Gas Services: ISC, in coordination with the Agency, is focused on supporting First Nation economic sustainability and advancing First Nation assertion of jurisdiction over oil and gas resources. After a number of decades with no clear plan for the transfer of services, ISC is examining a revised partnership and a path forward.
• Liability Reduction Program: the Agency is also supporting First Nations and the industry in reducing their inactive oil and gas liabilities through the Agency's Liability Reduction Program.
• Collaboration with the Indian Resource Council: a MOU was signed in 1996 with the Indian Resource Council, an advocacy-based organization that promotes changes to federal policy to improve economic development opportunities for 180+ First Nations and their First Nations members, that established a Co-Management Board to oversee certain aspects of the Agency. Relationship and operational challenges have arisen due to the nature of the MOU and internal work is underway to bring forth options to address the situation.

Key Milestones

• Two years after coming into force, a report on the implementation of the Act and Regulations has been drafted and will be presented to Parliament within the first 15 days of sitting in the fall of 2021.
• The Agency's royalty submission and management system is undergoing major upgrades to improve royalty management efficiency and accuracy. The Saskatchewan portal went live on July 7, 2021, and the Alberta portion is scheduled to occur in the fall/winter 2022.
• Further strategy and planning will need to be developed internally on the potential transfer of services prior to discussion with First Nations and First Nation organizations.
• In the early stages of the pandemic, the Government of Canada committed $1.7 billion for the remediation of abandoned oil and gas well in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Agreements for the use of these funds were put in place with each provincial government. These agreements did not contain specific allocation for First Nations for the remediation of wells on-reserve. The Indian Resource Council (the organization that advocates on behalf of First Nation communities involved in the oil and gas sector) negotiated with the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta for commitments to dedicate up to $120 million for remediation work on-reserve.

About the Service

• First Nations Land Management is a Nation-to-Nation agreement that enables First Nations to opt-out of 44 lands-related sections of the Indian Act and replace them with a land code. First Nations with a land code in force exercise full decision and law-making authority over the management of their reserve lands and environment. The Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management (Framework Agreement) was ratified by 13 First Nations and Canada in 1996, and the ratifying legislation came into effect in 1999 with the First Nations Land Management Act. Through their land codes, First Nations can govern their lands according to community priorities, providing opportunity for economic development and to reclaim parts of their cultural identity.
• As a unique form of sectoral self-government, Canada's obligations under the Framework Agreement and the Act are jointly administered by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Minister of Indigenous Services. While the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations has legislative authority over the Act, the Minister of Indigenous Services has been delegated the majority of implementation responsibilities under First Nations Land Management. In particular, ISC Headquarters and regional staff provide vital support to First Nations transitioning away from the Indian Act.
• The success of First Nations Land Management relies on partnerships between Canada and the Lands Advisory Board, an elected First Nation organization, and the First Nations Land Management Resource Centre, a technical and service delivery organization established by the Lands Advisory Board.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The current Memorandum of Understanding on operational funding between Canada and the Lands Advisory Board, negotiated in 2017-2018, expires in March 2023. Canada is required under the Framework Agreement to negotiate operational funding every five years. Informal discussions with the Lands Advisory Board, First Nations Land Management Resource Centre and ISC took place in spring 2022, to talk about the priorities moving forward. As of July 20th, a decision note seeking a mandate to negotiate the renewal of the operational funding formula is with the Minister's office. As in previous negotiations, the renewal would result in the signing of an Agreement-in-Principle to inform a Budget 2023 ask. ISC will also seek funding in Budget 2023 to support the renewal of the broader First Nations Land Management funding complement, including developmental, transitional, and proposal-based funding, as well as funding for new First Nation entrants.
• The First Nations Land Management Act ratifies the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management, but has been critiqued by First Nations for unnecessary repetition of the Framework Agreement, some instances of misalignment, and the onerous parliamentary process involved for any amendments. The Lands Advisory Board and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, with support from ISC, have developed proposed legislation to repeal the current First Nations Land Management Act and replace it with a shorter legislation, which recognizes the primacy of the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management. The proposed legislation was approved by the Lands Advisory Board and their membership on March 15, 2022. Budget 2022 announced Canada's intention to repeal and replace the First Nations Land Management Act with the proposed legislation, named the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act. A legislative vehicle for this change is still being determined.
• The Lands Advisory Board has also proposed a co-development initiative for a second phase of amendments to the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management, to explore options for First Nations to take on greater jurisdiction and opt-out of more sections of the Indian Act (e.g., wills and estates). This work is expected to proceed after the repeal and replacement of the First Nations Land Management Act and the renegotiation of the five-year funding agreement.
• While participating First Nations have significant law-making authorities over their reserve lands and environment, enforcement and prosecution of these laws has been a longstanding issue for communities across jurisdictions. Barriers include: a lack of awareness and recognition of these laws within enforcement and justice systems; the absence of inter-governmental agreements for law enforcement and prosecution; and inadequate resources or scale to establish community-based enforcement and prosecution systems. In May 2021, the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs released a report with recommendations for addressing widespread enforcement issues, including laws under First Nations Land Management. These recommendations were referenced again in April 2022, when the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs released a report on Barriers to Indigenous Economic Development. Interdepartmental coordination efforts are underway with respect to next steps.
• The Lands Advisory Board is working with the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia and CIRNAC on exploring, with ISC support, the development of a proposal towards a new, independent First Nations-led national land registry. This is a key area for improvement for First Nation land governance, as the current system in which land-related documents are registered with ISC is outdated and cumbersome.

Results and Outcomes

• On December 13, 2018, enhancements to the First Nations Land Management Act came into effect, which included improved voting and reserve creation processes, as well as Canada's endorsement of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These enhancements reflected previous amendments to the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management.
• There are 16 additional First Nations that became signatories to the Framework Agreement in July 2021 and it is anticipated that at least ten more First Nations will be undergoing the intake process to join First Nations Land Management in 2022.
• There are currently 194 signatories to the Framework Agreement. As of July 2022, 100 First Nations are considered "operational", having fully implemented their land codes; a further 64 First Nations are actively working towards development and ratification of a land code.

About the Service

• The First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act enables Canada to produce a regulatory regime that supports First Nation projects in varying size and scope to work seamlessly with provincial regulatory regimes that apply to similar projects off-reserves.
• A First Nation must request (through a Band Council Resolution) that the federal government create regulations through the Act. Associated agreements are negotiated between the First Nation, province and Canada to detail ongoing administration and enforcement.
• The Act removes legal uncertainty and risk, enhancing confidence for First Nations people, investors, developers and the public.

Financial Profile

• The cost for the ongoing implementation of the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act is $2.38 million (Vote 1) each year.

Top Key Current Files

• Squamish Nation's Sen̓ áḵw Project is a 12-tower housing complex to be built on reserve land next to the Burrard Street Bridge in downtown Vancouver. Sen̓ áḵw is expected to generate up to $20 billion in rental income over its 110-year life cycle. In addition to this site, there are plans for multiple subsidized residential tenancy properties on its other urban reserves. The proposed regulations will provide residential tenants with the same protections as they would enjoy off-reserve, and will make a positive contribution towards the affordable housing crisis and provide reliable and safe housing for Squamish Nation members. These projects represent a significant achievement in collaboration between all levels of government, as well as an important step towards economic reconciliation. For Squamish Nation, the development of attainable housing for their members is important as it will establish a permanent presence for their members on ancestral lands.
• Fort William First Nation Sawmill Regulations, enacted in 2011, facilitated the transition of an existing sawmill operation located in Ontario from provincial land to reserve land. The sawmill provides the First Nation with an estimated $2.2 million annual revenue. Regulations now require minor updates to reflect changes in the provincial regime. The Fort William First Nation may also pursue a mixed-use industrial park site with potential various project activities and new business projects.
• Fort McKay First Nation Oil Sands Regulations were made in 2007 and since then necessitate a substantial regulatory review to accord with major changes to the provincial regime. This requires continued collaboration with the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta and the Fort McKay First Nation to amend the regulations in order to attract new private sector investor and enable their benefit from interests set out in a 2003 Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement Agreement. This project stands to generate billions in economic development for the First Nation and millions in federal tax revenues.
• Advancing awareness building activities, partnership opportunities, research on economic benefits, and exploring internal trade lens.

Key Milestones

• Black Lake First Nation partnership with SaskPower to build a 50MW water diversion-type hydro facility on-reserve; regulations made in 2019.
• Muskowekwan First Nation joint venture with Encanto Potash to build first on-reserve solution potash mine in Canada (Saskatchewan); regulations made in 2017.
• Haisla Nation liquefied natural gas facility (Kitimat LNG, British Columbia) to facilitate an export terminal on reserve; Regulations made in 2012.

About the Service

• The First Nations Waste Management Initiative is focused on improving the management of solid waste on-reserve.
• In addition, Budget 2020 allocated $195 million over five years, and $51 million in ongoing funding to support the operations and maintenance of infrastructure assets on-reserve.
• Waste management is a basic community service and is essential to improving human health and safety, protecting the environment, and ensuring environmental integrity. Through sustainable waste programs on-reserve, there is an increase in economic development opportunities and a reduction in federal environmental liabilities. Investments in solid waste help to protect drinking water sources, reduce future liabilities related to contaminated sites, and reduce risks to human health and safety.
• The Initiative supports the construction and operation of engineered transfer stations and landfills; diversion, recycling and composting programs; partnerships with third parties and municipalities; municipal type service agreements; community awareness; operator training; and the cleaning up and closure of inactive waste disposal sites.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The First Nations Solid Waste Management Initiative will be implementing key action items over the next two years in response to the 2021 evaluation of the waste programming, including a service transfer strategy, as well as equitable operations and maintenance funding framework.
• As a top priority, the Initiative will expand partnerships with First Nation organizations for the delivery of the solid waste programming. The Initiative will develop a strategy to enhance, broaden, and accelerate capacity-building initiatives.
• The Initiative will begin an engagement process to work with Indigenous partners to develop internal program indicators that will inform a performance measurement system that is focused on the outcomes of investments, rather than simply the outputs.

Key Milestones

• Over the past five years, the team has successfully partnered with Indigenous organizations to deliver waste services to their member communities. These include organizations, such as the Indigenous Zero Waste Advisory Group; the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq; the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute; and the First Nation Land Managers Resource Centre.
• Service transfer agreements, which include the responsibility to deliver waste management services for their members' communities, have allowed the program to move away from proposal-based funding toward a community-led investment planning model, strengthening First Nations control over the design and types of services provided.

Results and Outcomes

• The Initiative has funded over 1,100 waste management projects and the operations of hundreds of waste facilities on-reserve.
• Over 536 First Nations have benefited from investments.
• Over 300 jobs have been created for waste operators, community waste coordinators and construction workers.
• As of March 31, 2021, the percentage of First Nation communities with adequate solid waste management systems has increased from 0.2% in 2016 to 37.3%.

Lands and Economic Development Reference Levels: Fiscal Year 2021-2022

About the Service

• Indigenous Services Canada helps support First Nation governance over their lands by providing funding for the development of Land Use Plans. Land Use Plans combine land survey data, community input, and traditional knowledge into a cohesive plan through a multi-year development process that reflects the community's environmental, social, cultural, and economic priorities. Each plan is uniquely adapted to the communities' culture and traditions and facilitates community input on the management of their lands.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Investments acquired as part of Budget 2018 (ending in 2022-2023) and Budget 2017 (commencing in 2023-2024) are provided to our partners, the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association and the First Nations Land Management Resource Centre to support communities' land use planning activities for Indian Act and Land Code First Nations by devolving service delivery for land use planning development and implementation, providing a forum to share best practices, develop and deliver training strategies, and expand partnerships with other lands, community, and environment planning bodies.

Results and Outcomes

• To date, 157 communities have a land use plan in place which is approximately 25% of all First Nations in Canada. Another 69 First Nations have Land Use Plans currently in development.

About the Service

• ISC works with Indigenous partners to support the implementation of the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act. Matrimonial real property refers to the family or matrimonial home and other structures or lands that a couple owns or occupies while they are married or in a common-law relationship.
• The Act, which came into full force in 2014, provides individuals on-reserve with rights and protections related to land and the family home in the event of a relationship breakdown, the death of a spouse or partner, and in situations of family violence. The Act includes two main parts:
  1. a mechanism for First Nations to enact their own matrimonial real property laws; and
  2. and provisional federal rules that provide these rights and protections until a First Nation adopts its own law.
• Funding for the Matrimonial Real Property Implementation Support Program sunset as of March 31, 2021. Since then matrimonial real property support for First Nations, including the work by the former Centre of Excellence for Matrimonial Real Property, has been integrated into the operations of the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• While First Nation communities have the jurisdiction under the Act to enact their own matrimonial real property laws, enforcement and prosecution of these laws has been a longstanding issue for communities across jurisdictions. Barriers include: a lack of awareness and recognition of these laws; the absence of inter-governmental agreements for law enforcement and prosecution; and inadequate resources or scale to establish community-based enforcement and prosecution systems. In May 2021, the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs released a report with recommendations for addressing widespread enforcement issues.
• There are also gaps with respect to the full implementation of the provisional federal rules under the Act, in particular, protections for the family home in instances of domestic violence. Under the Act, those experiencing domestic violence can apply, on an urgent basis, for Emergency Protection Orders that can award exclusive occupation of the family home for a period of time. For these orders to be available, the province in which the reserve is situated must authorize a ''designated judge'' to hear these applications on an expedited basis. To date, only three provinces have authorized designated judges. ISC continues to work with the Department of Justice Canada to explore options to raise this issue to the attention of provinces, including drawing on the Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the evergreen National Action Plan.
• The Act's requirement for a minimum voter participation of 25% to approve a proposed matrimonial real property law has prevented some First Nations from being able to approve their own MRP laws, and discouraged others from trying to develop such laws. The last successful community-approved matrimonial real property law was in 2019. While understanding there is limited desire to reopen the Act as a whole, the Community Lands Development Directorate is currently examining whether to proceed with a targeted engagement (as part work already underway by the Research, Policy and Legislative Initiatives team to modernize other regulations that govern elections on reserves) on removing the voter threshold requirement from the legislation.

Results and Outcomes

• Through the work of the Centre of Excellence, and subsequently the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association, approximately 60% of First Nation communities have improved their capacity with respect to matrimonial real property through training and community-awareness sessions. There are 16 First Nations that have developed community-specific matrimonial real property laws under the Act.

About the Service

• The Reserve Land and Environment Management Program funds First Nations to develop the capacity needed to manage and exercise increased responsibility over their reserve land, resources and environment under the Indian Act.
• Participating in the program can multiply land-based economic development opportunities, and may prepare a community for transition to other land management regimes (e.g., First Nations Land Management or Comprehensive Self-Government).
• The program consists of three levels of increasing responsibility:
  1. the "training and development" level;
  2. the "operational" level;
  3. and "delegated authority" under sections 53 and/or 60 of the Indian Act (now closed to new entrants), which allows First Nations to manage and deliver land management services on behalf of ISC.
• The success of the program relies heavily on the partnership that exists between Canada and the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association, which works to support professional development and technical expertise in the area of land and environmental management.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Incremental funding is required to support much needed program modernization based on recommendations from the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association, ISC regions, and 224 First Nations (351 participants, including Chiefs, Councillors, Land Managers, Environmental Officers, and other First Nation Officials), as part of a 2017 First Nations national engagement session.
• Priorities identified include: providing sufficient base-level funding for First Nations to execute the full suite of land management activities required under the Indian Act (i.e., to support a land management office) and which is reflective of the increasing complexity and volume of land transactions (e.g., leases, permits) performed; broadening eligibility criteria to allow for greater participation in the program; and increasing the flexibility of training to better meet the needs of students and communities.
• Reserve Land and Environment Management Program First Nations who transition to First Nations Land Management have continued support for their lands office under the First Nations Land Management Operational funding. This funding is generally greater than that provided under the Reserve Land and Environment Management Program, in recognition that the First Nation now has jurisdiction over their lands and environmental management.

Key Milestones

• In addition to existing training delivery partnerships with the University of Saskatchewan, Algoma University in Ontario, and Vancouver Island University in British Columbia, a new partnership was forged with the Université du Québec en Témiscamingue (UQAT) in 2021. UQAT will assist in the delivery of training in French, with enrollment of its inaugural land manager cohort in Fall 2022.
• Through the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association Professional Lands Managers Certification Program, over 150 First Nation communities have received support to train a certified land manager.
• In 2019-2020, 11 training sessions with 147 participants were delivered covering topics, such as land regimes, additions to reserve/reserve creation, and land use planning. More specialized training on land management, leasing, designations, and estates was delivered through 12 sessions to a further 195 participants.
• In 2020-2021, the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association redesigned and updated the curriculum for all training provided through Level II of the Professional Lands Managers Certification Program on topics, including laws and regulations, environmental management, and land administration. Efforts have also continued to support recognition of prior learning for experienced land managers that have not completed the Professional Lands Managers Certification Program.

Results and Outcomes

• There are currently 129 First Nations participating in the program, of which 21 are at the "training and development" level, 100 are "operational" and eight have "delegated authority".
• There have been 202 land managers certified since the inception of the Professional Lands Managers Certification Program, in 2005.

About the Service

• Since 2010, the Strategic Partnerships Initiative (SPI) program supports Indigenous participation in large scale, complex economic development opportunities. The Program is internal to the Government of Canada and provides a way for multiple departments to coordinate their efforts, leverage/pool funding from multiple sources, and reduce the administrative burden through the use of a shared horizontal program authority. Its goal is to increase the economic opportunities available to Indigenous communities and businesses by promoting partnerships between federal and non-federal groups in key economic areas and provide funding to projects and opportunities that are not eligible for other federal funding The Program is managed by ISC on behalf of a growing network of 22 federal partners.
• Building on the success of SPI's British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative, Budget 2021 committed $36 million, over three years (starting in 2021- 2022), through the Strategic Partnerships Initiative to build capacity for local, economically-sustainable clean energy projects in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. This investment plays a complementary and enabling role in the advancement of Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan and Indigenous Climate Leadership agenda, specifically as it relates to the co-development and co- implementation of regional and community clean energy initiatives.
• As per the Minister's mandate letter, ISC was tasked to create a Navigator position to help Indigenous entrepreneurs find programs related to their needs. SPI is well- positioned to host this function in that it can leverage its whole-of- government network, as well as ISC's regional network, to provide a single-point of entry for all Indigenous entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities to access funding from across the federal family in all sectors of the economy. The Navigator function is anticipated to launch in fall of 2022, at which time service standards will be designed and developed, and outreach and communications plans will be established to socialize this new service. Although the launch will be funded by LED sector, a full costing analysis will be conducted by the end of this fiscal year, and supplementary funds may be required to support the ongoing operations. In order to complement this function, ISC is using the Innovation Solutions Canada process to procure a Digital Navigation Tool.

Examples of Recent Successes

• Indigenous Inland Commercial Fisheries Initiative (2018–2023)
  • The Indigenous Commercial Fisheries Initiative is a multi-year coordinated effort by federal and provincial governments, in collaboration with Indigenous organizations, to sustain and grow Indigenous commercial fisheries in Manitoba. Indigenous fishers, associations and communities are acquiring technical, business and resource management skills, and access to capital for economic development through opportunity readiness and business development focused activities.
• British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (2016–2024)
  • The British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI) provides early support to develop Indigenous communities' capacity and readiness to advance local or regional clean energy projects. Since 2016, BCICEI has supported 63 communities, which include 36 remote, off-grid or diesel dependent communities to advance 93 clean energy projects related to solar, biomass, hydro, geothermal, and wind. These projects have saved 424K tonnes of CO2, reduced the need for diesel by 2.8M liters, and generated 134K Mwhr/year of clean energy, all positive steps towards achieving Canada's net-zero carbon economy.
• Ring Of Fire Community Well-Being Project
  • The Ring of Fire is considered one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario. Initial federal investments (2010–2015) focused on mining and employment readiness. However, dire social conditions in remote First Nation communities required emphasis also be placed on individual and community wellbeing. Federal, provincial and Indigenous partnerships have resulted in the foundations of a sustainable social housing program, numerous construction projects, a community-based apprenticeship and training program, and strengthened financial management and governance. Building on the successes of the Community Wellbeing Pilot Project, Budget 2021 included $152.5 million over 5 years (i.e. the Community Development Wrap Around Initiative) to expand this wraparound developmental approach with high needs and low capacity First Nation communities across the country.
• Arctic Gateway Initiative
  • To ensure the viability of the Arctic Gateway Group - a majority-owned Indigenous enterprise at the centre of a Northern Trade Corridor (from the Pas to the Port of Churchill), as well as develop strategies to capitalize on the medium-to-longer term economic opportunities for Indigenous businesses and communities in northern Manitoba and Nunavut, the Strategic Partnerships Initiative is working with Prairies Economic Development Canada, Transport Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to support the long-term sustainability of the Hudson's Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill. This Initiative will enable Canada to take a more coordinated whole-of-government, partnership-based approach towards unlocking the longer-term economic benefits for Indigenous communities.

Results and Outcomes

• For fiscal year 2022-2023, the Strategic Partnerships Initiative is managing:
  • $35.7 million in Grants and Contributions; and
  • $2.8 million in Operations and Maintenance;
• To date:
  • funded 56 initiatives;
  • leveraged $504 million from other sources (1:4 leveraging ratio);
  • over 470 Indigenous communities have been directly or indirectly involved; and,
  • 223 partnerships have been created.
• Clean Energy:
  • To date, the SPI-Clean Energy funding has been used to stand up 3 new regional initiatives (Quebec, Alberta, and Atlantic), as well as to renew the British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative for another 2 years.
  • In addition, SPI's clean energy investment has also been used to establish a partnership with the national Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise (ICE) - an Indigenous-governed, non-profit, organization that advances First Nation, Inuit, and Métis participation in clean energy projects across the country. With its sectoral knowledge and established network, ICE is supporting SPI at building capacity (including that of the regional initiatives), extending our network and reach, while ensuring Indigenous inclusion and participation in economically-sustainable clean energy projects across the country.
• Navigator function:
  • Completed Phase 1 of the Digital Navigation Tool (presentation by the 5 invited external IT suppliers, evaluation of their presentations);
  • Meetings held with all ISC regions and LED program officials to gather information and data on programs and on expectations around the Navigator function;
  • Meeting with ISED to discuss one of their own Pathfinding sub-initiatives (Business Benefits Finder), which would include information on ISC programs and services.

About the Board

• Established in 1990, the members of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board are appointed by the Minister of Indigenous Services with a mandate to provide strategic policy advice to the Government of Canada on issues related to Indigenous economic development.
• Comprised of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis business and community leaders from across Canada, the Board helps the government respond appropriately to the unique needs and circumstances of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Top Key Current Files

• The Board's 2020-2023 Strategic Plan consists of four priority areas that shape the Board's engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations, as well as their advice provided to the Government of Canada:
  • developing a National Indigenous Economic Strategy;
  • advancing economic reconciliation;
  • regional economic development for Indigenous Peoples; and
  • closing the data gap on key Indigenous economic indicators.
• The Board's 2012 Aboriginal Economic Benchmarking Report identified a comprehensive set of indicators and benchmarks to measure the social and economic well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people and communities in Canada. In 2015 and 2019, the Board published Indigenous Economic Progress Reports. Work has started on the next Progress Report, scheduled for publication in 2023, with the assistance and guidance of an External Advisory Panel comprised of Indigenous academics from across the country. The Indigenous Economic Progress Report is the NIEDB's flagship product, and presents a thorough, in-depth analysis of the economic realities of Indigenous peoples in Canada. It assesses three core indicators (employment, income and community well-being, as well as a number of the underlying indicators of economic success (entrepreneurship and business development, infrastructure, education, governance, and, lands and resources).

Key Milestones

• Key milestones for the Board's four priority areas include:
  • obtain buy-in from governments and industry to implement and support the new National Indigenous Economic Strategy;
  • promote and create awareness of the importance of restoring Indigenous economic well-being;
  • support Indigenous entrepreneurship and community economic development; and
  • improve overall understanding of Indigenous Canada by informing research trends and addressing data needs

Results and Outcomes

• In Spring 2021, Dawn Madahbee Leach was appointed as the new Chair of the NIEDB. Ms. Madahbee Leach is an Anishinabe-kwe and member of the Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation.
• Ms. Madahbee Leach appeared before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in February 2022 on the topic of Barriers to Indigenous Economic Development.
• In response to Canada's June 2020 initiative on increasing the participation of Indigenous businesses in federal procurement and in support of economic reconciliation, the Board is finalizing a business plan for an Indigenous Procurement Institute that would help build Indigenous economic capacity, share leading practices, and deliver programs and services.
• Dawn Madahbee Leach participated in a Side Event entitled Economic Reconciliation and the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in April 2022.
• At the Permanent Forum, Dawn indicated that "the proposed Indigenous Procurement Institute is the single most important investment that could be undertaken in the short term to achieve economic reconciliation."
• In partnership with Indigenous leadership and more than 25 national Indigenous economic organizations, the NIEDB developed a 10-year National Indigenous Economic Strategy. Released in June 2022, the Strategy is designed to drive positive change, address long-standing inequities, and achieve inclusive growth for and with Indigenous communities.

Overview

• The Governance and Operations Directorate is responsible for legislation and policies that support the governance of First Nations, primarily around elections and lawmaking under the Indian Act as well as the First Nations Elections Act.
• First Nations elections, by-laws and ISC's activities and responsibilities include:
  • 366 First Nations conduct elections under their own election system
  • Training and supporting electoral officers in the conduct of elections under the Indian Act and the First Nations Elections Act (approximately 225 First Nations hold elections under one of these two legislative frameworks).
  • Receiving, reviewing and making a determination with respect to appeals of elections held under the Indian Act (approximately 165 First Nations hold their elections under that Act). In a small percentage of appeals, the determination requires that the Minister report to the Governor-in-Council with a recommendation that the election be set aside.
  • Supporting First Nations in the development of their own community election system through the Policy on Conversion to Community (Custom) Elections.
  • Preparing requisite orders removing First Nations from the electoral provisions of the Indian Act and/or adding them to the schedule to the First Nations Elections Act and submitting them for timely Ministerial approval.
  • Providing advice and support to First Nation governments, regional officials and senior management on matters of First Nation governance.
  • Ensuring maintenance of the departmental Band Governance Management System, a repository of data related to the electoral cycle and elected officials of all First Nations.
  • Supporting First Nations in exercising their by-law making authorities provided under the Indian Act through the provision of training and advice.

Overview

Education and skills training are a shared undertaking among federal, provincial and territorial governments, and Indigenous communities. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) continues to shift its approach to supporting the delivery of education services, towards co-developed and distinctions-based strategies that focus on regional solutions. Indigenous Services' education services include the following areas:

Financial Profile

• Total Education expenditures: $3.3 billion (2021–2022)

Context

• In 2016, the high school completion rate for the overall Indigenous population (aged 25 to 64) was 74.4%, 14.8 percentage points lower than non-Indigenous Peoples (89.2%).
• High school completion rates increased between 2006 and 2016 for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples (aged 25 to 64), however, the increase among the overall Indigenous population was larger than non-Indigenous Peoples, thereby narrowing the education gap by 4.5 percentage points.
• High school completion rates remain lowest for First Nations on-reserve and Inuit (aged 25 to 64), at 57.0% and 56.1%, respectively.
• In general, high school completion rates are higher for women than men (aged 25 to 64), however, this gap is wider among the overall Indigenous population than the non-Indigenous population, at 6.3 and 2.9 percentage points respectively. The gender gap in high school completion rates is highest among First Nations on-reserve, at 52.9% for men and 61.0% for women, and lowest among Inuit, at 55.0% and 57.1%.
• In 2016, post-secondary education attainment rates for those between the ages of 25 to 64 were 45.5% for First Nations (registered Indians), 37.6% for Inuit (inside and outside of Inuit Nunangat) and 55.4% for Métis. In comparison, two-thirds (65.5%) of non-Indigenous Canadians between the ages of 25 to 64 had completed post-secondary below bachelor or university.
• In general, Indigenous women were almost two times more likely than Indigenous men to have a university degree.

About the Service

• The Elementary and Secondary Education Program provides funding to support kindergarten to grade 12 education for First Nations students, schools and communities.
• ISC provides funding directly to First Nation recipients and First Nation education organizations designated by First Nations to support students living on-reserve who attend First Nation-operated schools on-reserve.
• For students who attend provincially-operated schools, ISC provides the tuition amount charged by the province, plus additional amounts for student supports.
• For students who attend private/independent schools, ISC provides funding up to the tuition rate that would be charged at the nearest provincial school to the student's home community.
• Additionally, there are seven federally-operated schools on-reserve (one in Alberta and six in Ontario) that ISC administers.
• For most Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Partners that have opted to draw down on elementary/secondary education authorities, funding has been transferred to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada on an ongoing basis for inclusion in their Grant agreements and is no longer reflected in ISC core funding for education.
• For First Nations residing in the North (Yukon / Northwest Territories), First Nations residing off-reserve, as well as Inuit and Métis, elementary and secondary education is provided by their respective province or territory.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Historically, funding for students living on-reserve was funded from a series of different programs, with an outdated historical base and proposal-based funding that was not evenly distributed between regions nor between First Nations within regions.
• On April 1, 2019, ISC launched a new funding approach that aims to provide schools on-reserve with core funding that is predictable, sustainable, and transparent. This base funding is comparable to provincial education systems.
• In addition, enhancements to core funding beyond provincial comparability are provided for a variety of activities that support student success, including: funding for full-day kindergarten (ages four and five); funding for language and culture up to $1,500 per student per year; funding for before- and after-school programming; funding for student supports; and menstrual products.
• This interim regional funding formula approach uses student enrolment from the previous year for the funding calculation.
• Budget 2021 announced further investments in elementary and secondary education, which includes:
  • $112 million in 2021-2022 to extend COVID-19 support so children on-reserve can continue to attend school safely, including Personal Protective Equipment for students and staff, laptops to support online learning, and more teachers and other critical staff; $726 million over five years, starting in 2021- 2022, and $188 million ongoing, to enhance funding formulas in critical areas, such as student transportation; ensure funding for First Nations schools remains predictable from year to year; and increase First Nations control over First Nations education by concluding more Regional Education Agreements;
  • $350 million over five years, starting in 2021-2022, to expand access to adult education by supporting First Nations people on-reserve who wish to return to complete or upgrade their high school education; and
  • $515 million over five years, starting in 2021-2022, and $112 million ongoing, to support before and after-school programming for First Nations children on- reserve.
• Adult education will be implemented in 2022-2023, supporting high school completion and upgrading for First Nations on reserve and in the North.
• Additionally, ISC is working with the Assembly of First Nations who are leading a comprehensive review of the High-Cost Special Education program. This work includes examining funding and service gaps for First Nations high-cost special education and may result in recommendations for changes to the program.

Key Milestones

• Since April 2019, core education funding is updated annually to better reflect student enrolment and price factors directly comparable to students supported by provincial education systems, guided by the principles of transparency, predictability and stability.
• COVID-19 emergency funding in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 was provided to First Nations to address the needs of First Nations students and schools.
• Before- and after-school program funding was provided to First Nation-operated schools for 2021-2022.
• Budget 2021 initiatives, such as refinements to transportation and accommodation, were implemented in 2021-22 and ongoing to further strengthen the formulas and improve data quality.

Results and Outcomes

• In 2020-2021, ISC funded almost 500 First Nation-operated education programs across the country and approximately 109,000 First Nations students living on- reserve attending schools both on- and off reserve.
• Education transformation resulted in funding beyond provincial comparability levels. For illustrative purposes at a per-student level, the 2020-2021 range of average provincial funding per full-time student was approximately $10,000 to $14,000. ISC funding transformation funding per full-time student in a First Nation-administered program ranged from $17,000 to $24,000.

About the Service

• The Education Partnerships Program (EPP), established in 2008, is proposal- based and supports the development of First Nations' education administration expertise, First Nation education administration organizations' operating costs for the delivery of elementary and secondary education programs and services, and provides one-time start-up costs for school board-type entities.
• The program provides limited needs-based funding for tailored programming and services to address specific education priorities in order to help increase student achievement in First Nation, independent, provincial, and territorial schools.
• The EPP supports the development of regional education agreements (REAs) between First Nation-delegated First Nation education program delivery organizations, First Nations, and Canada. REAs were introduced in 2019 as part of the co-developed education transformation policy framework.
• REAs support First Nation self-determination through culturally appropriate education programming designed by First Nations to support improved student outcomes.
• REAs strengthen and stabilize First Nation education program delivery organizations and models required for service transfer toward devolution.
• As a signatory to REAs, Canada commits to providing the required incremental funding to support the implementation of the REA.

Top Key Current Files or Projects / Key Milestones

• In July, 2022, ISC and the First Nations Education Council, representing 22 communities in Québec, signed the first regional education agreement that is supported by a First Nation-designed, responsive funding formula to address the specific needs of students and improve education outcomes. Budget 2022 committed $310.6 million over five years to implement the agreement.

Results and Outcomes

• To date, nine regional education agreements have been signed that cover approximately 23,350 students. This includes the British Columbia Tripartite Education Agreement.
• Discussions are underway with over 60 First Nations and First Nations education organizations to advance education agreements across the country and three agreements are anticipated to be concluded in 2022-2023.
• Prior to the nine regional education agreements signed since 2019, the Education Partnerships Program also supported the establishment of two school systems through transformative education agreements with First Nations:
  • the Manitoba First Nations School System (2017) currently manages education programs and services for approximately 2,337 students; and
  • the Maskwacîs Cree School System in Alberta (2018) currently provides education programming and supports to approximately 2,754 students.

About the Strategy

• ISC supports First Nations students to pursue post-secondary education through the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy, which includes four streams:
  • The Post-Secondary Student Support Program provides First Nations post- secondary students with funding for academic and living expenses;
  • The University and College Entrance Preparation Program supports First Nations students in university and college entrance preparation programs to attain the entrance requirements for a degree or diploma credit program;
    • Both streams are administered directly by First Nations and their designated organizations, which determine student selection and funding levels, consistent with the principle of First Nations control of First Nations education.
    • For Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Partners that have opted to draw down post-secondary education authorities, funding is transferred to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada on an ongoing basis for inclusion in their grant agreements and is no longer reflected in ISC base funding for education.
  • The Post-Secondary Partnerships Program provides funding to support First Nations post-secondary institutions, and to support First Nations-led partnerships with post-secondary institutions to increase the availability of post-secondary education programs tailored to their cultural and educational needs;
    • It is regionally managed and proposal driven. The level of funding allocated to recipients is based on the number and quality of proposals submitted relative to the available funding.
  • Engagement funding is provided to support the development of comprehensive and integrated First Nations regional post-secondary education models.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Budget 2019 invested $320 million over five years, starting 2019-2020, to increase the number of First Nations students that receive post-secondary funding, and $7.5 million over three years, starting 2019-2020, to First Nations to engage with First Nations on the development of long-term regional post-secondary education models. Further changes to the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy may result from the engagement. This funding sunset in 2021-2022; however, some partners have carried funding forward to 2022-2023, therefore engagement is continuing.
• To address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, $65.5 million in additional funding for First Nations post-secondary students was provided annually from 2020- 2021 through 2022-2023, as well as approximately $24.0 million annually through the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program for First Nations post-secondary institutions and community-based programming from 2020-2021 through 2021-2022.

Key Milestones

• In 2020-2021, the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program eligibility narrowed in scope so that only First Nations post-secondary institutions and First Nations- directed community programming providers are now eligible to receive funding (compared to the previous eligibility which included non-Indigenous institutions).
• In parallel to First Nations-led engagement activities to develop regional post- secondary education models,. through the Assembly of First Nations, First Nations developed the 2021 First Nations Post-Secondary Education Policy Proposal approved by Chiefs in Assembly in December 2021, to enable First Nations to implement their vision of post-secondary education. This work along with the First Nations engagement which will inform the development of regional post-secondary models, including identifying additional funding as needed.
• In 2022-2023, the Advancing First Nations Lifelong Learning: Adult Education and Post-Secondary Education proposal was ratified to: provide access to adult education programming to support high school completion and upgrading for First Nations on reserve and in the North; authorities to implement First Nations regional post-secondary models; and, to transform the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program to provide core funding for First Nations post-secondary education institutions and community-based programming. However, ISC did not receive funding to support either First Nations regional models or core funding for First Nations post-secondary institutions in Budget 2022.

Results and Outcomes

• The First Nations PSE Strategy supports approximately 23,000 First Nations students per year.
• Approximately 3,650 First Nations students funded through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program graduate with a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree each year.
• In 2019-2020, $22.1 million supported 46 recipients, which included mainstream universities, colleges and First Nations institutions. The pandemic generated additional delays in receipt of the program reports, so data for the more recent years are not currently available. The Program remains oversubscribed and partners have consistently indicated additional funding is required.

About the Strategies

• Though the Inuit and Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategies, ISC allocates funds to Inuit and Métis Nation recipients, who then provide funding for academic and living expenses to Inuit and Métis Nation students pursuing post- secondary education. The strategies also provide additional non-academic programs and service support for post-secondary students, and education governance capacity, such as counselling, tutoring, mentoring, and tracking post-secondary data.
• The new Inuit strategy expanded ISC's support to all Inuit post-secondary students, no matter where they reside in Canada, while transferring the control of Inuit student funding decision-making to Inuit governments.
• With the implementation of the new Métis Nation strategy, ISC is supporting Métis Nation post-secondary students for the first time. Métis Nation recipients under the strategy include the governing members of the Métis National Council and the Manitoba Métis Federation

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Investments to support the Inuit-led Post-Secondary Education Strategy total $125.5 million over ten years and $21.8 million ongoing. The Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy provides $362 million over ten years and $40 million ongoing.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, $2.52 million and $7.24 million in additional funding was provided from 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 for Inuit and Métis Nation post- secondary students, respectively; as well as $0.7 million and $1.1 million, respectively, to support Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary institutions and partnerships from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022.

Key Milestones

• ISC worked with Inuit and Métis Nation partners to co-develop the Inuit and Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategies, including components for student support, complementary programs and services, and governance capacity.
• In 2019–2020, Métis Nation post-secondary students received financial assistance for post-secondary education for the first time;
• In 2019–2020, Inuit partners worked to prepare for implementation of their strategy; and in 2020–2021, Inuit post-secondary students started to receive financial assistance for post-secondary education through this Strategy.

Results and Outcomes

• Budget 2019 investments resulted in an increase of Inuit students who received financial assistance from 162 to 619 (from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021).
• Métis Nation students receiving support increased from 1,025 to 3,659 (from 2019- 2020 to 2020-2021).

About the Service

• The First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy is a component of the broader Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, led by Employment and Social Development Canada. It supports employment and skills development opportunities for First Nations and Inuit youth between the ages of 15 and 30.
• The proposal-based strategy funds First Nations and Inuit communities, governments and organizations, not-for-profit associations and private sector employers to better support First Nations and Inuit youth, particularly those facing barriers, to participate in the labour market. There are two streams:
  • First Nations and Inuit Skills Link Program supports First Nations and Inuit youth to acquire essential job-related skills, learn about career options, and prepare for employment; and
  • First Nations and Inuit Summer Work Experience Program supports First Nations and Inuit youth to acquire skills, prepare for full-time employment and earn income.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• In 2021-2022, ISC launched an engagement process with Indigenous partners, program recipients, and youth participants on the modernization of the First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy. The goal is to align it with the modernized and broader Employment and Social Development Canada-led Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and to better meet youth needs.
• A pilot project was implemented in 2021-2022 to strengthen the working relationship between the First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy and Income Assistance programs. It also supported 2,000 First Nations youth between the ages of 18 and 30 to support self-sufficiency and transition to the workforce or to return to school as a means to restore pre-COVID-19 employment levels.

Key Milestones

• As of December 1, 2021, 1,474 First Nations youth participated in the Income Assistance First Nations Youth Employment Strategy Pilot.
• ISC is planning to launch its 2022-2024 First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy call for proposals in late fall 2022.
• By 2023-2024, ISC expects to update the design of the First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy based on the outcome of the engagement process.

Results and Outcomes

• Since its launch in 1997, the strategy has provided close to 150,000 skills experience and summer work opportunities to First Nations and Inuit youth.
• Each year, the strategy supports more than 600 First Nations and Inuit communities to design and implement projects that provide skills development and employment opportunities to Indigenous youth. Reporting for fiscal year 2021-2022 is currently underway and is expected to be similar to historic numbers of participants (roughly 11,182 First Nations and Inuit youth served; 6,731 in the Summer Work Experience program, 2,451 in the Skills Link program and 2,000 for the Income Assistance First Nations Youth Employment Strategy Pilot).

About the Service

• Canada's emergency management system is being challenged as the frequency, intensity, duration, and complexity of natural disasters are increasing exponentially, in large part due to the impacts of climate change.
• First Nations on-reserve are significantly more likely to be evacuated than off- reserve residents and are more vulnerable due to socio-economic factors that could have adverse effects on their preparation and response capacity.
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is the single window for funding for emergency management on-reserve (preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery), delivered through grants and contribution agreements.
• The Emergency Management Assistance Program provides funding to eligible on- reserve First Nation communities across Canada, for all-hazards emergencies, such as wildfires and floods. Health emergencies were added to the Emergency Management Assistance Program's Terms and Conditions in 2021-22, which now includes funding for public health emergencies and health emergencies arising as a result of natural hazards.
• The objectives of the Emergency Management Assistance Program's (EMAP) services are to protect the health, well-being and safety of First Nations residents on-reserve and their infrastructure from natural or accidental hazards, and assist in the remediation of critical infrastructure and community assets impacted by emergency events.
• ISC reimburses First Nations partners, provincial and territorial governments and other third-party service providers or non-government organizations (such as the Canadian Red Cross) for 100% of eligible costs incurred in the delivery of emergency management services to First Nation communities.

Financial Profile

• In 2021-22, ISC spent $194 million on preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery activities on-reserve.
• Due to the unpredictable nature of emergency events, an annual funding process (off-cycle request) is in place to access budget for response and recovery. EMAP currently has an A-Base response and recovery fund of $29.3 million ongoing, and Budget 2022 provided $86.3 million per year for 3 years for response and recovery (totaling $258.9 million), and $12.6 million per year for 3 years for health emergency management (totaling $37.8 million). Despite this increase, an off-cycle is needed again this fiscal year to cover pressures stemming from severe hazard events. The need for sustainable funds remains a priority.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Canada experienced an unprecedented wildfire season in 2021, with the highest number of wildland fire emergencies in the last decade. These events highlighted the urgent need for a more comprehensive emergency management approach to improve preparedness, response and the resiliency of communities, including First Nations, to these events.
• ISC is committed to advancing emergency management multilateral service agreements with First Nation partners and provincial and territorial governments. This new approach to emergency management will foster better relationships with First Nation communities and ensure that they are full and equal partners in all four pillars of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. ISC has been identifying next steps in developing regional strategies to reach multilateral service agreements. In recent months, there has been notable progress made in British Columbia and Ontario towards multilateral approaches and investments have been made to support First Nation-led service delivery, which build regional capacity.
• In January 2022, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) began a performance audit of ISC's emergency management in First Nations communities. The audit report is set to be released in November 2022. ISC's Emergency Management Directorate is working closely with the OAG to provide input to drafts, respond to findings, and ultimately position responses and outcomes to recommendations.
• ISC continues to accept proposals from First Nations to fund First Nations-led emergency management projects focusing on mitigation and preparedness to increase community resilience and capacity, and integrating Indigenous knowledge, skills and abilities to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency events.
• ISC is seeking ways to enhance culturally competent and holistic response and recovery supports (including mental health and wellbeing supports, child-friendly spaces during evacuations, translation services, cultural continuity supports) available to First Nation partners, which includes supporting proposals that increase their role in service delivery.
  • To be more proactive with preparedness and mitigation on-reserve, the Emergency Management Assistance Program is considering the increased use of advanced payments prior to an emergency event to aid First Nation communities in the response and recovery process.
• The Department continues to foster its relationships with key partners and departments by actively engaging in response efforts and emergency management initiatives. Key partners and departments include Public Safety Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Department of National Defence, provinces and territories, National Indigenous Organizations, and the Canadian Red Cross, among others.
  • The Emergency Management Directorate and FNIHB's Health Emergency Management team are working together to engage the Canadian Red Cross on strengthening the working relationship, which includes developing an overarching framework to initiate future partnerships, maintain funding arrangements, clarify operational processes and address existing gaps.

Key Milestones

• Budget 2019 invested $259 million over five years to:
  • help develop local capacity to respond to and recover from emergency events across the country;
  • engage First Nations in the development of tri/multilateral emergency management service agreements in all regions; and
  • address wildfire prevention and mitigation.
• Amendments to EMAP's Terms and Conditions in 2022-23:
  • The program is preparing a number of proposed amendments to EMAP's Terms and Conditions, strengthening the program by reducing identified barriers and gaps.
  • Most notably, EMAP is seeking to increase the use of advance payments to better meet the operational needs of First Nation-led service delivery partners so that they can respond to emergency events more efficiently. This shift would ultimately support ISC's service transfer mandate.
• Negotiate a trilateral service agreement with the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) and province of BC:
  • FNLC members are looking to secure a mandate from First Nations by Fall 2022 on a negotiation model for First Nations to engage with Canada and British Columbia on a trilateral agreement on Emergency Management.
  • From there, the FNLC has agreed to develop a framework agreement with ISC to support the agreement negotiations, at the working-level.
  • Formal negotiations are expected to begin as early as spring/summer 2023.
• Determine a pathway to negotiation of a multilateral agreement in Ontario:
  • First Nation partners are undertaking new projects for the 2022 flood and wildfire season, which will build capacity and provide lessons learned for the negotiation of multilateral agreements.
  • Given their mandate and relationship with First Nations in Ontario, Canada will ask Indigenous Affairs Ontario to lead discussions on advancing a multilateral service agreement with the province, aiming for approval by February 2023 (preceding flood and fire season).

Results and Outcomes

• In 2021-22, 18,150 First Nation residents were evacuated. As a result of enhanced service delivery, approximately 92% of these evacuees were returned home within 60 days. Note: Due to the unprecedented wildland fire situation impacting numerous First Nations in Canada in summer 2021, especially in British Columbia, getting information regarding exact numbers and repatriation dates of evacuees has not been possible.
• As of July 19, 2022, in 2021-22, 153 communities have received funding support for activities, such as: Emergency Management planning, wildfire risk assessments, and tsunami early warning systems.
• A new service delivery approach has been adopted to provide streamlined and culturally competent emergency response and recovery services to First Nations partners.

About the Program

• Strong, effective, and sustainable governments are critical to First Nations taking greater control over the decisions that affect their lives, achieving socio-economic progress and overall well-being, and advancing the gradual transfer of departmental responsibilities.
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) supports First Nations in the implementation of strong, effective and sustainable governments through the provision of grants and contributions that provide:
  • funding to 581 First Nations to support governance and administration;
  • funding to over 550 First Nations and organizations for employee benefits to support them in attracting and maintaining qualified staff;
  • project-based funding supporting over 500 projects annually to enhance the capacity of First Nation and Inuit communities to perform core functions of governance; and
  • funding to support 80 tribal councils for local aggregate service delivery for First Nations.
• Indigenous community development is supported through a holistic, strength-based and community-led process which supports Indigenous peoples and communities in implementing their community development goals. Community-led planning is a key element of this process and enables a community to plan its development in a way that meets its needs and aspirations in all aspects of community life. To date, ISC has supported 319 Indigenous communities in their community-led planning processes.
• The recent launch of the Community Development Wrap-Around Initiative supports First Nation communities in taking the next step in reaching their community development goals by supporting the implementation of their community identified priorities. The Community Development Wrap-Around Initiative will support 22 communities in implementing their community development projects using an innovative process that brings partners to the table in-community to leverage and align existing programs to support the implementation of First Nation identified priorities, facilitate access to capacity development opportunities, and provide flexible funding to address resource gaps. It is anticipated that this approach will also highlight opportunities for ISC and other government departments to better align and reform existing programs to better respond to the needs of First Nation communities and remove barriers to community development.
• Core community governance and governance capacity building continue to be critical elements in support of community self-determination. The Indigenous Governance and Capacity programs have experienced growing and substantial pressures, particularly within the Band Support Funding program and the Professional and Institutional Development program, in order to keep pace with inflation and salary expectations, and to support the capacity needed for service transfer.

Financial Profile

• Expenditures in fiscal year 2021-22 were $415 million.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The Indigenous Governance and Capacity program modernization responds to Canada's commitment to undertake a review of all First Nations governance funding, in collaboration with Indigenous partners, and return with a new co-developed funding proposal that will support First Nations in developing and maintaining strong governance systems and advancing their vision of self-determination.
• The Community Development Wrap-Around Initiative was developed with Budget 2021 investments ($151.4 million) to provide wrap-around support to 22 First Nation communities, nationally, in implementing their community-driven priorities over the next five years.
• Indigenous Services Canada is committed to the implementation of the four pillars of the Indigenous Community Development National Strategy (ICDNS) which are:
  • Supporting community-driven, nation-based planning initiatives and capacity building.
  • Supporting Indigenous community-to-community learning.
  • Building and strengthening collaboration and partnerships within and across government departments to implement priorities identified by Indigenous communities.
  • Strengthening the federal government's awareness of Indigenous cultural diversity.

Key Milestones

• ISC invested $48.4 million (over two years) in supplemental funding for governance capacity development in First Nation and Inuit communities (Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 2020) and this funding is being renewed for another two years (2022-23 to 2023-24).
• ISC has also invested $73.2 million from fiscal year 2018-19 to 2021-22 to reimburse intervention costs for First Nations under the Default Prevention and Management Policy. Another $35.4 million has been recently announced for the next two years (2022-23 to 2023-24).
• ISC sees strong governance as essential to the delivery of programs and services, as well as to self-determination. ISC is working to make the ongoing programs that support First Nation governance (Band Support Funding, Employee Benefits and Tribal Council Funding) no longer subject to the automatic withholding of funds when associated reports are outstanding.
• ISC sees importance in funding organizations that support governance capacity development and is working on amendments to program terms and conditions that will increase flexibility to fund such organizations in an ongoing manner.

Results and Outcomes

• The Default Prevention and Management Policy reimbursement funding started in 2018-19. To date, 80 First Nations have benefited from it, and 42.5% of them experienced a de-escalation to a lower default level or exited default altogether.
• ISC provided Indigenous Community Development training to 164 federal public servants in 2021-22.
• To date, ISC has funded the development of community-led plans in 319 First Nation communities across Canada.

About the Service

• The New Fiscal Relationship initiative focuses on achieving sufficient, predictable and sustained funding for First Nation communities. It is founded on mutual accountability, whereby First Nations are primarily accountable to their own citizens, while Canada and First Nations hold one another accountable for their commitments and work together to improve outcomes for First Nations members.
• The New Fiscal Relationship also underpins progress towards eliminating socio‐ economic gaps between First Nations and non-Indigenous Peoples and in successful service transfer.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• In 2016, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a new fiscal relationship that moves toward sufficient, predictable and sustained funding for First Nations, as well as closing socio-economic gaps.
• Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding and supported by several technical working groups and nine regional engagement sessions, ISC and the Assembly of First Nations released a joint report in December 2017 that recommended the:
  • Creation of 10-year grants for qualified First Nations;
  • Replacement of the Default Prevention and Management Policy;
  • Development of approaches to replace the First Nations Financial Transparency Act; and,
  • Establishment of a permanent advisory committee.
• As a first step, ISC worked with the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Financial Management Board to develop the New Fiscal Relationship Grant for interested First Nations who meet eligibility criteria. Eligibility was based on standards co-developed with the Board. With recommendations from the Board, eligible First Nations with adequate financial capacity can now be offered their funding through a renewable 10-year grant. The Grant provides predictable and flexible funding for a suite of services (such as education, income assistance, assisted living, and more), with greatly reduced reporting requirements. The Grant empowers First Nations to assume greater responsibility for the design and delivery of services, and to allocate funding based on community priorities.
• The Default Prevention and Management Policy outlines processes to ensure the delivery of programs while a recipient is in default. In light of recommendations from a 2017 report from the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs and co-development on the new fiscal relationship, ISC is currently providing funding to reimburse the costs to First Nations of third party managers and/or recipient appointed advisors put in place under the Default Prevention and Management Policy. It has also established pilot projects led by the First Nations Financial Management Board to both support First Nations to exit from default, as well as test models for shared financial management support services. Moving ahead, ISC is collaborating with key partners on a replacement policy that would provide greater capacity support to First Nations.
• ISC has also been working with partners to co-develop the National Outcome- Based Framework, which will measure and report on closing the socio-economic gaps between First Nations and non-Indigenous Peoples.
• The First Nations Financial Transparency Act requires First Nations to make their audited consolidated financial statements and schedules of remuneration and expenses of Chiefs and councillors available to their members. In 2015, ISC stopped all discretionary compliance measures related to the Act. The 2017 joint ISC-AFN report on the new fiscal relationship recommended co-developing an approach to replace the Act with First Nations-led mechanisms that ensure transparency and accountability while maintaining First Nations' self-determination. Work to advance this recommendation is ongoing.
• The Assembly of First Nations - ISC Joint Advisory Committee on Fiscal Relations was established in fall 2018 and presented an interim report in June 2019. Terms of appointees expired in March 2020. As ISC seeks to transfer services to Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations, it is examining options to provide further support to the fiscal relationship, guided by the Committee's interim recommendations. (Also see note on Transformational Approach to Indigenous Data)

Key Milestones

• ISC established the New Fiscal Relationship Grant for eligible First Nations on April 1, 2019, and 130 First Nations are currently receiving the Grant. Budget 2021 announced investments in the New Fiscal Relationship with First Nations through the escalation of the NFR Grant agreements starting in 2021-22 to address inflation and population growth. Callouts are annually made to invite more First Nations to express interest for the Grant.
• Engagements with program officials and technical experts on the National Outcomes-Based Framework have been completed. Several preliminary engagements with First Nations leaders and communities have taken place and further engagements are planned for Fall 2022. The framework is currently expected to be completed by September 2023.
• Five First Nations were part of a pilot project to work towards the reform of the Default Prevention and Management Policy. Funding has also been provided to the First Nations Financial Management Board for fiscal year 2022-23 and the next year to continue this pilot project with another 20 First Nations, and also to pilot a shared service concept in the provision of financial management services to First Nations. Findings from these pilots will also help inform reform of the department's policy on default prevention and management. Reimbursement of costs of third party managers continues, based on renewed funding in Budget 2021.
• The Assembly of First Nations-ISC Joint Advisory Committee on Fiscal Relations interim recommendations are being used to inform potential options for the next phase of new fiscal relationship co-development work, including sufficiency of funding, potential statutory transfers, modernizing governance capacity supports, replacing the Default Prevention and Management Policy, and institutional and capacity supports such as a First Nations Auditor General. A renewed mandate for this work will be sought in the coming months.

Results and Outcomes

• The New Fiscal Relationship Grant advances self-determination by providing funding flexibility and increasing First Nations' control over the design, delivery and management of services. In the long term, First Nations receiving the Grant are expected to experience an improvement in socio-economic outcomes and an accelerated closure of gaps with non-Indigenous Peoples.
• The reporting burden for First Nations receiving the Grant has been reduced by 92% for the funding areas covered by the Grant.
• As of June 15, 2022, there are 93 First Nations in default under the Default Prevention and Management Policy, which is a decrease of 35% when compared to 2017-18, due in part to the First Nations Financial Management Board pilot projects.
• Compliance with the First Nations Financial Transparency Act was 99% in 2013-2014. Compliance fell to 54% in 2020-2021, largely due to issues related to capacity or community emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the Program

• Supported by $81.5 million announced in Budget 2021, the Transformational Approach to Indigenous Data (TAID) is focused on advancing Indigenous data capacity to support the inherent strengths, resilience, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples as a foundational component of Indigenous self-determination. This aligns with Canada's commitments under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and ISC's mandate to transfer services.
• The Approach aims to advance Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous capacity to collect, govern, manage, and use data by bridging persistent and well- documented Indigenous data gaps and developing robust, distinctions-based, disaggregated data for governance and service delivery. As a whole, the initiative is expected to take a minimum of three phases and six years (starting with Phase 1 between 2022-23 to 2024-25), and will culminate in First Nations-, Inuit-, and Métis- led statistical capacity in the form of distinctions-based institutions, organizations, or functions to support Indigenous-defined data needs.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• In Stream 1: Readying ISC Data Transition, ISC is working to facilitate data sharing with Indigenous partners as a first step towards the eventual transfer of departmental data assets to Indigenous control along with related service delivery responsibilities.
• In Stream 2: Strengthening First Nations Data Capacity, ISC is supporting the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) and its regional partners to establish Data Champion Teams at the regional and national levels. FNIGC plans to establish a network of national and regional information governance centres, as envisioned in the 2020 First Nations Data Governance Strategy.
• In Stream 3: Strengthening Inuit Data Capacity, ISC is supporting Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) to identify their long term data and data capacity needs and create a data strategy to advance them. This work builds on the ITK's 2018 National Inuit Strategy on Research (PDF), particularly Priority #4 which is "to ensure Inuit access, ownership, and control over data and information."
• In Stream 4: Strengthening Métis Nation Data Capacity, ISC is supporting Métis, including signatories to the Canada-Métis Nation Accord, to identify their long term data and data capacity needs and create a data strategy to advance them.
• In Stream 5: Engaging Statistics Canada to Support Indigenous Data Capacity, ISC is collaborating with Statistics Canada (STC) to support Indigenous Delivery Partners in building Indigenous data capacity (as per streams 2-4), and to improve the visibility of Indigenous Peoples in Canada's national statistics.

Key Milestones

• A Memorandum to Cabinet to access Budget 21 funding for the TAID was approved on March 1, 2022. The Treasury Board approved the TAID on June 16, 2022.
• In October 2020, ISC established a Table on First Nations Data with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), FNIGC, STC, and ISC.
• ISC is engaging on opportunities to advance federal alignment on TAID through the Interdepartmental Collaborative Committee on Indigenous Data (ICCID), which was also established in October 2020, and is co-chaired by ISC and STC. The Committee acts as a forum to discuss Indigenous data-related subjects in the Federal Public Service, in support of advancing reconciliation and self-determination.

Results and Outcomes

• ISC is actively leading a coordinated approach to efficiently disclose federal data holdings with Indigenous governments and organizations. In 2021-22, four Information Sharing Agreements were signed, requiring an average of 10 months to complete. The program aims to reduce the average time for completion of Information Sharing Agreements to 6 months by March 2024.
• With the support of ISC, the FNIGC is establishing sustainable data and analytics capacity on Data Champion Teams by filling FTE positions with qualified candidates. Now that the funding is approved, the FNIGC has begun staffing and is aiming to staff at least 80% of planned FTE positions on Data Champion Teams by December 2023.
• With the support of ISC, Statistics Canada is conducting data development and analytics exercises to provide more Indigenous-specific and distinctions-based data. STC has estimated that, as of May 2020, although 83% of STC active surveys with Indigenous identifiers were able to support statistics for at least one Indigenous identity group, only 27% could be further broken down by gender. As a part of the TAID initiative, STC plans to increase these proportions to 90% and 40% by March 31, 2026, respectively.

Snapshot

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) works with First Nations, Inuit, other federal departments, and provincial and territorial partners to support healthy First Nation and Inuit individuals, families, and communities. In recent years, there has been a stronger emphasis on distinctions-based approaches, resulting in the limited expansion of the scope of some programming and funding to the Métis Nation. Working with these partners, ISC strives to improve health outcomes, expand access to quality health services, and support greater control of the health system by Indigenous Peoples.

Since the signing of the 2017 Canada-Métis Nation Accord, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch increasingly uses the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples authorities to transfer funding to urban Indigenous and Métis partners to support various health and wellness initiatives: core capacity development and engagement activities related to improving Métis health; urban Indigenous and Métis partners' participation in the co-development of distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation; addressing anti- Indigenous racism in health systems; and development and implementation of Métis mental wellness strategies and services.

Indigenous health is an area of shared jurisdiction, as articulated under s. 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Under the terms of the Canada Health Act, provincial and territorial governments provide universal insured health services to all provincial and territorial residents, including First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and other Indigenous Peoples.

ISC funds or directly provides health programs and services for First Nations and Inuit that supplement those provided by provinces and territories in the areas of Primary Health Care, Community-Based Health, Public Health, Health Infrastructure Support, and Non-Insured Health Benefits. ISC also supports communicable disease and health emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery activities.

ISC also continues to support First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities and organizations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic through the provision of flexible and distinctions-based funding, surge infrastructure, healthcare workers and supplies, and public health training and guidance.

Indigenous communities play a leadership role in the delivery and administration of federally-funded, community-based health services. Under self-government and modern treaty agreements, some Indigenous groups have jurisdiction or law-making authorities; for example, with respect to health services on lands of the applicable Nation, on requirements for obtaining informed consent for medical care, and/or as it relates to traditional health and medicine.

First Nations and Inuit health has improved in recent years, however, gaps remain between the overall health status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples. ISC's health services include the following:

• Healthy Living Program: ISC funds and supports culturally relevant community- based health promotion and disease prevention programs and services in First Nations and Inuit communities. Activities include promoting healthy behaviours and creating supportive environments in the areas of healthy eating, food security, physical activity, commercial tobacco use, and chronic disease prevention, management and screening.
• Health Emergency Management: Through investments in emergency preparedness and mitigation initiatives, ISC supports First Nation communities in building resiliency against emergency events, including natural and health emergencies.
• Healthy Child Development: Through its Healthy Child Development services, ISC provides support for healthy pregnancies, births, and child development in First Nation and Inuit communities.
• Environmental Public Health: Delivered in First Nation communities south of 60º parallel, ISC's Environmental Public Health Services assist First Nations in the identification and prevention of environmental health hazards in natural and built environments.
• Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program: ISC provides funding for community-based adaptation projects directed towards addressing health risks due to climate change.
• Mental Wellness: Guided by Indigenous partners and frameworks such as the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework, Honouring Our Strengths and the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy, ISC funds culturally competent, community-based mental wellness services for First Nations and Inuit. This includes essential mental health, cultural and emotional support to former Indian Residential Schools and federal Day Schools students and their families as well as those affected by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
• Communicable Disease Control and Management: This overarching program incorporates multiple public health programs directed towards the mitigation of underlying risk factors, promotion of public education and awareness, and identification of health risks.
• Clinical and Client Care Program (Primary Health Care): ISC's Clinical and Client Care programming supports the delivery of, and access to, high quality health programs, services and initiatives in remote and isolated First Nations communities. Key components include urgent, emergent and ambulatory care and the retention, safety, security and training of its workforce across five regions.
• Community Oral Health Services: Through its community oral health programming, ISC facilitates access to preventative oral health care services for First Nations and Inuit communities. A key component of the program is the involvement of community members and other health care service providers in the service delivery process.
• The First Nations and Inuit Home, Community Care and Long-Term Care Program: A coordinated system of home and community-based health care services that enable First Nations and Inuit people of all ages with disabilities, chronic or acute illnesses and the elderly to receive the care they need in their homes and communities. It is provided primarily through contribution agreements with First Nation and Inuit communities and Territorial governments. It is delivered primarily by home care registered nurses and trained and certified personal care workers. Service delivery is based on assessed need and follows a case management process.
• Jordan's Principle: Implemented in memory of Jordan River Anderson, the Government of Canada is legally responsible for ensuring that all First Nations children have access to the health, social, and educational products, supports, and services that they need.
• Inuit Child First Initiative: The Inuit Child First Initiative was jointly announced by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and ISC on September 10, 2018. It supports parents and guardians in accessing the health, social and educational products and services that Inuit children need, when they need them. Until a long-term Inuit-specific approach can be developed to support Inuit children, Inuit leaders have agreed that a model similar to Jordan's Principle will be available for Inuit children.
• Non-Insured Health Benefits Program: ISC provides registered First Nations and recognized Inuit with coverage for a range of health benefits, including prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, dental and vision care, medical supplies and equipment, mental health counselling, and transportation to access health services that are not locally available.
• Health Transformation: ISC supports First Nations organizations and institutions to advance their efforts to build capacity to develop new governance models that enable the full transfer of control over federally funded health services and programs to First Nations partners. This work will ensure that First Nations-led organizations control the delivery, design and management of programs and services so they can meet their communities' health and wellness needs. This will allow for a more holistic approach to health and wellness that values Indigenous ways of knowing and approaches to health, culture and language.
• Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada's Health Systems: Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to experience barriers to access, discrimination, and violence due to systemic and overt racism in Canada's health systems. ISC, along with Health Canada, and external partners, are working to address anti-Indigenous racism in Canada's health systems more broadly through initiatives that:
  • support for the integration of cultural safety throughout health systems;
  • increase Indigenous representation in health professions;
  • improve supports for Indigenous patients;
  • increase accountability; and
  • demonstrate federal leadership.
• Distinctions-based Indigenous Health Legislation: Guided by Joyce's Principle, ISC is working together with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners, and provinces and territories, to co-develop legislative options to foster health systems that will respect and ensure the safety and well-being of Indigenous Peoples.
• Quality Improvement and Accreditation: ISC's accreditation and quality improvement program serves to ensure Indigenous individuals have access to reliable and culturally safe health care services that meet national health standards comparable to anywhere else in the country. The program includes a strong focus on rural and remote communities, as these communities are particularly underserved and experience unique challenges and inequities.
• Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative: Indigenous communities depend on a comprehensive range of culturally competent health providers to deliver high quality, safe, effective, and client-centered health services. ISC provides funding for community-based workers and health managers to complete training to improve the quality and consistency of healthcare services provided in First Nations and Inuit communities.

Context

Recent data indicates that:

• First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations are affected by major health issues, including lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic illnesses (e.g., diabetes) and communicable diseases (e.g., tuberculosis), higher infant mortality rates and higher suicide rates, relative to the non-Indigenous Canadian population.
  • In 2011, the life expectancy at age 1 for First Nation males and females was 72.5 and 77.7 years, respectively. This was 8.9 (95% CI 8.1; 9.7) and 9.6 (95% CI 8.7; 10.5) years shorter than for non-Indigenous males and females. Life expectancy at age 1 for the Inuit household population was 70.0 years for Inuit males and 76.1 years for Inuit females, which is 11.4 (95% CI 9.2; 13.6) and 11.2 (95% CI 8.3; 14.2) years shorter than for the non-Indigenous population. For Métis households, life expectancy at age 1 was 76.9 years for males and 82.3 years for females, which is 4.5 (95% CI 3.2; 5.8) and 5.0 (95% CI 3.0; 7.0) years shorter, respectively, than for the non-Indigenous population.
  • In 2015-2016, 15.9% of First Nation adults living on-reserve reported having diabetes and 17.2% reported having high blood pressure. In 2017, the prevalence of diabetes for First Nation adults living off-reserve was 10.5%. In 2017, the prevalence of diabetes for Métis adults was 9%. For diabetes, this is approximately two to four times higher than in the general Canadian population (five percent for all adults in Canada [age standardized]). As for blood pressure, it is comparable or higher in the general population.
  • From 2004-2006, the infant mortality rates for First Nations, Inuit and Métis were 2.1, 2.8, and 2.3 times higher than the non-Indigenous population, respectively.
• In 2018, the active tuberculosis incidence rate among Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat was more than 300 times the rate for Canadian-born non-Indigenous peoples.
• From 2011-2016, Statistics Canada data indicated that the suicide rate among non-Indigenous peoples was eight deaths per 100,000 person-years at risk (number of deaths per person per year). This compares to:
  • First Nations: First Nation peoples were three times more likely to commit suicide, at 24.3 deaths per 100,000 person-years at risk. The suicide rate for First Nation people living on a reserve was twice as high as those living off-reserve.
  • Inuit: The rate for Inuit was around nine times higher than for non-Indigenous Peoples, at 72.3 deaths per 100,000 person-years at risk.
  • Métis: The rate for Métis was around twice as high as the rate of non-Indigenous Peoples, at 14.7 deaths per 100,000 person-years at risk.
• In 2015–2016, 22.6% of First Nation people 18 years of age and over in First Nation communities identified the unavailability of a doctor or nurse as a barrier to health care.

About the Service

• The Healthy Living Program funds and supports a suite of culturally relevant community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs and services in First Nations and Inuit communities. ISC funded programs and services are directed at promoting healthy behaviours and creating supportive environments through activities such as healthy eating; food security; physical activity; reducing commercial tobacco use; chronic disease prevention; management and screening; and injury prevention.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative: Supports community-led primary prevention and health promotion services delivered by community diabetes workers and health service providers in over 400 First Nation and Inuit communities, with additional communities supported in British Columbia through the First Nations Health Authority.
• Nutrition North Canada Nutrition Education Initiatives (ISC's component): ISC funds and supports culturally appropriate retail and community-based nutrition education initiatives in 113 isolated northern First Nation and Inuit communities to complement the retail subsidy component administered by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
• Secretariat Function for the Inuit-Crown Food Security Working Group (ICFSWG): Established in 2019 as a sub-group of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, the Inuit-Crown Food Security Working Group provides a whole-of- government approach to addressing food security by leveraging the contribution of multiple Federal Departments and Agencies as well as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the four regional Inuit Land Claim Organizations, Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, and the National Inuit Youth Council.
• Canada's Tobacco Strategy: Through Canada's Tobacco Strategy, ISC provides funding to support Indigenous partners and communities in the development and implementation of distinct First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation approaches to reduce commercial tobacco use. This approach supports self-determination of First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to identify needs and priorities of individuals, families, communities, and supports Indigenous control over culturally appropriate service design and delivery.

Key Milestones

• In 2021-22, the Inuit-Crown Food Security Working Group (ICFSWG) collaborated to advance deliverables of their joint work plan, including exploring potential mechanisms to support the implementation of the Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy, and developing options with costing for an Inuit Nunangat-wide school food program. The ICFSWG's renewed joint work plan for 2022-23 was approved by Inuit Leaders, federal Ministers and the Prime Minister in April 2022.

Results and Outcomes

• The prevalence of diabetes among First Nation adults living on-reserve has remained steady at approximately 19 to 20% over the past 14 years. Some studies are showing type 2 diabetes among First Nations being diagnosed at an increasingly younger age with greater severity at diagnosis, higher rates of complications, and poorer treatment outcomes.
• For example, a 2020 study revealed that First Nations children are almost 25 times more likely to be diagnosed than non-Indigenous children. In Manitoba alone, the number of newly diagnosed children has jumped by more than 50% in the last 10 years. This confirms the need to amplify efforts to reduce the burden of diabetes.
• Between 2014-2015 and 2020-2021, funding recipients receiving ISC funding under Nutrition North Canada delivered over 18,000 nutrition education activities, such as: promotion of healthy food knowledge; food skills development; in-store taste tests and grocery store tours; and traditional food harvesting and preparation. 80% of funding recipients reporting in 2020-21 indicated that community members have gained knowledge and skills related to healthy eating as a result of these nutrition education activities, and are choosing and preparing healthy food.
• Food security is foundational to health and wellness, and a critical longstanding issue for Indigenous Peoples, and especially pronounced in northern and isolated communities. Concerns for food security have been further magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by global inflation. In various surveys, food insecurity has been found to be much higher in Indigenous households than in the general Canadian population. For example, through the ISC-funded First Nations Food Nutrition and Environment Study (2008-2018), it was found that the regional prevalence of household food insecurity was up to 6 times higher in participating households on reserve than in the general Canadian population. According to the Aboriginal People's Survey (APS), in 2017, 77.1% of Inuit adults living in Inuit Nunangat had experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months.
• As a result of Budget 2018 enhancements to Canada's Tobacco Strategy, more First Nations and Inuit communities have access to funding for commercial tobacco reduction and cessation activities (approximately 93% in 2020-21). This builds on the previous Federal Tobacco Control Strategy-First Nations and Inuit Component, where 16 tobacco cessation projects and three strategies reached close to 60% of First Nation and Inuit communities. Under the previous strategy, a number of successes were demonstrated, such as more than double increase in the number of indoor and outdoor smoke-free spaces in communities. New smoking-related resolutions passed at the local level; and, increased participation of community members in smoking cessation programs, with the overall smoking cessation rate surpassing estimated cessation rates among other segments of the general Canadian population.
• Despite a decline in smoking over the last two decades, smoking rates among Indigenous Peoples continue to be far more prevalent compared to the non-Indigenous population. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis experience smoking rates of 53.5%, 74.3%, and 36.3%, respectively, compared with 12% for the general Canadian population. Smoking rates among First Nation, Inuit, and Métis women who are pregnant are 37.5%, 69.9%, and 34.4%, respectively.
• While Indigenous-specific data is not available, based on anecdotal data, vaping use is also emerging as a concern, especially among youth.
• The COVID-19 pandemic created significant barriers for people at risk and/or living with chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. Public health measures, while necessary to help control the rate and spread COVID-19, lead to disruptions including the closure of healthcare facilities and/or reductions in services, yielding challenges in the diagnosis, treatment as well as follow-up and care in this area. Restrictions on gathering in groups, also resulted in less programming and services at the community level related to health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

About the Service

• As part of the broader emergency management services by ISC, FNIHB has a role in preventing and addressing health emergencies in First Nation communities through capacity building, knowledge mobilization and overall health emergency preparedness initiatives. The program also supports response and recovery efforts for health emergencies within First Nation communities via annual off-cycle funding requests.
• Health emergencies may include:
  • public health emergencies, such as the spread of communicable diseases (measles, HIV, etc.) pandemics, food and water contamination, environmental health hazards (mold, air quality, etc.), and other health emergencies, such as suicide clusters and opioid crises; and
  • health aspects of natural disasters, including risks related to the continuity of health care for those with existing medical conditions, as well as the public health and mental wellness impacts of community evacuations and emergencies.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Supporting the regions and communities throughout the COVID-19 response, including how to prepare for and respond to other emergencies with health components (e.g., fire or flood evacuations) in the context of COVID-19.
• Streamlining emergent issues related to health , in areas including mental wellness and infrastructure, while concurrently highlighting the intersection between health and environmental emergencies (i.e., COVID-19 and wildfires) to facilitate whole of department approaches to coordinated emergency response efforts.
• Supporting and contributing to the COVID-Emergency Operations Center.
• Supporting increased First Nations capacity through community-led health emergency preparedness and mitigation activities, including training initiatives, support with emergency response plans, tabletop exercises and capacity building.
• Contributing to the development of a national funding agreement with the Canadian Red Cross for community emergency supports.
• Working through regional partnership tables with First Nations partners to determine funding allocations for First Nations health emergency management on-reserve.
• Supporting knowledge transfer and exchange activities for First Nation communities to share lessons learned and best practices around health emergency management.
• Developing a suite of tools and training platforms to bolster departmental readiness and ensure a holistic approach to emergency management.

Key Milestones

• Provided virtual Psychological First Aid training to First Nation and Inuit communities through the Canadian Red Cross, including 60 spots in an instructor-led virtual session and 2,270 licenses for self-directed learning.
• Provided funding for the Help Desk for Indigenous Leadership operated by the Canadian Red Cross, which has responded to 14,761 requests from Indigenous leaders between May 2020 and August 2021. The Canadian Red Cross has leveraged a new collaboration with the First Nations Health Managers Association to support awareness and cross-posting of basic information for the Help Desk. Collaborating with the First Nations Health Managers Association has provided broader access to the Help Desk service as the First Nations Health Managers Association is able to communicate directly with their Health Manager members, allowing communities more access to the services and tools developed.
• Continued collaboration with other departments responsible for emergency management to better support communities in an integrated manner.
• Established a National First Nations Health Emergency Management Network to provide a coordinated approach to emergency preparedness and response for First Nation communities.
• Building health emergency management capacity in regional and national offices to support First Nations Health Emergency Management Coordinators and to establish relationships with partners involved in Emergency Management.
• Provided Table Top Exercise training in January 2021 to Regional Health Emergency Managers as an additional support to communities in their training efforts.
• In 2022, Health Emergency Management was added into the existing Emergency Management Assistance Program terms and conditions.

Results and Outcomes

• First Nations communities served by FNIHB reported 94% having an all hazards emergency plan with a health component or a CDE/Pandemic plan.
• Increased First Nation community confidence and resiliency in planning for, and responding to, emergency events.
• Increased First Nations capacity to assume responsibility for Health Emergency Management Services.

About the Service

• Healthy Child Development's suite of services support healthy pregnancies, healthy births, and healthy child development in First Nation and Inuit communities through programs that include Maternal Child Health, Canada Prenatal Nutrition, Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
• ISC provides funds to support and improve the health outcomes for First Nation and Inuit infants, children, youth, families (including pregnant women) and communities through access to a basket of supports with areas of focus that include prenatal health, nutrition, early literacy and learning, physical, emotional, and mental health.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework: Announced in September 2018, the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework coordinates the existing early learning and child care programs of First Nations and Inuit Child Care Initiative, Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve, and Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities within the three federal partner departments of Employment and Social Development Canada, ISC, and Public Health Agency of Canada, respectively. It also provides new funding to enable greater control for First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations to build upon existing programming foundations, to enact their vision for high quality, culturally strong, early learning and child care.
• Midwifery: Budget 2021 includes $26.5 million over 3 years to improve access to prenatal, post-natal and birth supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. This new investment is intended to help communities bring birthing back to, or closer to, home, through increased access to a continuum of culturally safe prenatal, birthing and postpartum care services provided by Indigenous midwives and doulas. The funding builds on Budget 2017's historic first-time investment of $6 million over five years to increase access to culturally safe midwifery services in First Nation and Inuit communities.

Key Milestones

• ISC continues to support implementation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework announced in September 2018 and associated investments for Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve as part of Canada's ongoing commitment to Early Learning and Childcare, announced in September 2018. New investments announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement and Budget 2021 have been made to address program sustainability, governance, minor repairs and renovations, and to augment programming and services. Minor repairs and renovations infrastructure investments at ISC are being managed jointly with the Health Facilities program.
• Advancement of midwifery demonstration and development of projects, which will improve access to pre-natal, post-natal, and birth supports.
• The National Aboriginal Council of Midwives worked collaboratively with partners to develop a core competency framework for Indigenous midwives as well as a community readiness guide and workbook to support communities in restoring community-based midwifery and birthing services.
• A survey of First Nation children and youth is being planned and will be conducted by the First Nations Information Governance Centre to better understand the needs of children and youth and what services they are accessing, such as through Jordan's Principle.

Results and Outcomes

• In 2018-2019, Healthy Child Development services were offered in over 364 First Nation communities, in addition to those communities served in the North and by the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia.
• Through the Maternal Child Health Program, 10,190 participants received home visits, 7,524 women were reached through the pre- and post-natal nutrition programming, and 11,910 children participated in the Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve program during the 2018-2019 reporting period. These figures do not include communities in British Columbia or the North.
• Midwifery demonstration and development projects supported with Budget 2017 funding have raised community awareness of traditional birthing knowledge, protocols and practices; designed and delivered doula training programs; established an innovative on the land birthing program in partnership with a local hospital; and developed new partnerships with health authorities and community-based programs to improve service delivery.
• Evidence from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey suggests that Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve has a positive impact on the promotion of Indigenous languages and cultures. For example, a significantly higher percentage of children who had attended Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve had some knowledge of a First Nations language, and a significantly higher percentage of children who had attended Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve took part in traditional activities, such as singing, drumming and dancing, outside of school hours at least once a week, compared to those who never attended Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve. Having a strong sense of cultural identity has been shown to positively influence outcomes for Indigenous youth.

About the Service

• Environmental Public Health Services are delivered in First Nation communities south of 60º to identify and prevent environmental hazards in the natural and built environments that could adversely affect the health of community residents.
• Core areas of focus are drinking water, wastewater, solid waste disposal, food safety, housing, facilities inspections, environmental communicable disease control, community-based research in the assessment of environmental hazards exposure and emergency preparedness and response.
• Services delivered include professional inspections in schools, day cares and restaurants and inspecting houses to evaluate indoor air quality, overcrowding, and general safety so as to prevent injury, illness and death.
• Most services are delivered directly to communities and residents by Environmental Public Health Officers, who are certified public health inspectors that can be employed by ISC or directly by tribal councils or First Nations organizations. Of the over 110 Environmental Public Health Officers supporting communities, approximately 60% are employed by ISC.
• As front-line professionals in pandemic response, the services Environmental Public Health Officers are providing include but are not limited to:
  • outbreak investigation and management in coordination with local and regional public health response teams;
  • inspections, assessment or monitoring in facilities and homes to minimize further transmission;
  • inspections of high-risk public facilities (e.g., long-term care facilities) and other facilities (e.g., schools) to verify the implementation of prevention measures;
  • surge capacity in community COVID-19 rapid testing programs; and,
  • surge capacity in the delivery and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.
• In addition to direct services, the First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program is a community-based research initiative that assists First Nation communities in assessing the extent of their exposure to environmental contaminants and the potential for associated risk to their health and well-being.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Working directly with First Nations to assist communities in monitoring drinking water quality at tap in all water systems, which includes providing advice and guidance about drinking water safety and wastewater disposal, and reviewing infrastructure project proposals from a public health perspective.
• Analyzing Environmental Public Health data and developments in science to inform current and future infrastructure investments, shifting the approach from reactive to proactive.
• In collaboration with the Regional Operations Sector, other government departments, and partners, implementing the recommendations of a deep dive on housing and related health and social outcomes and preparing for service delivery by First Nations. Also, seeking to improve how housing investments can better address risks to health and safety, thereby improving health outcomes in First Nations communities.
• Working with the Assembly of First Nations on their 10 Year Housing and Infrastructure Strategy.
• In collaboration with the Regional Operations Sector, informing long term infrastructure reform needs from an environmental public health prevention and promotion perspective.
• Supporting a large scale multi-disciplinary cross-sectional studying collaboration with four leading Canadian Universities and the Assembly of First Nations to assess environmental conditions of First Nation children and their exposure to environmental chemicals across Canada – the Food Environment Health and Nutrition of First Nations Children and Youth study.

Key Milestones

• Implementing next steps of a ten year community-based participatory total diet study that collected baseline data of the diets of First Nations, overall well-being and food security status, food-related exposure to environmental contaminants and provided representative data on First Nations' body burden of mercury in the proximity of First Nation communities.
• Key results and recommendations of the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES), for which ISC funded and supported, were published on June 28, 2021, in the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health, Volume 112, Supplement Issue 1. The report consolidates findings for eight Assembly of First Nations regions as well as provides key findings and recommendations for governments and decision makers. The study was implemented under the leadership of the University of Ottawa, the University of Montreal and the Assembly of First Nations. A final report on key findings and recommendations has been formally released in 2021.
• The 2023-2024 Call-for-Proposals for the First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program was launched in June 2022.
• Supporting the community of Wabaseemoong First Nations and researchers working on their behalf in accessing mercury related human health data, in keeping with the Privacy Act, including ongoing human biomonitoring for mercury and providing mercury risk communication materials as well as technical expertise on the broader mercury file. The same support has been provided to Grassy Narrows with respect to data, and offered with respect to ongoing human biomonitoring.
• Carrying out data analysis on drinking water advisories and parameters that are of public health concern such as Lead, Manganese and Disinfection By-products such Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic Acids to better inform decision making process.

Results and Outcomes

• Recent investments from Budget 2021 provided ongoing funding to support the work of Environmental Public Health Officers as they relate to drinking water and wastewater, thereby helping to ensure the safe delivery of health and social services on-reserve at current level. This is the first time funding for this important public health function has been stabilized since the 1970's.
• Updated guidance and tools to support the safe delivery of health services for clients and health professionals (e.g., environmental public health inspectors, nurses, community-based water monitors) during the pandemic. Remaining abreast of built environment science, such as ventilation, and opportunities to apply prevention measures in infrastructure. This work remains ongoing as the country moves from pandemic to endemic, and as the science evolves.
• As part of the Prime Minister's commitment to address long-term drinking water advisories, over 135 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted since 2015. ISC also continues to work with all communities facing short-term drinking water advisories to prevent them from becoming long term. Over 222 short-term drinking water advisories have been lifted since 2015.
• All regions have been implementing the enhanced lead drinking water monitoring guideline published by Health Canada in 2019. This enhancement includes testing every drinking water fountain or cold-water tap where water is used for drinking or food preparation in children's facilities.
• All First Nation communities have access to trained personnel (Community-Based Drinking Water Quality Monitor or an Environmental Public Health Officer) to sample and test drinking water quality at the tap. As a result of enhanced capacity, First Nations' and ISC's ability to detect potential problems sooner has improved.

About the Service

• The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program funds First Nations and Inuit community-destined and driven projects to build capacity to adapt to the health impacts that of climate change. There are two streams for the program:
  • Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program North; and
  • Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program South for First Nations South of the 60° parallel.
• The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program was stabilized in 2021 with $22.7 million over five years, beginning in 2021-2022, and $5.2 million ongoing to support the implementation of effective health adaptation action and research through First Nations and Inuit-led community and regional projects to manage the health impacts of climate change; such as access to country food, impacts of extreme weather events, and mental health impacts of climate change on youth.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The 2023-2024 Call for Proposals for projects south of the 60º parallel is currently underway.
• The ISC Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program, on behalf of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, is engaged on and supporting the development of the National Adaptation Strategy and Federal Adaptation Action and Investment Plan to ensure the inclusion of considerations and measures around climate change and health impacts on Indigenous Peoples.

Results and Outcomes

• As of March 31, 2022, 40% of First Nation and Inuit communities were covered by climate change health adaptation funded projects, with 226 projects funded to strengthen capacity to adapt to the health impacts of climate change. The program is unique among adaptation programs in that it focuses on supporting community- driven health research and adaptation strategies. This allows communities to identify the areas of research and vulnerability-assessments that are of greatest importance to them.

About the Service

• ISC supports access to culturally-relevant mental wellness services guided by priorities of First Nations and Inuit communities and organizations.
• Investments in mental wellness respond to the immediate mental wellness needs of communities by supporting Indigenous-led suicide prevention, life promotion and crisis response, including through crisis line intervention services, and enhancing the delivery of culturally-appropriate substance use treatment and prevention services in Indigenous communities. This funding also supports the provision of essential cultural, emotional and mental health supports to former Indian Residential Schools and Federal Indian Day Schools students and their families, as well as those affected by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
• Budgets 2021 and 2022 provided new time limited investments for distinctions- based approaches to mental wellness for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. This represents a first time investment specific to Métis mental wellness. In the wake of the investigation and confirmation of unmarked graves of missing children at former Indian Residential Schools, the Mental Wellness Program also provides funding to expand access to trauma-informed health and cultural supports.
• Access to mental wellness services for status First Nations and recognized Inuit is also supported through the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, which provides First Nation and Inuit individuals with coverage for professional mental health counselling and transportation to access this benefit, as well as access to traditional healers.
• As a component of implementation of CHRT Order 31 and the Final Settlement Agreement for First Nations children impacted by First Nations Child and Family Services and the discriminatory implementation of Jordan's Principle, ISC is funding and supporting the provision of mental and cultural supports to class members, as well supporting the cultural supports component of the long term reform of these programs. Budget 2022 provides $153.2 million for trauma-informed supports for this reason enclosed in the Trauma Informed Support Special Purpose Allotment.
• ISC works closely with Indigenous partners and its work in mental wellness is guided by key documents developed by Indigenous partners, including the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework, Honouring Our Strengths, and the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy.
• Several key factors are influencing a significant rise in demand for Mental Wellness services:
  • Demand for services had been increasing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and was exacerbated since its onset. The pandemic is having profound impacts on mental wellness in Indigenous communities by magnifying existing mental health issues and inequities and creating new gaps and needs. Many mental wellness services continue to be accessible with some experiencing breaks in service, shifts in service delivery, or new innovative approaches to reach community members. An investment of $82.5 million was announced in August 2020 to help Indigenous communities adapt and expand mental wellness services, improving access and addressing growing demand, in the context of the pandemic.
  • Recent confirmations of unmarked burials of missing children at former Indian Residential Schools continue to have a profound impact (e.g., re-traumatizing Survivors and their families and destabilizing communities). An additional $107.3 million was announced in August 2021 to expand access to trauma-informed health and cultural supports, which provides former students and their families access to a suite of emotional, cultural and mental health support services.
• A Memorandum to Cabinet outlining a comprehensive long-term approach to mental wellness for Indigenous populations was ratified in December 2020 with time limited funding being announced in Budgets 2021 and 2022:
  • Budget 2021 provided $597.6 million over three years starting in 2021-22, for a distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategy with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation.
  • Budget 2022 provides $227.6 million over two years, beginning in 2022- 23, to maintain trauma-informed, Indigenous-led, culturally-appropriate services to improve mental wellness, and to support efforts initiated in Budget 2021 to co-develop distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies.
• Indigenous communities have been disproportionally affected by the opioid crisis, and the use of opioids and other substances continues to be a serious concern in some Indigenous communities, and more broadly during the ongoing pandemic. Through ISC's Opioid Action Plan, ISC provides funding to support First Nation and Inuit communities to respond to the crisis, through expanding access to harm reduction measures, including naloxone, and funding wraparound services at 72 opioid agonist therapy sites in areas of high need. Budget 2021 provides funding to enhance and expand wraparound supports at opioid agonist therapy sites.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Addressing the opioid crisis: Supporting the whole-of-government approach through enhanced prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and evidence-based initiatives, including investments in wraparound services at opioid agonist therapy sites serving Indigenous populations.
• Substance use treatment and prevention: Supporting community-based approaches to problematic substance use, including access to residential and outpatient treatment that is culturally-relevant.
• Intergenerational impacts: Supporting former students of Indian Residential Schools, and Federal Indian Day Schools and their families, as well as those impacted by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls through trauma-informed health supports, cultural supports and mental health counselling. The supports are available regardless of Indigenous status or place of residence. Recent events such as confirmation of unmarked burials at former sites of Indian Residential Schools in 2021 and continuing in 2022 and the Papal visit in summer 2022 have increased the need for these supports as well as the recognition of the trauma caused by discrimination in the First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan Principle programs.
• Mental wellness, suicide prevention, life promotion and crisis response: Supporting a variety of initiatives on mental wellness promotion, suicide prevention, life promotion, and crisis response, such as mental wellness teams, the Hope for Wellness Helpline, the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy, the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, and the Youth Hope Fund.
• Métis mental wellness: Support for Métis mental wellness through time limited investments through one-time mental wellness funding to address the impact of the pandemic in August 2020 and Budget 2021. These investments set a precedent moving beyond the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch's mandate and authorities.
• National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy: Continued support for the implementation of the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy - an Inuit-led framework to reduce suicide rates among Inuit in Inuit Nunangat – with an investment in Budget 2019 of $50 million over 10 years and $5 million ongoing. Its six priority areas for action include: create social equity; create cultural continuity; nurture healthy Inuit children; ensure access to a continuum of mental wellness services for Inuit; heal unresolved trauma and grief, and; mobilize Inuit knowledge for resilience and suicide prevention.
• Nunavut Wellness Centre: Supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action #21 calling upon the federal government to ensure the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. ISC is supporting the building of the Nunavut Recovery Centre, to be located in Iqaluit, that will become an integral part of a system-wide three-pillar approach that also includes on-the-land treatment in all three regions of Nunavut, and support to increase Inuit workforce development and capacity. In August 2021, a contribution agreement between ISC and the Government of Nunavut, and endorsed by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated was signed and publicly announced in Iqaluit. The $41.7 million in funding for the construction outlined in the contribution agreement is part of the federal commitment to support up to 75% of construction costs in partnership with members of the Nunavut Partnership Table on Health and is included in the $47.5 million over 5 years (2019-20 to 2024-25) and $9.7 million ongoing to support trauma and substance use treatment initially outlined in Budget 2019. It is currently in the pre-construction design phase with construction set to begin in the fall of 2023, and occupancy planned for early 2025.

Key Milestones

• Renovating over 20 residential treatment centres across Canada, increasing access to treatment services, including related to opioids, and supporting on-the-land activities.
• As of September 2021, there are 72 sites offering opioid replacement therapy wraparound services from a baseline of 11 (2016–2017). There are 11 new sites in development with Budget 2021 funding, and 40 sites received enhancement funding. Note: This excludes BC and the First Nations Health Authority.
• Supporting the implementation of the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy led by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami ($50 million over ten years, $5 million per year ongoing).
• Supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities in addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental wellness through an investment in 2021 to help communities adapt and expand mental wellness services, improving access and addressing growing demand to meet needs.
• On August 10, 2021, in response to the ongoing process of investigating and confirming unmarked graves at the sites of former Indian Residential Schools, the Government of Canada announced one year of new funding to improve access to emotional, cultural, and mental health supports.
• Pope Francis visited Canada from July 24-29, with stops in Alberta (Maskwacis, Lac Ste Anne, and Edmonton), Quebec (Ste Anne de Beaupre and Quebec City), and Nunavut (Iqaluit). The Government of Canada provided support to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, and some urban organizations, to address the needs of Survivors and communities related to the visit. Funding supported community- initiatives, as well as travel for Survivors to attend official papal events.

Results and Outcomes

• Community-based programs for mental wellness are reaching over 400 communities across the country with drug and alcohol prevention services available in the majority of First Nations and Inuit communities across Canada, and through a network of 45 ISC-funded treatment centres (this excludes BC and the First Nations Health Authority).
• Based on data from nine treatment centres, almost 400 youth per year received treatment with the majority accessing residential treatment.
• The number of mental wellness teams has grown from 11 teams supporting 86 communities to 69 teams providing support to 305 communities. There are two additional teams funded by provincial/territorial funding bringing the number of communities supported to 359. Additionally, 14 new Mental Wellness Teams are in development and 37 team received enhancement funding with Budget 2021 funding. Note: This excludes BC and the First Nations Health Authority.
• Between the Hope for Helpline's launch in October 2016 and the end of June 2022, 100,397 calls have been received. Since its launch in April 2018, the online chat counselling services has been accessed 16,844 times.
• Number of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program (IRS RHSP) Health and Cultural Support Workers Across Canada: Over 580 full time and part time resolution health support workers (RHSWs) and cultural support providers (CSPs) provide services to individuals, families, and communities through the IRS RHSP
• Number of IRS RHSP Contribution Agreement (CA) Holders Across Canada are as follows: 135 (just for IRS in 2020-21), including 127 regional CAs plus 8 First Nations Health Authority CAs). Approximately 24% of IRS RHSP Vote 10 funding supports primarily urban Indigenous, including 10 contribution agreements with Friendship Centres Across Canada
• Number of (active) Registered Clinical Counsellors Across Canada, through the trauma informed health and cultural supports programs: There are currently 2,866 active registered individual counsellors through the trauma informed health and cultural supports programs.
  • With 7,000 clients accessing Health and Cultural supports in 2006-2007, 60,000 in 2011-2012, and 120,000 in 2018-2019, the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program has seen an increase of demand of approximately 1,715% from 2006-2007 to 2018-2019;
  • The average number of clients per Health and Cultural support worker has almost doubled in recent years from an average of 131.3 clients per worker in 2011-2012 to an average of 250 clients per worker in 2018-2019;
  • Between 2007-2008 and 2018-2019, over 634,000 hours of professional mental health counselling were provided through the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program.

About the Service

• ISC supports the control and management of communicable diseases among First Nations living on-reserve.
• Services include: immunization; addressing and preventing communicable disease emergencies; infection prevention and control; specific interventions for high-risk respiratory infections (including tuberculosis); and sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C).
• Most services are delivered by community health workers. However, ISC still delivers some of activities directly through front-line public health personnel.
• Support is also provided to Inuit organizations to support the elimination of tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Supporting First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities and organizations in their COVID-19 preparedness, response, and recovery:
  • conduct COVID-19 case surveillance and modelling, and support Indigenous-led, distinctions-based data initiatives;
  • manage the distribution of personal protective equipment and vaccine administration supplies;
  • support surge health human resources to support with vaccine administration in regions and in communities;
  • support collaboration and knowledge sharing across regions, Indigenous partners, federal counterparts, and provincial and territorial governments as necessary through the Health Emergency Management Network, Communicable Disease Emergency and Infection Prevention and Control Network, Communicable Disease Working Group, and the Federal-Provincial- Territorial-Indigenous COVID-19 Vaccine Planning Working Group;
  • increase access, awareness, and vaccine confidence for COVID-19 vaccines; and
  • develop and/or disseminate public health and infection prevention control guidance.
• Implement the Public Health Surge Team pilot project to provide immediate public health surge response and ongoing capacity to communities and regions whose essential public health services have been reduced or suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes implementing COVID-19 response and other core public health interventions to address emerging and urgent needs and ensure the continuity of essential public health services.
• Support Inuit partners in efforts to eliminate tuberculosis as they implement their regional-specific action plans. Support First Nation and Inuit communities responding to tuberculosis outbreaks. Support First Nations and Inuit partners to improve access to community-based models for prevention, testing, treatment, as well as awareness programming to reduce stigma; and to improve patient outcomes and reduce transmission of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.
• Support First Nations and Inuit partners to increase and maintain immunization rates to those comparable of the non-Indigenous population in Canada.
• Continued surveillance and epidemiological analysis of communicable disease and immunization data, including influenza, to inform policy and programming decisions.
• Support Indigenous communities and organizations in their preparedness for Monkeypox, including collaborating with PHAC on surveillance, the development of resources for health care workers, as well as the development of an evergreen response plan in case of outbreak.

Key Milestones

• Collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and other relevant partners through the Inuit Public Health Task Group to eliminate tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat by 2030, and to reduce the incidence of active tuberculosis by at least 50% by 2025.
• Distributed 2294 orders of personal protective equipment and 308 orders of vaccine administration supplies to First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities and organizations to support the COVID-19 response as of July 12, 2022.
• Increased progress towards the United Nations treatment targets for HIV through implementation of prevention initiatives, including:
  • 74 out of 82 communities in Saskatchewan have implemented full or partial Know Your Status programs;
  • Atlantic region supported the planning of SMRT1 Health Solutions (Canada) harm reduction vending machines. This includes providing communities members with HIV self-test kits along with other essentials such as food, condoms and naloxone. The Alberta region engaged in collaborative work with partners in Alberta region to conduct the point of care for syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (PoSH) study to evaluate the field performance of two dual HIV/syphilis point of care testing.
  • ISC supports new testing technologies, including dry blood spot testing, for STBBIs in Indigenous communities to remove barriers to access; and
  • Continued support to the Communities, Alliances & Networks (CAAN), the Native Women's Association of Canada, and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada in development of culturally safe frameworks and projects to address sexually transmitted and blood borne infections. This includes ISC support to CAAN for their HIV self-test demonstration project.
• Supported the My Vaxx Journey campaign, which encourages Indigenous youth to share their vaccination stories to promote vaccine confidence. The campaign also shares youth centered, culturally appropriate COVID-19 vaccine information.
• Developed a Communicable Disease Emergency Tabletop Exercise Toolkit to assist Indigenous communities in assessing their level of preparedness for a communicable disease emergency.

Results and Outcomes

• COVID-19-specific outcomes:
  • as of July 18, 2022, 99% of First Nation peoples living on a reserve who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered; and
  • as of July 18, 2022, the COVID-19 case fatality rate among First Nation peoples living on a reserve is 62% of the case fatality rate in the non-Indigenous population.
• Reduced incidence, spread and health impacts of communicable diseases in Indigenous communities:
  • elimination of tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat by 2030, and to reduce the incidence of active tuberculosis by at least 50% by 2025 (compared to 2016 rates).
    • Current data indicate the national rate for active TB among Inuit has decreased by over 60% from 2017 to 2020. This should be interpreted with caution due to impact of the pandemic on health services access and delivery, leading to under-diagnosis of active TB disease.
    • 2016 rate (Inuit in Canada): 168.7/100,000.
    • 2020 rate (Inuit in Canada): 72.2/100,000
    • 2016 rate (Inuit Nunangat): 207.6/100,000
    • 2020 rate (Inuit Nunangat): 90.8/100,000
  • reduced rates of tuberculosis in First Nations communities.
    • The rate of active TB disease among First Nations on-reserve populations has gradually decreased since 2009, and leveled off after 2017 at just under 20.0 per 100,000 population, or three times the Canadian incidence rate.
    • 2016 rate (First Nations on-reserve): 31.8/100,000,
    • 2020 rate (First Nations on-reserve: 18.2/100,000
    • 2016 rate (First Nations off-reserve): 13.6/ 100,000,
    • 2020 rate (First Nations off-reserve): 4.1/100,000
  • reduced rates of newly reported cases of HIV among First Nations; and
  • progress towards the United Nations AIDS targets.

About the Service

• ISC supports clinical and client care service delivery in remote and isolated First Nation communities. These services are mainly delivered by a team of nurses and include urgent, emergent and primary health care, across the life span, including referral services.
• Services are provided by qualified health providers who have the necessary competencies and meet the regulatory and legislative requirements of the province in which they practice.
• The national office in collaboration with regional offices provide oversight for all programs, including the delivery of primary care services under the Clinical and Client Care Program.
• The services are funded in 74 nursing stations and five health centres with a treatment component in five regions. ISC directly employs or contracts nurses and other health workers in 50 remote/isolated communities located in Alberta (four); Manitoba (21); Ontario (24); and Quebec (one). Grants and contribution funding is provided to an additional 29 First Nation communities to deliver these services in Alberta (one); Saskatchewan (12); Manitoba (one); Ontario (five); and Quebec (ten). Approximately 839 nurses are employed by ISC currently, with approximately 539 in front line positions, 400 of which work in remote and isolated First Nation communities.
• Under the Clinical and Client Care program, ISC is also responsible for two federal hospitals located in Manitoba.
• As of July 14, 2022, the Clinical and Client Care Nursing Operational Vacancy Rate is 70%. The Clinical and Client Care Operational Vacancy Rate represents a snapshot in time of the front line workforce occupancy rate across 50 Nursing Stations in the regions of Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba.
• Clinical and Client Care Nursing Operational Occupancy Target - 80% of its Clinical and Client Care Nursing positions occupied at all time by an ISC employed nurse.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• 2021 Nursing Health Human Resource Framework: A modern and comprehensive strategy focused on five key commitments:
  1. recruit and retain the "right" health human resources;
  2. modernize ISC's practice environment;
  3. ensure the physical, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing of our workforce;
  4. become a future labour workforce influencer; and
  5. build a nimble and agile SURGE response.
• The following are key files are strategic projects situated within the overall Nursing Health Human Resources Strategy.
• National Patient Safety Incident Management Process: Implement a consistent and reliable process for reporting and analyzing of patient safety incidents to remediate and prevent future occurrences.
• Nursing Education: Support the delivery of orientation and onboarding, including mandatory and other training for all ISC employed nurses through the provision of curricula, tracking and reporting mechanisms to retain nurses and train newly recruited nurses.
• Pharmacy Services and Medication Management: Provide professional practice guidance and advice though: FNIHB Nursing Station Formulary, drug administration protocols, educational material, drug supply shortages, FNIHB Policy and Procedures on Controlled Substances and compliance to the Section 56 Exemptions, pharmacy operational policy to support patient safety, quality improvement, and accreditation processes, Drug Information System – RxVigilance, Clinical Care Pathways (Pharmacologic Interventions), and Community Health Planning.
• Clinical Practice Guidelines/Clinical Care Pathways and Development of a Learning Management System: Directly support nurses' work with clients in remote and isolated communities by providing pathways of assessment and care for over 365 conditions and diagnoses. These tools are tailored to reflect community realities and the remote health care contexts in which nurses work. The Learning Management System will provide an integrated platform to share clinical support tools, and to provide training resources for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch/agency and transferred nurses working in remote/isolated First Nation communities.
• Nursing Services Response Centre: Centrally coordinate a dedicated team to support front-line nurses to navigate various corporate services issues while they are working in community, including case management of significant compensation, IT and security issues
• Centre for Nurse Recruitment: Implementation of the ISC Talent Management and Acquisition Strategy, including a continuous, national, external selection process for the recruitment of experienced nurses to deliver healthcare services in remote/isolated First Nation communities.
• Nurse Relief Coordination Unit: Implement a series of regional relief contracts to provide temporary nursing and paramedic services to supplement regions in meeting their service mandate in remote and isolated communities
• Accreditation of Nursing Stations: A tool to support the transfer of high quality culturally safe services, regional-led efforts are ongoing to support the accreditation of nursing stations in collaboration with First Nations partners.

Key Milestones

• An initial town hall discussing the release of the ISC Nursing Workforce Survey for ISC employed nurses was held on October 5, 2020. Subsequent town halls have been held in order to strengthen linkages and provide information and resources for the National Nursing workforce. This Workforce Survey is being repeated in the winter of 2022/23, with a projected launch of late fall 2022. Similar to the survey undertaken in 2019, it will gather feedback from the ISC nursing workforce on current challenges they are facing in the delivery of patient care. The results are used to inform ISC's Nursing Health Human Resources Framework.
• The 20th annual Nursing Services Awards were held in May 2022, using a virtual platform, in order to respect public health guidelines. The Nursing Service Awards, along with the town halls, are used to communicate information to nurses, to recognize the achievements of the nursing workforce, and to also promote a dialogue between nurses and the national office.
• The Interprofessional Practice Support Pharmacy Unit secured a dedicated supply of COVID-19 therapeutics for remote and isolated nursing stations delivering primary care to support the COVID-19 response.
  • Nursing guidance documents were developed for optimal, safe and effective use of the medications and disseminated to the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch regions in preparation for prepositioning monoclonal antibodies and antiviral medications for COVID in remote and isolated nursing stations.
  • Interprofessional Practice Support Pharmacy Unit held weekly calls with regional pharmacy leads to discuss COVID-19 treatments and the plan to safely manage available supply equitably.
• The Clinical and Client Care Pharmacy Unit supports the regions in managing drug shortages in remote and isolated First Nations health facilities and providing subsequent patient management as outlined in the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Action Plan on addressing National Drug Supply Shortages.
• The Clinical and Client Care Pharmacy Unit employs risk mitigation and allocation strategies to discourage the practice of stockpiling to prevent unintended supply disruptions at nursing stations. These measures were required to ensure equitable distribution to all health facilities and effectively respond to the increased requirements in communities that are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
• The Interprofessional Practice Support Clinical Practice Guidance Unit launched the new National OneHealth Web Portal where all the most up-to-date clinical practice guidance and clinical care pathways can be easily accessed in one place.
• In March 2020, an ISC patient safety incident management process was developed with the plan to implement a patient safety incident reporting tool. Three policies were updated and a mapping process of information flow was developed to support the new patient safety initiative.
• Educational policies have been updated to support nursing practice in remote and isolated communities, including updated the curriculum of Nursing Education Module on Controlled Substances course offered through the University of Ottawa.
• A framework for an interdisciplinary model of care is being developed. Identification of roles and responsibilities, opportunities and challenges moving forward for First Nations communities will be further assessed as each region begins to look at customizing the foundational model for their respective communities.
• The ISC-Safety and Security Working Group was formed in the fall of 2021 to provide operational support to the Union-Management Safety and Security in Nursing Stations Committee. This Working Group has since drafted safety and security policies and completed an environmental scan of efficiencies and deficiencies around safety and security elements in nursing stations. Safety and security elements are included within the Health Human Resources Framework work plan.
• The Nursing Health Human Resource Framework was updated to reflect a newly created work plan and deliverables, including the inclusion of quarterly updates to senior management.
• A scan of regional needs for clinical ethics services was conducted to identify ways to improve and adapt health services in remote and isolated First Nations communities with similar and available resources in urban settings.
• In 2021-2022, 301 ISC nurses were hired and 202 nurses departed the organization reflective of a high rate of turnover for ISC.
• The Nursing Services Response Centre Phase 3 is in place with the finalization of functional support teams, establishment of tracking and reporting systems and fine- tuning of processes to reduce challenges faces by ISC front-line employees.
• A new digital nursing recruitment platform was introduced in July 2020 that expedites nurse candidate application, evaluation and hiring processes across Canada. This system has planned expansion in September 2022.

About the Service

• ISC funds community-based oral health services with a focus on children and dental therapy. The range of services include prevention and health promotion, outreach and home visiting, treatment, and referrals.
• ISC employs over 80 oral health practitioners, and many other professionals are hired directly by the community through Contribution Agreements.

Key Milestones

• An overarching framework was developed in August 2018 with First Nations and Inuit partners to provide a strategic roadmap towards improving oral health.
• ISC has implemented strategies to improve oral health data collection, reporting and analysis in order to better inform program decisions making based on evidence.
• Training and calibration of all oral health professionals for consistency in oral screening is planned to resume when it is safe to do so based on COVID-19 public health guidance.
• ISC will also be supporting the First Nations Information and Governance Centre and the Assembly of First Nations toward funding the First Nations Oral Health Survey.

Results and Outcomes

• Implementing the Budget 2017 commitment to reach 302 communities by the year 2021-2022, an increase from 237 communities in 2016-2017.
• Increase the target age group for children in some jurisdictions beyond age seven where the capacity exists.
• Improve the recruitment and retention of oral health practitioners through innovative means, including by partnering with professional associations, such as the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association and universities, such as with the University of Saskatchewan (in partnership with the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority and Saskatchewan Polytechnic). Partnership with these two organizations is established to support the development of a full proposal to establish a dental therapy training program with one of the main goals to have Indigenous graduates return to work in their communities.

About the Service

• ISC funds a continuum of home and community care services in First Nation and Inuit communities, including in-home nursing and personal care, in-home respite services, and palliative and end of life care for persons of all ages.
• After 5 years of Budget 2017 investments, fiscal year 22-23 marks the universal increases as ongoing of $8.5 million for palliative and end of life, and $60 million in service delivery funding. Total annual allocation of $160 million nationally for the delivery of the First Nations Home and Community Care Funding.
• Clients range in age from infants to elderly, with the majority of clients (60%) being over 55 years of age.
• Long-term care services in Indigenous communities are currently provided through a mix of authorities including provincial and territorial services, and ISC's Assisted Living Program.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Workforce development: Enhanced training of personal care providers, and addressing issues of recruitment and retention of qualified personnel.
• Aligning ISC funded health and social services: Supporting communities as they streamline service delivery and identify ways to increase efficiencies within current resources, including better alignment and potential formal integration of programs.
• Co-development of policy options for a holistic and culturally safe, distinctions-based, continuum of long-term and continuing care: This continuum is expected to go beyond existing ISC program architecture and cover the full spectrum of health and social services required by individuals with evolving continuing care needs throughout their lifespan.

Key Milestones

• To support communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, ISC launched a Supportive Care Initiative to address the needs and gaps highlighted throughout the pandemic in various supportive care facilities on reserve, provide additional home care supports in Indigenous communities, and support training and adequate resourcing in a culturally competent and safe manner.
• ISC is supporting regional and National Indigenous Organization partners to coordinate pandemic safe engagement activities. The Indigenous-led engagement process is soliciting input from a wide range of stakeholders on developing a new and more holistic continuum of long-term and continuing care that could cover the full spectrum of health and social services from supports for people living with disabilities, to aging in place approaches, to improvements to facility-based care. During the engagement, Indigenous communities will discuss how all services along the continuum of care could be delivered in their communities, and how these services along the continuum can be designed and delivered in ways which are culturally appropriate. This engagement process will involve First Nation, Inuit, and Métis stakeholders at every stage, including the co-development of policy options at the conclusion of the engagement.

Results and Outcomes

• In 2020-2021,1.1 million home care hours of services were provided to 23,127 active home care clients.
• Nursing services and Personal Care services accounted for 30% of the hours of care provided. The top three nursing service hours were for Monitoring for Therapeutic Intervention (27%), Medication Administration and Management (19%) and Wound Management (18%).
• The top primary reasons for home care services were Diabetes (16%), Musculoskeletal Condition (Arthritis, Fracture, Amputation) (12%), Respiratory Condition (12%), and Skin and Subcutaneous Condition (Acute and Chronic Wound Care) (11%).

About the Initiative

• Jordan's Principle is a legal rule named in memory of Jordan River Anderson, a First Nation child from the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, who died in 2005 at the age of five in the hospital, while the provincial and federal governments could not agree on who was financially responsible for his care.
• Jordan's Principle supports families in accessing products and services for First Nation children and youth to help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs. It is a legal obligation ordered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that responds to the unmet needs of First Nation children, no matter where they live in Canada.
• The full implementation of Jordan's Principle is the third Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Final Report.
• The implementation of Jordan's Principle has been impacted by a number of Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders which have expanded the eligibility and scope of applications and introduces the following compliance timelines:
  • Individual Requests – 12 hours for an urgent and 48 hours for a non-urgent; and,
  • Group Requests – 48 hours for an urgent and seven days for a non-urgent.
• The 2018 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 4 February 1, 2018 ruling orders Canada to consult not only with the Commission, but also directly with the Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Chiefs of Ontario, and Nishnawbe Aski Nation on the ongoing implementation of Jordan's Principle. The Consultation Protocol, signed in March 2018, ensures that consultations are carried out in a manner consistent with the honour of the Crown and to eliminate discrimination substantiated in the January 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision.
• The governance structures in place to assist the implementation of Jordan's Principle, include the:
  • National Advisory Committee on Child and Family Services;
  • Consultation Committee on Child Welfare;
  • Jordan's Principle Operations Committee; and
  • Jordan's Principle Action Table.
• Pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal May 26, 2017 decision, the Government of Canada is to ensure substantive equality in the provision of services to the child, to ensure cultural appropriate services and to safeguard the best interest of the child. Equivalent provincial and territorial normative standards are to be considered the 'floor' rather than the standard.
• Decision-making takes place at three levels in Jordan's Principle. Most determinations are made within the regions. If requests cannot be approved at the regional level, they are sent to escalations at HQ for decision. If denied at escalation, requestors may submit an appeal to the newly appointed External Expert Review Committee. Consistent with the departmental direction, requests are only denied by ISC senior level officials or upheld on the recommendation of the External Expert Review Committee. Should a denial be upheld by the External Appeals Committee, requesters have the option to bring a request for Judicial Review in the Federal Court.
• In late October 2021, negotiations began with the Tribunal Parties, Canada, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation as well as counsel for the plaintiffs in the AFN-Moushoom and Trout class actions to resolve all litigation related to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan's Principle.
• On January 4, 2022, Canada and the parties announced two Agreements in Principle, one on compensation and one on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
• The Agreement in Principle on long-term reform included a Work Plan to Improve outcomes under Jordan's Principle.
• On July 4, 2022, a final settlement agreement regarding Compensation was signed. Work is further being done to achieve long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program and a renewed approach to Jordan's Principle.
• Efforts to conclude a Final Settlement Agreement on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program are underway.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Implementation of the Agreement in Principle work plan including a "Back-to-Basics" approach to Jordan's Principle which is simple to access, non-discriminatory, is centered around the needs of the child, and minimizes the administrative burden on requestors. The main tenants of the Back to Basics approach are:
  • Substantive equality is presumed in decision making;
  • Proper and timely identification of urgent cases;
  • Documents required to support a request is reasonable and not a barrier to accessing Jordan's Principle;
  • Quotes and estimates for the requested product, service or support are not required to determine a request;
  • Clinical case conferencing shall only occur where reasonable necessary to determine the clinical needs of a child; and
  • The role of Service Coordinators have broadened and offer a more thorough support for requestors.
• Negotiations on a Final Settlement Agreement incorporating a renewed approach to Jordan's Principle. Items on the table include support to high needs Jordan's Principle recipients past the age of majority, maternal and pre-natal care, and the creation of an alternate dispute mechanism.
• Continuation of the Choose Life Initiative which provides funding to support First Nations developed community-based life-promotion and suicide prevention programs and services for the children and youth in 49 Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities and tribal councils in Ontario.

Key Milestones

• In January 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal made findings of discrimination against Canada regarding the complaint filed by the Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations. The Government of Canada was ordered to:
  • cease its discriminatory practices;
  • reform the federal First Nations Child and Family Services Program;
  • cease applying its narrow definition of Jordan's Principle (limited to children with multiple health conditions involving several providers); and
  • take measures to immediately implement the full meaning and scope of the Principle.
• In November 2017, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to apply Jordan's Principle equally to all First Nation children, on- or off reserve, not just limited to those children with disabilities, or those with discrete short-term issues.
• In February 2018, a National Call Centre for Jordan's Principle requests was established, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days.
• Following Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 36 in November 2020, Canada has expanded eligibility under Jordan's Principle to include a child who meets one of the following criteria:
  • Is registered or eligible for status under the Indian Act;
  • Has one parent or guardian who is registered or eligible to be registered under the Indian Act;
  • Ordinarily resides on-reserve; or
  • Is recognized by their Nation (including a Self-Governing First Nation) for the Purposes of Jordan's Principle.
• In 2021 CHRT 41, the Tribunal found that Canada was not providing adequate capital funding to First Nations and First Nation Child and Family Services Agencies in order to deliver child and family services, or ensure access to health, educational or social services funded through Jordan's Principle. Canada was ordered to immediately fund ready-to-proceed capital projects needed to support the provision of services on-reserve, and to fund authorized service providers for capital needs and feasibility studies.
• On March 24, 2022, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal released an order (2022 CHRT 8), in response to an agreement by Canada and the Parties regarding services for First Nations children. In respect to Jordan's Principle, Canada agreed to:
  • Implement mandatory cultural competency training and performance management for ISC staff;
  • Consult the Parties to discuss supports for youth reaching the age of majority, and to assess the resources required to provide Jordan's Principle funding past the age of majority; and
  • Fund the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) to complete four research projects to inform long-term reform, including a Jordan's Principle Data Assessment and Jordan's Principle Needs Assessment.

Results and Outcomes

• From July 2016 to April 30, 2022, Canada has had a reach of 1,533,534 products, supports and services for First Nation children and youth under Jordan's Principle.
  • in fiscal year 2021-2022, 513,242 products and services were approved, an increase of 51% compared to fiscal year 2020-2021.
  • in fiscal year 2020-2021, 339,654 products and services were approved, a decrease of three percent compared to fiscal year 2019-2020.
  • in fiscal year 2019-2020, 350,078 products and services were approved, an increase of 149% compared to fiscal year 2018-2019.
  • in fiscal year 2018-2019, 140,332 products and services were approved, an increase of 83% compared to fiscal year 2017-2018.
  • in fiscal year 2017-2018, 76,891 products and services were approved, an increase of 1,456% compared to fiscal year 2016-2017.
  • in fiscal year 2016-17, 4,940 products and services were approved.
• A Client Satisfaction Survey of recipients of Jordan's Principle funding was completed in 2020 and 2021. The results of the 2021 Client Satisfaction Survey, which are anticipated to be released in fall 2021, found that:
  • 63% of respondents reported overall satisfaction with Jordan's Principle, no change from 63% in 2020;
  • 49% of respondents were satisfied and 27% dissatisfied with payment timelines for Jordan's Principle, compared to 44% and 36%, respectively, in 2020;
  • 60% of respondents found it easy or very easy to access information about Jordan's Principle, compared to 59% in 2020;
  • 44% of respondents found it easy or very easy to request products and services, compared to 43% in 2020;
  • 68% of respondents felt that their culture was respected, compared to 63% in 2020;
  • 76% felt that they were treated with respect and dignity when accessing Jordan's Principle, compared to 77% in 2020; and
  • compared to the 2020 Client Satisfaction Survey, the 2021 survey results contained similar response proportions for all core questions.
• A Client Satisfaction Survey of recipients of Jordan's Principle funding was completed in 2020 and 2021.
• ISC has worked in collaboration with the Jordan's Principle Operations Committee to deliver on various communications and marketing tactics on an ongoing basis to raise awareness of Jordan's Principle among First Nation families, communities, professionals, and other audiences.
• This includes tactics, such as: posting information online on Canada.ca, issuing social media posts through departmental channels and implementing several paid advertising campaigns from 2017 to 2021.

Future Steps

• Jordan's Principle is request-driven and will continue to support the unmet needs of First Nation children. ISC is committed to ensuring that there is no disruption in services to First Nation children.
• Continued collaboration with First Nations partners to improve implementation.
• The Government of Canada will continue working with First Nations partners, provinces and territories to develop longer-term approaches to help better address the unique health, social, and education needs of First Nations children.

About the Initiative

• The Inuit Child First Initiative was jointly announced by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and ISC on September 10, 2018.
• The Inuit Child First Initiative supports parents and guardians in accessing the health, social and educational products and services that Inuit children need, when they need them.
• Until a long-term Inuit-specific approach can be developed to support Inuit children, Inuit leaders have agreed that a model similar to Jordan's Principle will be available for Inuit children.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• With support from ISC, Inuit leaders are assessing options to support the development of a long term approach for the Inuit Child First Initiative.
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami hosted an Inuit Child First Initiative Virtual Knowledge Forum in March 2021. The objectives included building awareness, identifying and sharing best practices and lessons learned, and develop goals for the longer-term approach.

Key Milestones

• As of September 2018, ISC began receiving individual and group requests for Inuit children under the Inuit Child Initiative on an interim basis.
• Requests for Inuit children are submitted through the national call centre, which is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week or by contacting federal Inuit Child First Initiative representatives.

Results and Outcomes

• From April 1, 2019, to April 30, 2022, the Government of Canada has had a reach of over 463,000 products and services for Inuit children.
• In fiscal year 2021-2022, more than 31,000 products and services were approved for Inuit children, an increase of 22% compared to fiscal year 2020-2021.
• In fiscal year 2020-2021, more than 26,000 products and services were approved for Inuit children. This represents over a 500% increase compared to the number of approved products and services in the last fiscal year (over 4,000 in 2019-2020).
• ISC has worked in collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to deliver on various communications and marketing tactics on an ongoing basis to raise awareness of the Inuit Child First Initiative among Inuit families, communities and other audiences. This includes tactics, such as: posting information online on Canada.ca, issuing social media posts through departmental channels, launching an Inuit Child First Initiative Public Service Announcement outreach campaign to communities across Inuit Nunangat, and implementing a paid advertising campaign in 2021.

About the Service

• The Non-Insured Health Benefits Program provides clients (registered First Nations and recognized Inuit who reside in Canada) with coverage for a range of health benefits. Program benefits include prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, dental and vision care, medical supplies and equipment, mental health counselling, and transportation to access health services not available locally.
• Non-Insured Health Benefits provides health benefits to eligible First Nations and Inuit clients in a manner that:
  • is appropriate to their unique health needs;
  • contributes to the achievement of an overall health status for First Nations and Inuit that is comparable to that of the Canadian population as a whole;
  • is sustainable from a fiscal and benefit management perspective; and
  • facilitates First Nations/Inuit control at a time and pace of their choosing.

Financial Profile

Note: These figures do not include salaries, operating costs and other overhead costs. The pie chart shows Non-Insured Health Benefits Program expenditures, in millions of dollars, by service category in 2020–21.

Text alternative for Non-Insured Health Benefits expenditures by benefit ($ millions): 2020-2021

Description of Non-Insured Health Benefits expenditures by benefit.

The numeric values represented in the diagram are:

• Medical transportation: $525.7M (35%)
• Pharmacy: $550.9M (37%)
• Dental: $236.3M (16%)
• Medical Supplies and Equipment: $51.5M (3%)
• Mental health: $74.0M (5%)
• Vision: $39.9M (3%)
• Other: $12.3M (1%)

Top Key Current Files or Projects

Key Milestones

• As a demand-driven program, Non-Insured Health Benefits will continue to provide supplementary health benefits to 915,895 First Nations and Inuit eligible clients (as of March 2022) eligible to receive benefits under the program.
• Non-Insured Health Benefits medical transportation expenditures increased by 14.5% in 2021-2022 compared to the previous year. Over the past five years, overall medical transportation costs have grown by 31.1% from $459.5 million for 2017- 2018 to $602.2 million for 2021-2022.
• Non-Insured Health Benefits mental health counselling expenditures increased by 27.0% during fiscal year 2021-2022. Over the past five years, overall mental health counselling costs have grown by 183.9% from $33.1 million in 2017-2018 to $93.9 million in 2021-2022. Budget 2017 provided funding to expand the benefit by removing the requirement that counselling be provided in response to a crisis.

About the Initiative

• ISC supports First Nations organizations and institutions in their Health Transformation efforts to build capacity towards a transformed, and First Nations governed health services delivery model that will enable the full transfer of control over federal health services to First Nations partners.
• Collaborative partnerships between ISC, First Nations organizations and participating provincial governments will ensure that communities receive health services that are responsive, effective, and culturally safe and that they are empowered to assume responsibility for the design, delivery, and management of health services currently provided by ISC.
• This initiative enables progress on key departmental priorities, including: supporting reconciliation; creating culturally safe health systems; and effectively closing the gap in health outcomes that remain between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples, and ISC's ultimate goal to transition services to First Nations control.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Health Transformation funding began with a Budget 2018 investment of $71.1 million over three years, which sunset in March 2021. Funding was renewed through Budget 2021, with an investment of $107.1 million over three years, to advance Health Transformation through two priorities: $80.1 million for existing projects and $27 million for new approaches and partnerships. Beginning in 2021-2022, funding has helped support efforts to transform how healthcare services are designed and delivered by First Nation communities.
• Funding that was secured through Budget 2021 has been confirmed to support the following First Nations organizations:
  • Nishnawbe Aski Nation;
  • Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak;
  • First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission;
  • Southern Chiefs Organization;
  • Tajikeimɨk (Mi'kmaq Health and Wellness Authority); and
  • First Nations Health Managers Association.

Key Milestones

• Through Budget 2018 and Budget 2021, First Nations partners have been funded to support their efforts to build capacity in First Nations organizations as they created systematic change in how health services and programs are delivered in their communities. With the assistance of this funding, key milestones have included:
  • The First Nations Health and Social Services Commission of Quebec and Labrador signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with the Governments of Canada and Quebec on August 30, 2019, to collaboratively develop a new health and social services governance model that would increase First Nations control to improve health, well-being, and living standards.
  • Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada signed a Charter of Relationship Principles in 2017 that articulates the key commitments of the partners towards health system reform. Currently, Nishnawbe Aski Nation is advancing a vision for a Health Commission and exploring ways to address immediate health needs given the critical health care gaps that exist across the Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory.
  • Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2018. It established and incorporated the Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin as an aggregate health entity in January 2020, and transferred mental wellness programming to them in July 2020. It is working towards drafting an Agreement-in-Principle by fall 2022 which will outline the scope of the federal transfer of services.
  • Southern Chiefs Organization signed a Memorandum of Understanding and created a Chiefs' Action Table to develop a new governance model and build internal capacity to support policy and negotiations. It is working towards drafting an Agreement-in-Principle for the fall of 2022 with the goal of a full transfer of services by 2026.
  • Tajikeimɨk (Mi'kmaq Health and Wellness Authority) represents13 Mi'kmaq First Nation communities in Nova Scotia and is currently in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed in fall 2022 to initiate a process to establish a new First Nations health entity that will work more closely with provincial health system to deliver more effective services.

Results and Outcomes

• The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the validity of intergovernmental relationships fostered through Health Transformation partnerships as, in regions where these partnerships were in place, there was improved communication and collaboration with provincial emergency management and health authorities.
• In British Columbia, where the First Nations Health Authority was transferred responsibility of federal health services in 2013, there have been early signs of improved health outcomes for First Nation peoples, including an increase in life expectancy, and a decrease in youth suicide and infant mortality rates.

About the Initiative

• Indigenous Peoples experience anti-Indigenous racism and discrimination in Canada's health systems including through refusal of care, substandard care, misdiagnosis and/or unnecessary and unwanted medical interventions, which can lead to trauma, poorer health outcomes (as compared with non-Indigenous Peoples) persisting illness or injury, and death. Immediate and long-term action is needed to foster health systems free from racism and discrimination where Indigenous Peoples are respected and safe.
• While anti-Indigenous racism in Canada's health system is longstanding, the death of Joyce Echaquan in September 2020 drew significant public condemnation and media attention to the issue. Joyce was a 37-year-old mother of seven from the Atikamekw community of Manawan who died at the Joliette Hospital after enduring racist slurs, neglect, and abuse while in hospital care. This and other recent events have highlighted the urgent need for systemic reform and support for both Indigenous patients and Indigenous health care providers.
• As a first step to addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health systems, three National Dialogues were convened in October 2020, January 2021 and June 2021 with National Indigenous Organization representatives, Indigenous health professionals, health systems partners and provincial and territorial representatives to discuss all forms of racism in health systems. These discussions, together with other extensive work already undertaken on this issue, identified many root causes, exacerbating factors, and gaps that need to be addressed.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• In order to respond to the urgent priorities identified by participants in the National Dialogues, ISC developed an implementation plan for the allocation of resources announced in the last federal budget. These resources would target access to culturally safe health services, prioritizing those targeted to Indigenous women, Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual peoples, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups. These funds are focused on supporting actions in the short-term while we continue to discuss and engage with partners on a longer-term national approach.
• This funding will support actions in the following themes:
  • $33.3 million for improving access to culturally safe services, including expanded support for First Nations, Inuit and Métis midwives and doulas, national Indigenous women's organizations and grassroots organizations;
  • $49.6 million for adapting health systems, including a new Cultural Safety Partnership Fund led by ISC and a new Addressing Racism and Discrimination in Canada's Health Systems Program led by Health Canada, as well as investments to increase the number of Indigenous health professionals;
  • $37.8 million for improving supports and accountability, including the introduction of Indigenous patient advocates and Indigenous health systems navigators; and
  • $8.7 million for providing federal leadership, including support for continued national dialogue and a commitment to review ISC's practices to ensure more culturally responsive and safe services.

Key Milestones

• The National Dialogues offered new opportunities to bring together governments, health systems partners and Indigenous health professional organizations to discuss measures to address anti-Indigenous racism in Canada's health systems.
• On October 16, 2020, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and the Minister of Health convened an urgent meeting to honour the life of Joyce Echaquan and to hear about the lived experiences of Indigenous patients and providers in health systems, specifically focusing on their experiences with anti-Indigenous racism.
• The second National Dialogue was held January 27 and 28, 2021, with participants meeting virtually to share both short- and long-term concrete actions to eliminate anti-Indigenous racism in health systems.
  • At this National Dialogue, the launch of engagement to explore the development of Indigenous health legislation was announced. In addition, some resources were announced to support the Atikamekw Nation and Manawan First Nation (in the adoption of the federal aspects of Joyce's Principle, which aims to guarantee that all Indigenous Peoples have the right of equitable access to social and health services, as well as the right to enjoy the best possible physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health). Support was also provided to the National Consortium of Indigenous Medical Education; and to the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health to create a one-stop shop for cultural safety and anti-racism tools and resources.
• A third National Dialogue was held on June 28 and 29, 2021, to pursue collective actions related to four themes: increasing Indigenous representation in post-secondary health education; cultural safety and humility; traditional approaches to health; and safe patient navigation.
• A fourth National Data Dialogue is currently being planned for January 2023, which will bring together partners that are working to address gaps in data on anti- Indigenous Racism. This Data Dialogue will support the development of a national data strategy on anti-Indigenous racism in health systems.
• Through the funding, ISC has supported a number of successful initiatives including continued support to Indigenous health professional organizations who have been key partners in advancing this issue. Specifically, supports were provided to the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association, National Council of Aboriginal Midwives and First Nations Health Managers Association to continue being leading voices on ending anti-Indigenous racism in health systems. These partners, among other National Indigenous Organizations, health systems partners and some Provincial/Territorial governments continue to provide advice on this initiative through participation on the Anti- Indigenous Racism Advisory Circle.
• ISC has also recently supported the newly incorporated Indigenous Dental Association of Canada (IDAC) to be a leading voice on anti-Indigenous racism in dentistry. ISC and IDAC have collaborated on a number of initiatives since their incorporation including a webinar with over 250 attendees and a successful workshop submission to the First Nations Health Managers Association's National Conference in Nov 2022. ISC will also be attending IDAC's grand opening of their offices in the Fall of 2022.

Results and Outcomes

• In August 2021, the Government of Canada publicly released a Federal Response, which highlighted the four key themes from the National Dialogues and announced the suite of initiatives. Work is currently underway to further elaborate and implement these initiatives with Indigenous partners.
• Some early successes of this initiative include the following:
  • Innovations for safer health systems through the establishment of the first ever First Nations Health Ombudsperson's Office in the province of Saskatchewan by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.
  • Support Indigenous communities in bringing traditional births closer to home by contributing resources toward the construction of Sturgeon Lake First Nation's (SLFN) birthing centre. in February 2022, SLFN celebrated the first midwife-assisted traditional birth in the community in decades.
  • Contributing to the First Nations Health Managers Association launch "RISE Against Racism" campaign later this year. ISC Communications continues to work with partners on Indigenous-led announcements and social media to raise awareness of the many successful initiatives arising from the anti- Indigenous racism funding.

About the Initiative

• The Government of Canada acknowledges the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in accessing high-quality and culturally safe health services and is committed to working in partnership to advance the priorities Indigenous peoples put forward when it comes to health care.
• The mandate letter for the Minister of Indigenous Services commits to "fully implement Joyce's Principle and ensure it guides work to co-develop distinctions- based Indigenous health legislation to foster health systems that will respect and ensure the safety and well-being of Indigenous Peoples." It supports the Government of Canada's commitment to address the social determinants of health and advance self-determination in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• The co-development of distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation is an opportunity to:
  • Establish overarching principles as the foundation of federal health services for Indigenous peoples;
  • Support the transformation of health service delivery through collaboration with Indigenous organizations in the development, provision and improvement of services to increase Indigenous-led health service delivery; and
  • Continue to advance the Government of Canada's commitment to reconciliation and a renewed nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and government- to-government relationship with Indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• In December 2020, the Minister of Indigenous Services received authority to engage First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners, provinces/territories, subject matter experts, and other groups to co-develop options for distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation.
• The 2020 Fall Economic Statement announced $15.6 million over two years, starting in 2021-22 to support this work.
• The scope of engagement was to be broad-based and guided by the need to affirm Indigenous rights and to address primary health care needs of Indigenous communities (e.g., alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, responding to Calls to Action and Calls for Justice, addressing anti-Indigenous racism, transforming health service delivery, etc.).
• Engagement streams include:
  • Regional engagement: Treaty Organizations, Self-Governing Indigenous Governments, Tribal Councils, Chiefs/Community Leaders, etc.;
  • Targeted outreach: Indigenous organizations representing women, urban, youth, 2SLGBTQQIA+, etc.;
  • National engagement: Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Métis National Council;
  • Open Dialogue: Indigenous academics, legal experts, traditional knowledge keepers, Elders, students, youth, health professionals, etc.; and
  • Provincial/Territorial Engagement : Ministry of Health, Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, other Provincial/Territorial Ministries.
• Engagement has progressed at various rates across Canada with calls from partners to extend the engagement and co-development phases (largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partners' capacity during this time).
• As a result, the Prime Minister extended timelines for the introduction of a bill from winter 2022 to winter 2024.

Key Milestones

• Engagement (fall 2021 to spring 2022):
  • First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners engage their membership
  • Engagement reports are submitted by end of June 2022
  • Implement tri/multilateral engagement with willing partners and PTs (ongoing throughout engagement and co-development
• Co-analysis (spring to fall 2022):
  • Establish co-analysis working group
  • Create a framework to analyze reports and draft the What We Heard report
  • Share drafts with partners for feedback and validation
  • Create final draft and share
• Co-develop legislative options (fall 2022 to winter 2023):
  • Establish co-development process, i.e., set parameters for scope, timelines, decision-making, identify reps from national & regional levels, establish structures (groups, committees, etc.)
  • Co-develop legislative options, engage PTs
  • Refine options
• Return to Cabinet (spring 2023):
  • Present fully costed legislative options, including drafting instructions to Cabinet
  • Seek necessary authorities for sharing and consulting on drafts of the bill with Indigenous partners and PTs
• Drafting of the bill (spring to fall 2023):
  • Bill is drafted by the Department of Justice
  • Pending Cabinet approval, support meaningful participation of First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and provincial and territorial representatives in reviewing "consultation drafts" of the bill prior to introduction
• Introduction of the bill (winter 2024):
  • Prepare legislative support materials, including clause by clause analysis, issue papers, Q&As, Minister's and sponsoring Senator's speeches, etc.
  • Prepare public communications materials, including highlights sheet(s), backgrounders, Minister's press conference remarks, material for parliamentarians and media briefings, press releases, etc.
• Implementation and evaluation (spring 2024 and ongoing):
  • Support implementation through ongoing review and dialogue with partners

Results and Outcomes

• In 2021-22, Indigenous Services Canada achieved the following:
  • Provided funding to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners at national and regional levels to lead engagement with the people they represent;
  • Supported coordination and complemented Indigenous-led engagement, wherever needed, including facilitating information sharing with Provinces and Territories;
  • Supported the engagement of specific Indigenous groups, including women, youth, urban and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, through a targeted call for proposals; and
  • Hosted a one day virtual event, "An Open Dialogue on Indigenous Health Legislation: Restoring the Balance to do Honour to all People" that was guided by an Elders Advisory Circle, and designed to hear from Indigenous academics, legal experts, traditional knowledge keepers and Elders, students, youth, as well as some health professionals and others who may not be captured in other engagement streams.
• As of August 2022, over 60% of engagement reports have been received. Generally, Indigenous partners are supportive and are calling for Indigenous health legislation to:
  • Address Anti-Indigenous racism and critical gaps in health care;
  • Respect Indigenous Peoples as sovereign nations and support self- determination;
  • Ensure holistic approach to health, inclusive of Indigenous worldviews and the social determinants of health;
  • Build trust and strengthen Indigenous relationships and accountability; and
  • Recognize rights to health and Canada's responsibilities.
• Several Treaty nations have voiced their opposition to federal health legislation and are asking for a Treaty-based approach to take place in parallel. ISC and CIRNAC and working together to explore opportunities to support this process.

About the Service

• The accreditation program at FNIHB developed in 1999 and is well established and well received by Indigenous organizations. Completely voluntary, organizations choose the accreditation body for their independent 3rd party review and work towards achieving accreditation status using a staged process to identify gaps or opportunities for improvement.
• The Accreditation program works to improve the healthcare system, including access to quality, effective, and client-centered culturally safe health services. Through a continuous quality improvement process, accreditation promotes greater opportunities to build and strengthen internal capacity to meet the requirements of being an accredited organization.
• Accreditation is an effective tool to support the transfer of health services and improve health outcomes by:
  • identifying the critical areas that need to be addressed for safety and quality and recommendations for improvement within a continuous model for improvement; and
  • increasing Indigenous leadership, capacity and control.
• Funding: $4.3 million (ongoing program funding). Program was renewed at lower than requested amount, which does not cover the costs of all of the current communities in the program. There are currently more than 15 communities ready to join the accreditation program but are not able to do so due to lack of funding.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• 99 Community Health Centres and 9 Nursing Stations are in the accreditation process. 73 Community Health Centres and 4 Nursing Stations are accredited.
• Recent evaluations demonstrate accreditation processes and improvement efforts are impactful and demonstrative of positive outcomes. Indigenous communities have embraced accreditation and can attest to improvements in services, health outcomes and enhanced capacity.

Results and Next Steps

• Efforts continue to allocate an ongoing sustained funding source to support equitable access and achieve equal health standards. Current funding is not sufficient to cover existing organizations in the program nor allow program growth despite vested among Indigenous leaders and communities.
• Regions must cover the deficit by finding funds elsewhere in their region or must inform organizations already in the accreditation program that there is no longer funding to support their efforts.

About the Service

• The Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative (AHHRI) is a grants and contributions initiative that aims to increase the number of qualified individuals working in health care delivery in First Nations and Inuit communities. The aim of the program is to ensure that community-based workers, including health managers, are trained and certified to improve the quality and consistency of healthcare services provided in First Nations and Inuit communities.
• Funding: $1.5 million per year ongoing plus an additional $750K per year (for 2021- 2024) grants and contributions sent to regions through an internal pressures process. The funding is delivered by FNIHB regional offices, which consult with Indigenous communities and organizations to determine regional priorities for training.
• Target Population: Community-based workers, including health managers, in First Nations and Inuit communities. Community-based workers are those employed by the community, tribal council or tribal health authority and those who do not belong to a regulated health profession (e.g., nursing, medicine, pharmacy or dentistry) or a regulated allied health profession (e.g., dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy).
• This stream supports two types of training:
  • Training for community-based workers who work in health promotion and disease prevention in First Nations and Inuit communities
  • First Nations Health Manager Certification (with Special Considerations for Inuit communities)

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The program key projects provide training for community-based workers working in health promotion and disease prevention in First Nations and Inuit communities as well as First Nations Health Managers Certification offered by the First Nations Health Managers Association (special considerations will be made for Inuit health managers and health managers in communities where access to schools and educational opportunities can present unique challenges).

Financial Profile

• The total expenditure for Individual Affairs Branch in 2021-2022 was $46.5 million. This excludes regional spending on service delivery.

Context

Recent data indicates that:

• In calendar year 2021, the Department received 29,092 applications for registration and processed a total of 33,225 files, including those from the inventory. This resulted in 25,979 individuals being added to the register, bringing the total registered population to 1,040,341 as of December 31, 2021.
• The Department has established a service standard of six months to process applications for registration that are complete. A received application is considered complete when it contains all required documentation and there are no additional complex considerations (such as further ancestry research requirements).
• On an annual basis, approximately 50,000 Secure Certificate of Indian Status are issued. Like all federal identity documents, the Secure Certificate of Indian Status requires renewal every ten years.
• There are 307 First Nations that signed the Historic Treaties (Numbered Treaties and Robinson Treaties) with the Crown that provide for annuities in perpetuity. There are approximately 614,000 registered individuals entitled to treaty annuities.
• Approximately $2.1 million is paid annually in treaty annuities to entitled First Nation individuals.
• The registered population is expected to grow at a steady pace until 2040 based upon the newly eligible population due to legislative amendments to remove sex- based inequities, the demographics of the registered population and the passing of status to subsequent generations.

About the Service

• The Indian Act defines Indian moneys as, "all moneys collected, received or held by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of Indians or bands". These belong to First Nation bands or individuals and are held in trust, by Canada, within the consolidated revenue fund.
• The Indian Act identifies two categories of Indian moneys for bands. Capital moneys are derived from the sale of band land or assets or from non-renewable resources, such as oil and gas royalties. Revenue moneys are derived from all other types of band-generated revenues, such as the sale of renewable resources, leases and permits.
• Canada collects and disburses Indian moneys on behalf of First Nations pursuant to the Indian Act (reserve land instruments and other reserve land transactions, such as leases, permits, sale of surrendered lands, etc.) and the Indian Oil and Gas Act (royalties from oil and gas, surface leases and bonuses).
• These moneys are recorded as a Public Debt – therefore, a liability as these moneys are not assets belonging to Canada; they are moneys belonging to First Nations. Interest is paid on moneys held in Trust by Canada at a rate fixed by the Governor-in-Council. Interest accumulated in the accounts is compounded semi- annually.
• Efforts are being undertaken by ISC to repatriate funds held in trust by Canada on behalf of First Nations – as part of the larger economic reconciliation efforts. Canada has developed several options to enhance First Nation autonomy over, and access to, trust moneys held on their behalf. ISC is actively reaching out to all First Nations who have funds held in trust by the department to create awareness of the options available to them to access, manage and control their trust moneys, whether under the Indian Act or through alternate moneys management options.
• First Nations can access their Indian moneys through a number of mechanisms:
  • Indian Act;
  • First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act;
  • First Nations Land Management Act (capital and revenue, except Oil and Gas revenues under the Indian Oil and Gas Act);
  • First Nations Fiscal Management Act (recent legislative amendments); and
  • Self-Government Agreements (capital and revenue moneys).

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC is working with Indigenous, non-governmental, and governmental partners toward increased First Nations autonomy for access and management of Indian moneys through policy and legislative changes. This is often achieved by leveraging existing legislative authorities within the Indian Act, such as sections 64(1)(k) and 69 to expedite the repatriation of trust moneys to First Nations and expand their control over their respective capital and revenue Band trust moneys. Currently, a nationwide outreach initiative to engage with First Nations on trust moneys management options available to them is being undertaken by the Department.

Key Milestones

• In 2015, ISC approved the Policy on the Transfer of Capital Moneys through paragraph 64(1)(k) of the Indian Act and has since been engaging First Nations on the policy's function and advantages.
  • The Policy enables self-determination while working within the framework of the Indian Act so that Canada no longer controls the management and expenditure of the capital moneys; and
  • Some of the benefits include:
    • more flexibility and quicker access to their capital moneys,
    • ability to invest moneys more freely, and
    • potential for larger returns on moneys invested.
• In 2018, an option to more easily access capital moneys was adopted through legislative amendments to the First Nations Land Management Act and the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management.
• Also, in 2018, an option to access both capital and revenue moneys was adopted through legislative amendments to the First Nations Fiscal Management Act.

Results and Outcomes

• Providing First Nations with options for self-determination in accessing and managing funds held in trust by Canada on behalf of First Nations.
• Since 2006, leveraging specific provisions of the Indian Act have resulted in the transfer of nearly $1.1 billion of capital trust moneys to First Nations.

About the Service

• Pursuant to the Indian Act, the Minister of Indigenous Services has exclusive jurisdiction and authority over estates of deceased individuals and dependent adults who are registered Indians, or entitled to be registered, under the Indian Act and ordinarily resided on a reserve. The Minister is responsible to appoint administrators or estate representatives to manage deceased estates and the estates of dependent adults who currently cannot manage their financial or legal affairs, and may also help manage the estates of minors registered under the act who ordinarily reside on a reserve.
• Services provided by the Estates Program include approving wills, appointing executors, acting as administrators of last resort, administering assets of minors and dependent adults, and working with First Nation communities to build capacity in the management of Estate Services. Estates management involves two main responsibilities that ensure the government fulfills its legal obligations under the Indian Act:
  • the management of decedent estates, pursuant to sections 42 to 50 of the Indian Act; and
  • the management of living estates pursuant to sections 51 and 52 of the Indian Act.
• Delays in processing estate files are increasing nationally at greater rates due to the additional work from settlements. Currently, the national average to work through an estate and appoint an administrator is more than 30 months.
• Efforts are underway to implement efficiencies (some have been informed by an internal audit in 2019) while concurrent efforts are being made on potential pathways to transfer the administration of estates to First Nations.

Settlements and Estate Services

• Since the implementation of the Day Schools Settlement in January 2022, the workload of the national Estates Program has increased significantly, due largely to the steady influx of appointment of administrator requests by those filing an estate claim prior to the July 2022 deadline (since extended to January 2023). This increased workload was not accompanied by dedicated resources, straining estates staff, exacerbating already existing backlogs, and causing delays for individuals relying on estates services.
• Currently both the Day Schools (Gottfriedson) and the First Nations Drinking Water Settlements are open for claims, and the First Nations Child and Family Services, Jordan's Principle, and Trout Class Settlement Agreements are expected to be finalized circa fall 2022.
• Through the First Nations Child and Family Services, Jordan's Principle, Trout Class Settlement Agreement implementation process (the agreement is slated for court approval in fall 2022), resources have been secured to implement and administer the settlements as they relate to estates. Prior settlements have not considered the impacts on estates.
• Resources will be used to work with regions to establish a new model to better accommodate the work stemming from settlements while reducing wait times for the regular inventory.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Establishing a clear path forward for the transfer of the management of Estate Services.
• Ensuring that eligible estates of deceased individuals receive timely support and due consideration under recent settlement agreements (e.g., Sixties Scoop and Day Schools settlement agreements).
• In response to COVID-19, measures have been put in place to allow for clients to use alternate methods of signature and commissioning of oaths on required documentation.
• To date the department has processed over 354 estate representative appointments (DM delegation under Minister's authority) pertaining to the Federal Indian Day Schools Settlement, but more are anticipated as the deadline to apply has recently been extended by 6 months to January 13, 2023, and there are additional settlements on the horizon namely the First Nations Child and Family Services, Jordan's Principle, Trout Class Settlement Agreement
• Situating resources arriving as part of the implementation process, including new staff and grants and contribution funding.

About the Service

• Between 1850 and 1921, the Crown negotiated 13 treaties that promised annual payments to registered Indians who are affiliated with bands that are signatories to these treaties.
• The 13 treaties with provisions for annuities are: Robinson-Huron Treaty, Robinson-Superior Treaty, and Treaties No.1 to No.11 (collectively referred to as the "Eleven Numbered Treaties").
• ISC is responsible for the Crown's fulfillment of treaty annuity provisions in all treaty areas. Annuities for First Nations located in the Northwest Territories under Treaties 8 and 11 are dispersed by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada on behalf of ISC.
• The vast majority of treaty annuities are paid in cash directly to entitled individuals during treaty day events, which are held in various urban centers and on-reserve across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, and Ontario. Payments are between $4 and $5 per individual annually, with the amount depending on the treaty. Some treaties provide for an additional cash payment to serving Chiefs and councilors.
• The issuance of treaty payments are both a legal obligation and a constitutionally protected treaty right.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

About the Service

• The Indian Registrar, supported by officers with devolved administrative responsibility, renders statutory decisions on entitlement to registration based on the provisions of the Indian Act, and maintains an accurate Indian Register that underpins billions of dollars in programming and services, and informs policy and program development.
• The Indian Registrar and the processing of entitlement decisions is based solely on the provisions of the Indian Act and is independent from Ministerial direction or interference.
• Registration under the Indian Act does not confirm whether an individual is Indigenous, but rather, whether an individual is entitled to registration under the legislated provisions in the Indian Act.
• Once registered, an individual may be entitled to a range of rights, services and benefits, including Non-Insured Health Benefits, funding for post-secondary education, and treaty annuities for those registered to eligible bands.
• ISC issues proof of registration documents, including the Secure Certificate of Indian Status ('secure status card'), which is a federal identity document that facilitates access for those eligible to receive programs and services to which they are entitled.
• The service standard for processing registration applications is six months to two years, depending on the complexity of the application. Once registered, the service standard for processing secure status card applications is 12 to 16 weeks, or less, as ISC is currently processing applications at a much faster rate.
• The average annual number of newly registered individuals is 20,000 and there are just over 1,030,000 registered individuals on the Indian Register.
• On an annual basis, approximately 44,000 Secure Certificate of Indian Status are issued.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

Key Milestones

• As a result of Bill S-3, all known sex-based inequities in registration dating back to 1869 have been eliminated. A Report to Parliament, confirming this and providing an overview of the implementation of Bill S-3 was tabled on December 11, 2020, by the Minister of Indigenous Services.
• In this report, the Minister indicated that the Department is committed to collaborating on solutions and discussions with First Nations and Indigenous partners to best address remaining issues in the registration and membership provisions.
• On March 3, 2022, the Minister made a public commitment to address enfranchisement, one remaining inequity, in a timely manner after reaching an agreement to put litigation on hold.
• To address gaps in access and facilitate more timely service, digital options are also being developed for the Secure Certificate of Indian Status. In 2019, a mobile photo app was launched to allow individuals to submit digital photos at no cost, and includes a gender-neutral option.
• Additional modernization efforts, including digital and online solutions for application intake and processing, policy efficiencies and leveraging potential partnership capacities are underway.
• On February 1, 2019, in response to a Report from the Minister's Special Representative on border crossing issues, a machine-readable zone was introduced on the Secure Certificate of Indian Status to facilitate border-crossing.
• As part of continuing efforts to improve accessibility to registration services, registration application and secure status card forms are being simplified.

About the Service

• Under section 17 of the Indian Act, the Minister of Indigenous Services has exclusive authority to create new bands and amalgamate or divide existing bands if requested to do so by a group of individuals already registered as status Indians or on existing band lists.
• Under section 2 of the Indian Act, the Governor-in-Council has the exclusive authority to recognize a group of unrecognized individuals as a band, which subsequently grants them entitlement to Indian Status. ISC facilitates their recognition process on the basis of historical evidence.
• The Individual Affairs Branch is currently revamping the 1991 New Bands Policy.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

Snapshot

Indigenous Services Canada works with First Nations on reserve to support adequate and sustainable housing, clean drinking water and community infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, roads, and wastewater systems, which are essential to healthy, safe and prosperous communities. Even with significant investments, work remains to close the gap and ensure adequate investments for major repairs and new builds. This is critical as we move to the gradual transfer of responsibilities in this area from Indigenous Services Canada to First Nations. Support for infrastructure on-reserve is provided through the following:

• Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program: The main pillar of the federal government's community infrastructure support for First Nations on reserve in the areas of housing, education facilities, water and wastewater systems, and other vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, fire protection, etc. Proposal based funding for major capital projects is delivered and managed through First Nations Infrastructure Investment Plans that outline projects identified by First Nations. Formula-based funding is determined annually by the Department and provided for minor capital as well as the ongoing operations and maintenance of existing capital assets. The Department is currently working with First Nations to review the existing policies, and to strengthen infrastructure services with the long-term objective of transferring control over service delivery to communities.
• First Nations Water and Wastewater Enhanced Program: The program provides support to First Nations and organizations to improve water and wastewater infrastructure, support proper facility operation and maintenance, build capacity by enhancing water system operator training (i.e. Circuit Rider Training Program), improve drinking water monitoring and testing on reserve, and end long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserve. The program also leads co-development and implementation of water legislation and regulations for First Nations on reserve.
• First Nation On-Reserve Housing Program: Directs funding to First Nations for safe and affordable on-reserve housing, to build, maintain, and renovate houses, as well as contribute to insurance, debt servicing, and the development and implementation of a housing portfolio. The Department is currently investing in capacity-building, through a housing management subsidy to support First Nations to recruit and retain qualified housing professionals, as well as through new and innovative housing projects on reserve including financial innovation. Further, it is advancing the implementation of a co-developed First Nations Housing and Related Infrastructure Strategy with First Nations partners.
• First Nations Enhanced Education Infrastructure Fund: Investments support the creation of quality learning environments that are safe and healthy – promoting better educational outcomes for First Nation students living on reserve. As part of a long-term strategy to improve First Nations education infrastructure, this enhances the existing Education Infrastructure Fund by providing funding to construct, renovate and expand, repair, as well as operate and maintain education infrastructure. Indigenous Services Canada has adopted a 'school bundle approach' for multiple school projects, building meaningful relationships between First Nations, governments, and other partners.
• First Nation Infrastructure Fund: This proposal-based program pools funding from multiple sources, to simplify delivery and maximize the financial impact of funds to support improving and increasing public infrastructure on reserves, on Crown Land or on lands set aside for the use and benefit of First Nations. The program supports the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, and is delivered by Regional Offices under the guidance of the Regional Infrastructure Delivery and Community Infrastructure Branches.
• Asset Management Program: Drawing on funds from Infrastructure Canada's Investing in Canada Plan, this program supports First Nations in their capacity building efforts to manage, operate, and maintain their infrastructure assets. The Department is currently considering a move towards a lifecycle management approach, supported by a more robust framework for evaluating the state of existing infrastructure assets on reserve through E-ACRS.
• Health Facilities Program: Designed to enhance the delivery of health programs and services through infrastructure by providing funding to eligible recipients for the design, construction, acquisition, expansion and/or renovation of health facilities. Funding can be applied towards a variety of eligible project- related expenses, including design work, leasing and fit-up costs, and costs associated with construction activities to renovate and/or repair existing health facilities, including remediating environmental and/or workplace health and safety issues.

Financial Overview

Context

Recent data indicates that:

• In 2016, 18.3% of the total Indigenous population in Canada lived in housing that was considered overcrowded.
• 19.4% of the total Indigenous population reported living in a dwelling in need of major repairs in 2016, compared to 6% of non-Indigenous households.
• Since Budget 2016, and as of March 31, 2022, $7.57 billion of ISC-targeted infrastructure funding has been invested into 7,474 infrastructure projects (4,601 completed and 2,873 ongoing) that will benefit 613 communities, serving approximately 470,000 people. In addition to funding for physical infrastructure projects, these investments also include more than $439.5 million to support training and self-management opportunities. Despite this, a substantial infrastructure deficit remains.
• As of July 20, 2022, 135 long-term drinking water advisories had been lifted. New data, as of July 20, 2022.
• Approximately 38% (165 out of 430) of existing schools on reserves have been assessed to be in fair or poor conditions.

About the Service

• ISC supports First Nations on-reserve and the funding of community infrastructure in four main areas: housing; education facilities; water and wastewater systems; and other infrastructure (such as roads and bridges, fire protection, etc.) under the umbrella of the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program.
• Enhanced support for targeted infrastructure assets or services are provided through the following programs:
  • First Nations Water and Wastewater;
  • First Nation On-Reserve Housing;
  • First Nations Enhanced Education Infrastructure Fund;
  • First Nation Infrastructure Fund; and
  • Health Facilities (administered by First Nations and Inuit Health Branch).
• The enabling legislation for ISC mandates the Minister to work toward the "gradual transfer of departmental responsibilities to Indigenous organizations". ISC is working with Indigenous organizations to reform and transfer infrastructure service delivery.

Infrastructure Funding

• To maximize financial impact to address the infrastructure needs of Indigenous communities, ISC uses a portfolio approach for the allocation and reporting of targeted infrastructure investments.
• Funding is provided by asset: water and wastewater, housing, schools and other community infrastructure (roads, bridges, energy systems, connectivity, structural mitigation, fire projection, band administration buildings and cultural and recreation) and managed through the transfer payment process in accordance with the terms and conditions of the programs.
• Projects are not selected at headquarters but rather the funding is allocated to regions using a formula with parameters that vary based on the asset and the decisions on projects are done at the regional level. This allows the regional office an opportunity to work closely with the communities and Tribal councils on the selection of projects, using the national priority ranking frameworks and regional priorities.
• Regional allocations of the funding are approved by the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Regional Operations via funding formulas developed in close collaboration between headquarters and regional offices. Multiple years of allocations are confirmed where possible depending on the Budget announcement and the parameters of that Budget.
• Funding allocations and burn rates are monitored closely within the year to ensure all funding is fully spent within a fiscal year, with re-profiles requested only when absolutely necessary.

Reporting on Infrastructure Funding

• The Indigenous Services Canada Targeted Infrastructure Investment Quarterly Report was created in November 2016 to share progress being made, and results delivered through targeted investments in First Nations community infrastructure under the former Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada mandate. It is produced quarterly and reflects the official source of data on projects, assets and financial progress to date with the exception of long-term drinking water advisories.
• The purpose of this report is to reflect federal targeted infrastructure investments administered by ISC, including: water and wastewater; housing; school facilities; other community infrastructure (energy systems; connectivity; fire protection; roads and bridges; structural mitigation against natural disasters; culture and recreation; band administrative buildings; planning and skills development); Lubicon Lake Band Community Buildout and Transfer of Service Delivery initiatives. It also includes information on solid waste management (administered by LED), urban infrastructure for Indigenous Peoples (administered by ESDPP) and health facilities (administered by FNIHB).
• This report and detailed project lists for all asset classes are available on GCpedia.
• In addition, this data is found on an interactive map, Investing in Indigenous Community Infrastructure, which features ongoing and completed infrastructure projects across Canada. The map is available on the Department's website at: www.canada.ca/infrastructure-on-reserve and is updated quarterly.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC is currently working with First Nations and Inuit partners to determine infrastructure needs through direct engagement. These needs, which include human capital, funding to support the life cycle management of existing infrastructure and funding to close the infrastructure gap to build new infrastructure.
• ISC will propose comprehensive financial and service delivery reforms that shift away from asset-by-asset, project-based infrastructure funding to a more holistic investment approach rooted in predictable, sustainable, and adequate funding.
• ISC is working with partners to strengthen water and wastewater infrastructure and build operator capacity in First Nations communities to address all remaining long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on-reserve.
• ISC is co-developing with First Nations new proposed water legislation to replace the 2013 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.
• In partnership with First Nations organizations, ISC is undertaking a number of innovative initiatives that would facilitate the transfer of infrastructure service delivery to First Nations.
• ISC and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada are working with Indigenous partners, on a distinctions basis, to assess and address critical infrastructure needs in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

Key Milestones

• The key milestones of the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program will be reflected in individual service lines.

Results and Outcomes

• The results and outcomes of the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program will be reflected in individual service lines.

About the Service

• ISC is working with partners to strengthen water and wastewater infrastructure and build operator capacity in First Nations communities, improve drinking water monitoring on-reserve, and address all remaining long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on-reserve.
• ISC supports the delivery of water and wastewater services to First Nations communities through the First Nations Water and Wastewater Enhanced Program.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC is partnering with First Nations communities and organizations on new approaches to ensure that on-reserve water and wastewater systems are safe and better meet the unique needs of each community, with a view not only to lift all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves, but to build a sustainable foundation and increase sustainable access to clean drinking water on reserves for generations to come. An action plan aimed at eliminating all long-term drinking water advisories affecting public systems on-reserve has been developed and is being implemented.
• ISC is continuing its work with the Assembly of First Nations on the co- development of efforts to "close the gap" to ensure the sustainability of water and wastewater infrastructure on-reserve while also charting the path to Indigenous control over water and wastewater programs and services. The Assembly of First Nations has led engagements with First Nations on the long- term water strategy for the past two years, but will be pivoting its approach to consider infrastructure more broadly, specifically on "closing the gap" going forward.
• ISC provides long-term capacity building and support for water and wastewater operators working in First Nations communities through the Circuit Rider Training Program.
  • The regionally-delivered program provides hands-on training and mentoring services to operators of First Nations drinking water and wastewater systems, with an annual investment of approximately $15 million.
  • Qualified experts rotate through a circuit of First Nation communities, training water and wastewater operators. These experts assist First Nation operators in obtaining and maintaining certification and may also provide advice to Chiefs and Councils on how to develop and maintain their own safe systems.
  • The program also supports First Nations in: developing and maintaining capacity to manage their water and wastewater systems; increasing reliability of systems; ensuring efficient operations; ensuring that health and safety standards are met; decreasing the number and duration of drinking water advisories; and maximizing the use of existing infrastructure. In some regions, the program provides 24-hour access to qualified experts in case of emergencies.
  • With the success of the Circuit Rider Training model in water operations, there has been work to expand the scope of the program to schools. The work aims to optimize the use of operations and maintenance funding to reduce the risk of unsafe or unhealthy infrastructure through long-term mentoring services to First Nations building operators.
• ISC also supports various organizations in the delivery of innovative and broad initiatives, such as an online learning library and immersive operator mobile application, that support water operators and build capacity of a skilled workforce. ISC also supports initiatives that seek to enhance, empower and engage women, youth, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ on water operations and as water keepers. ISC also recognizes success in water leadership through its annual National First Nations Water Leadership Award.
• Environmental Public Health Officers, certified public health inspectors, employed by ISC or First Nation communities, inspect, assess, investigate, and support education and awareness related to environmental hazards that can cause illness, disease, injury, and death from risks in the built and natural environment (e.g., schools and long-term care facilities). Environmental Public Health Officers work with First Nation communities to protect public health by assuring that verification monitoring programs are in place to provide a final check on the overall safety of drinking water at tap in all water systems, and providing public health advice and guidance about drinking water safety and wastewater disposal.
• ISC works together with First Nations communities and provides funding to Chief and Councils for drinking water monitoring through its Community-Based Water Monitor program. A key benefit of the program is that it enables First Nations communities to sample and test their drinking water for microbiological contamination where it is difficult or impossible to do so on a regular basis and/or to get the samples to a laboratory in a timely manner, and take ownership of water quality monitoring programs.
• ISC is working with the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority, a First Nations-led utility, to transfer water and wastewater service delivery in 17 First Nations communities in Atlantic Canada.
• Ensuring lasting drinking water and wastewater infrastructure requires a modern and effective regulatory regime. On December 22, 2021, the Federal Court and the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba jointly approved an agreement to settle class action litigation related to safe drinking water in First Nations communities. Key components of the Settlement Agreement include:
  • Compensation for individuals (approximately $1.5 billion) and First Nations ($400 million) for long-term drinking water advisories (lasting longer than 1 year) that occurred between November 20, 1995, and June 20, 2021, on reserve lands;
  • A renewed commitment to Canada's Action Plan for lifting long-term drinking water advisories;
  • Creation of a First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water;
  • Support for First Nations to develop safe drinking water governance and by-law initiatives;
  • A spending commitment of at least $6 billion over 10 years to support reliable access to safe drinking water on reserves; and
  • A commitment to make all reasonable efforts to introduce legislation repealing the 2013 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act by March 31, 2022, and to develop and introduce replacement legislation, in consultation with First Nations, by December 31, 2022.
• Since 2018, Indigenous Services Canada has been supporting an Assembly of First Nations-led engagement processes for the review of the 2013 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, aligned with the Government's commitment to review all laws and policies affecting Indigenous Peoples.
• Through Budget 2022, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to repeal the 2013 Act and work with First Nations to develop replacement legislation.
• Indigenous Services Canada continues to work with First Nations to co-develop proposed legislation to replace the 2013 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.
• The Government of Canada also looks forward to engaging provinces and territories on source water protection to inform co-development work, as source water protection is a key aspect of ensuring the provision of clean, safe, and reliable drinking water supplies for generations to come.

Key Milestones

• Since 2015 and as of July 20, 2022, First Nations, with support from ISC, have lifted 135 long-term drinking water advisories.
• Since 2016, the Government of Canada has made over $5.6 billion in commitments to First Nations to build and repair water and wastewater infrastructure and support effective management and maintenance of water systems on-reserves. This includes new commitments made as part of Budget 2022 in which the Government of Canada has committed at least $247 million over two years, starting in 2022-23 toward water and wastewater infrastructure.
• By 2025, with the combined investments made as part of Budget 2019 and the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada will increase the annual funding that it provides to support the operations and maintenance of water and wastewater systems on a permanent basis by almost four times.
• Recent investments made in Budget 2022 provided ongoing funding to support the work of Environmental Public Health Officers as they are related to drinking water and wastewater; thereby, helping to ensure the safe delivery of health and social services on-reserve at current level. This is the first time that funding for this important public health function has been stabilized since the 1970s.
• Budget 2022 provided $173.2 million over ten years, starting in 2022-23, to support the transfer of water and wastewater services in 17 communities to the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority.
• On April 28, 2022, the proposed repeal of the Act was introduced in Parliament as a related measure in Budget Implementation Act, No. 1. The Bill received royal assent on June 23, 2022, formally repealing the 2013 Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.

Results and Outcomes

• Funding since 2016 has supported 950 water and wastewater projects. These projects serve approximately 466,000 people in 586 First Nation communities.
• This funding also supports the goal of ending long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on-reserve. Between November 2015 and July 20, 2022, the number of long-term drinking water advisories on public systems in First Nation communities has declined from 105 to 31. Over this period, 135 long-term drinking water advisories were lifted and 66 new long-term drinking water advisories were added. A further 222 short-term drinking water advisories were resolved, preventing them from becoming long term. The following table illustrates progress since 2015.
• Departmental data indicates that the percentage of high risk public water systems on-reserve has fallen from 27.8% in 2011-12 to 14.8% in 2019-20, while the percentage of low risk water systems has risen from 35.9% in 2011-12 to 57.4% in 2019-20.
• Similarly, the percentage of wastewater systems identified as high risk has fallen from 11.6% in 2011-12 to 3.7% in 2019-20, while the percentage of wastewater systems identified as low risk has increased from 46.6% in 2011-12 to 47.7% in 2019-20.
• Through joint efforts with First Nation communities, progress is being made. All First Nation communities have access to trained personnel (Community-Based Drinking Water Quality Monitor or an Environmental Public Health Officer) to sample and test drinking water quality at the tap. As a result of enhanced capacity, First Nations' and ISC's ability to detect potential problems sooner has improved.
• The Circuit Rider Training Program has improved the capacity of First Nations community water and wastewater operators to effectively operate and maintain their water and wastewater systems. There are 68 Circuit Rider Trainers employed through the program, supporting more than 700 system operators in 505 participating First Nation communities.
• The percentage of public drinking water systems on-reserve with primary operators certified to the level of the system increased from 69% in 2016–17 to 74% in 2019–20.
• The percentage of public wastewater systems on-reserve with primary operators certified to the level of the wastewater system increased from 59% in 2016–17 to 60% in 2019–20.

Legislation, Engagement and Regulations

• ISC has been co-developing, with First Nations, work on the legislation to repeal and replace the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act. Additional support was required for this work, leading to the formation of the Legislation, Engagement and Regulations Directorate in July 2022.
• Over the next 18 months, ISC will be responsible for the co-development of legislation, leading engagements with First Nations and provinces and territories, undertaking consultations with Indigenous groups, carrying out research and data analysis, coordinating internal consultations, and reporting on engagement activities.

About the Initiative

• The 2020 Fall Economic Statement allocated $25.9 million over two years ($20.8 million excluding funding for operating expenses), starting in 2021–22, to support the co-development of distinctions-based critical infrastructure plans with Indigenous partners.
• Since this announcement, ISC has been working with the Assembly of First Nations to quantify the infrastructure gap within First Nations communities and with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which is working with the four regional land claim organizations, to quantify the infrastructure gap in Inuit Nunangat. ISC is also working with Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to determine the infrastructure gap among Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations and the Métis Nations (via engagements with the Métis Nation of Canada and the Manitoba Métis Federation).
• Complementary efforts are underway to develop policy options that will propose transformative, holistic approaches to fund community infrastructure needs on- reserve. Given the implications for how ISC funds Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, ISC is engaging with CIRNAC on the grant mechanism currently used to flow funding to Inuit for infrastructure and housing, and is exploring avenues that align with proposed Self-Governing and Modern Treaty approaches. This includes an initial focus on annualized lifecycle asset management for existing infrastructure assets, and subsequently, a portfolio-based approach for new and emerging infrastructure.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC will bring forward policy options that will set the stage for Indigenous self- determined infrastructure service delivery by shifting towards long-term, predictable, sustainable and adequate funding. This will consider seeking authorities that would enable the Minister of ISC to establish flexible multi-year granting mechanisms (aligning with or built into the New Fiscal Relationship grant) that collapse the distinctions between O&M, Minor and Major capital funding. The intent is to move away from an asset-based project model to an investment model whereby communities determine what and when infrastructure is built.
• The mechanism used would also feature opportunities for monetization, through a trust/endowment fund capability. While it is appreciated this approach may be more targeted to higher capacity communities, it is anticipated a separate grant mechanism focusing solely on enhancing human capacity (people, policy/planning, professional development) will be available through a basic application process to all First Nations communities and a proposal-based approach for aggregates.
• Lastly, ISC will seek authority for a single-window mechanism to support a whole-of-government approach to infrastructure investment (e.g. whereby a singular funding model can be used to support infrastructure investment in communities).

Forecasted Results and Outcomes

• Targeted collection of data from First Nations and emerging communities will support a comprehensive Budget 2023 infrastructure ask and begin to define the work required to validate and comprehensively understand the issues that communities have identified within their infrastructure plans.
• The data collected will help assess the state of existing infrastructure (to help define ongoing O&M needs) as well as new and emerging infrastructure needs as identified by First Nations and emerging communities (which may, or may not currently be funded by ISC or the federal government), and human capacity needs (people, policy/planning and professional development) in relation to community infrastructure.
• Initially, reforms will seek to dismantle internal program silos. Subsequently, reforms will seek to create horizontal T's&C's to enhance the coordination of infrastructure funding managed by other government departments through a single-window approach and maximize federal investments towards shared priorities. All proposed efforts would seek to create a more holistic approach that enhances self- determination and better enable communities to make decisions related to infrastructure expenditures.

Key Milestones

• Budget 2023 submission.
• Seek authorities for proposed policy reforms in fall 2022
• Engagement on proposed implementation once authorities secured.

About the Service

• ISC provides, on average, $149.5 million annually in contribution funding to improve First Nations on-reserve housing. This funding is on top of time-limited targeted funding announced in Budgets.
• Budget 2021 allocated $596 million, over three years (2021-22 to 2023-24), and Budget 2022 committed $2.4 billion over five years (2022-23 to 2026-27) for housing for First Nations on-reserve.
• First Nations can use these funds to build and renovate houses, and contribute towards costs, such as maintenance, mold remediation, insurance, debt servicing, and the planning and management of a housing portfolio.
• Funding for more and better quality housing in First Nation communities is provided in most of Canada, through the First Nations On-Reserve Housing Program. ISC's Housing Support Program (formerly known as the New Approach for Housing Support program) in British Columbia supports First Nations to better and more effectively leverage funding, develop housing plans and policies, and manage housing in their communities.
• ISC and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation play complementary roles in addressing housing needs on-reserve. ISC provides funding directed towards capital infrastructure as well as loan guarantees, while the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation focuses on targeted programs for social housing, renovations and capacity building. The two organizations work closely together on issues related to First Nations housing on-reserve.
• According to a study undertaken by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD), 55,300 new homes and repairs to a further 80,600 homes are currently needed in First Nations on reserve communities, at an estimated cost of $22.7 billion. The AFN and IFSD estimate that, factoring in migration (of First Nations member to their home communities) and population growth, an additional 131,000 homes (estimated at $36.7 billion) will be required by 2040.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC is providing First Nations with funding for new housing projects on-reserve that support First Nations capacity to address their immediate housing needs as well as innovative solutions, including pilot projects.
• ISC is working with First Nations and federal partners towards the co-development and implementation of the First Nations Housing and Related Infrastructure Strategy.
• First Nations have led the co-development of a National First Nations Housing Strategy to ensure housing reform is reflective of their needs, endorsed by the Special Chiefs Assembly on December 5, 2018. The Assembly of First Nations, ISC and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation meet regularly to advance the national strategy and plan for its implementation. Recently, the Assembly of First Nations undertook a skills and capacity needs environmental scan, for which results will soon be available.
• The most recent federal budget included additional distinctions-based investments of $4 billion over seven years, starting in 2022-23 to support housing in Indigenous communities. This includes $2.4 billion over five years for housing on-reserve, the majority of which will support the construction, renovation and retrofit of homes on reserve, as well as lot servicing and subdivision development. It also includes support for energy-efficient housing options as well as options to support climate mitigation and adaptation.
• On June 23, the Funding for First Nations On-Reserve Housing, Water and Community Infrastructure Health and Safety Treasury Board submission was approved. The allocation of $888 million in Budget 2022 Housing Gaps B-base funding for three years, starting in 2022–23, toward investments to address pressing housing needs was approved by the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Regional Operations.
• The funding is allocated to the regional offices, who will work with communities to identify priority projects. On June 30, housing allocations for the full three years including 2022–23 were communicated to regions, who are now reviewing projects and proposals that were submitted for funding and preparing communications for communities to confirm funding amounts.
• The regional plans for this funding are currently being finalized and are expected by August 2. In summary, the current status of the allocation of funding includes:
  • In 2022-23, the total housing budget (A-Base and B-Base) is $538.3 million, compared to $398.3 million in 2021-22, for an increase of approximately $140 million from the previous year, or 35%.
  • The total funding in agreements (Actuals + Hard Commitment) as at July 18, 2022, is $138.7 million compared to $91 million in 2021-22, for an increase of $47 million from the previous year, or 52%.
• Through Budget 2022, ISC is introducing a housing management subsidy for First Nations, which will include a base amount to each First Nation to subsidize the salary of a First Nations housing professional. This support is expected to enhance First Nations capacity to manage housing stock as well as to identify potential funding sources, develop proposals and manage the influx of funding over the five- year period covered by Budget 2022.
• Further, Budget 2022 includes support to the Aboriginal Savings Corporation of Canada and National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association for the establishment of a network of Indigenous Financial Intermediaries. This initiative will support First Nations to update housing systems on reserve in order to facilitate homeownership and access to new financing options.
• The Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative, launched in 2019, is a five-year, $40 million initiative, to support new solutions for Indigenous housing from those most familiar with the issues – Indigenous individuals or organizations.
• The Initiative supports innovative housing projects on- and off-reserve, in rural, urban or remote areas. The Initiative is led by a six-member Indigenous Steering Committee comprised of accomplished Indigenous professionals with relevant expertise. It is administered by a partner Indigenous organization with policy support from ISC.
• As of July 2022, 17 of the 24 projects have completed the accelerator phase, where projects were supported to develop their ideas into fully implementable proposals and three projects are completed. Many of these projects have used the limited ISC funding to leverage significant other funding and advance housing projects that would not have otherwise happened.

Results and Outcomes

• As of March 2022, through targeted investments, ISC had funded 3,294 First Nations housing projects that are underway or completed, benefitting more than 611 First Nation communities. These projects include 12,847 homes and 1,649 lots serviced.

About the Service

• ISC's enabling legislation includes "the gradual transfer of departmental responsibilities to Indigenous organizations."
• ISC has the authority to fund First Nations representative organizations for engagement on business and/or service delivery models. First Nations organizations are funded to conduct engagements with their member communities, Tribal Councils and others; the engagement discussions and outcomes will guide the development of all aspects of their respective housing and/or infrastructure institutions and determine community interest.
• Models do not need to reflect current ISC programs and services; First Nations- led organizations will determine the slate of programs/services that they wish to assume responsibility over based on their needs and aspirations. This is to be determined by First Nations partner organizations, and the work follows the pace of First Nations; ISC recognizes that there are diverse communities with diverse needs, priorities and approaches, including for the management of infrastructure.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC has begun working with mandated Indigenous organizations, by providing them with funding to develop service delivery models and scopes of services for their First Nations-led housing and infrastructure organizations. This work includes engagements with First Nation communities, operators, technical experts, and leadership on the feasibility, and details of new housing and infrastructure service delivery models.
• Where organizations have received clear mandates from communities and leadership, and wish to explore the development of institutions or aggregates, funding has also been provided to stand up the service delivery organization, also referred to as institution building.
• Institution building includes work to hire staff and build capacity, along with developing detailed, long-term business plans that identify resources required to deliver housing and infrastructure services and close the infrastructure gap on-reserve.

Key Milestones

• In fiscal year 2019–20, ISC developed a framework to negotiate the transfer of housing and infrastructure service delivery to First Nations institutions or aggregates with sufficient flexibility to accommodate a wide range of potential institutions and service delivery models. As a result, two Framework Agreements were signed in fiscal year 2020-21 involving the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority for the transfer of water and wastewater services; and the First Nations Capital and Infrastructure Agency of Saskatchewan for the transfer of housing and related infrastructure.
• In April 2022, Budget 2022 announced $173.2 million over ten years (2022-23 to 2031-32) to support the implementation of a Service Delivery Transfer Agreement with the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority. The Water Authority will control, operate, and maintain water and wastewater systems on reserve in up to 17 First Nations communities in the Atlantic Region. This long-term, sustainable funding will support the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority to deliver high-quality water and wastewater services to participating First Nations.

Results and Outcomes

• Currently, ISC is collaborating with 11 First Nations partners on the design of opt-in service delivery models to support the transfer process of housing and infrastructure services. The following organizations have been supported to engage member communities and refine their respective service delivery models: the First Nations Housing and Infrastructure Council of British Columbia; the First Nations Technical Services Advisory Group of Alberta; the Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council; the First Nations Capital and Infrastructure Agency of Saskatchewan; the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Land Technicians INC.; the Southern Chiefs' Organization of Manitoba; the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority; the Confederation of Mainland Mi'kmaq; the North Shore Mi'kmaq District Council; the Union of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq; and the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs. It is anticipated that additional groups may come forward in Ontario and Quebec to explore housing and infrastructure services transfer as well.
• ISC is also collaborating with 2 First Nations-led organizations, First Nations Infrastructure Institute; and the First Nations Financial Management Board, who will support transfer through capacity building for program and project delivery, life cycle management of assets, and financial oversight.

About the Service

• Other Community Infrastructure is an integral part of every community. It connects people with basic services and ensures that housing, water and wastewater, schools and solid waste management infrastructure can efficiently serve the community. It is a key factor in the social and economic well-being of communities and makes communities more sustainable and resilient to natural hazardous events.
• Through the First Nation Infrastructure Fund, the Department funds eight types of Other Community Infrastructure: roads and bridges, connectivity, cultural and recreational facilities, fire protection, energy systems, planning and skills, structural mitigation, and band administrative buildings.
• Annually there is about $190M of targeted funding available through multiple budgets for these critical infrastructure categories, as a result it is the least funded of the infrastructure assets within ISC. Funding is pooled from various sources to provide greater fiscal impact, including Infrastructure Canada programs.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• The connectivity, structural mitigation and energy sub assets will be discussed in cards #7 and #11 respectfully.
• ISC is collaborating with First Nations and other stakeholders to build, repair, upgrade and maintain roads and bridges to ensure lasting and positive outcomes that reach beyond the roads themselves and that allow communities to fully realize the benefits of other infrastructure projects. While these are critical and vital for health and safety, economic opportunities, their large price tag presents a challenge to fund significant projects with the limited budget under other community infrastructure portfolio.
• RO monitors and financially supports the construction, operation, and maintenance of 5 800 kilometers of winter roads to 54 communities. ISC also supports transportation costs to fly in goods, including fuel, to communities when winter roads fail. When possible, ISC invests in winter road realignments and bridge construction with the objective of maintaining and potentially increasing the length of the winter road season.
• Fire protection is vital to communities. Working with emergency management to prevent and mitigate the impacts of fire is vital. RO is also Co-developing a renewed fire protection strategy with the Assembly of First Nations.
• Leading the departmental participation for the Green Bonds initiative, in collaboration with Finance Canada.
• While funding is available for both cultural and recreation facilities and band administration buildings these projects are very seldom funded, unless there is fenced funding for these projects.
• Examples of ongoing projects include:
  • ISC is working with the Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation and the province of Saskatchewan to build, in three phases, an all-season road that provides year-round access to Hatchet Lake and the provincial hamlet of Wollaston Lake.

Results and Outcomes

• Since 2016 and as of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested more than $1.1 billion in targeted funds to support 1,384 Other Community Infrastructure projects, 869 of which have been completed.
• This includes:
  • As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested $385.3 million of targeted funds (excluding operating expenses) to support 261 Roads and Bridges projects, 169 of which are complete. These projects will benefit 187 communities serving approximately 210,000 people.
  • As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested $77.1 million (excluding operating expenses) to support 216 Fire Protection projects, 151 of which are complete. These projects will benefit 257 communities serving approximately 267,000 people.
  • As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested more than $101 million of targeted funds (excluding operating expenses) to support 252 Culture and Recreation projects, 232 of which are complete. These projects will benefit 202 communities serving approximately 202,000 people.
  • As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested $2.9 million (excluding operating expenses) to support three ongoing Band Administrative Buildings projects. These projects will benefit three communities serving approximately 2,000 people.

About the Service

• Access to reliable high-speed internet is an essential tool for all Canadians, including First Nations. Increased internet speeds will provide significant improvements in how First Nations participate in the modern digital economy, will allow for the effective operation and maintenance of vital community infrastructure, and will enhance the delivery of important socio-economic services, such as healthcare, education, and emergency and public safety services.
• First Nations remain some of the most underserved communities in Canada. According to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission's most recent publication of data on broadband Internet service availability, only 39 percent of First Nation households meet the universal service objective (50/10 Mbps ) in contrast to approximately 99 percent of urban and 54 percent of rural Canadian households.
• The National Connectivity Strategy (Budget 2019) has set a target of 100% access for all Canadians to broadband internet by 2030 and underscores the importance of coordination to maximize the impact of federal funds. A key component of the strategy is the Universal Broadband Fund ($2.75B) which is managed by Innovation, Science, Economic Development Canada. This fund includes specific funding of up to $50 million to support mobile internet projects that primarily benefit Indigenous communities. One such mobile project is along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, also known as the "Highway of Tears".
• ISC's First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF) provides funding to improve the quality of life and the environment for First Nation communities by addressing the long-standing infrastructure gaps on reserves in eight project categories, including connectivity.
• While connectivity projects are eligible for funding from the First Nation Infrastructure Fund, they receive a limited share of funding due to competition from other infrastructure project priorities.
• Indigenous Services Canada is committed to helping First Nations communities bridge the digital divide by working with its federal partners to ensure communities receive access to high-speed Internet that meets or exceeds the universal service objective.
• Key challenges for ISC Connectivity projects:
  • While connectivity projects are eligible under the First Nation Infrastructure Fund, it also supports other foundational community infrastructure priorities. There is currently no targeted funding dedicated for connectivity projects.
  • Newer technologies such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) may allow remote communities, up to a certain latitude, to get high speed internet through satellite rather than through fibre. There are limitations to LEO, however, including rental costs per household to purchase the satellite-receiver equipment and access the service on a monthly basis. Moreover, the current terms and conditions under CFMP/FNIF do not allow ISC to fund the purchase of satellite receiver equipment for households.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Working towards the national target for universal broadband access by 2030 set out in Canada's National Connectivity Strategy, in collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
• Examples of ongoing projects include:
  • High speed Internet Access for Fly-In Communities in Ontario; A joint investment between Innovation, Science, Economic Development (ISED, Energy, Northern Development and Mines Ontario and Indigenous Services Canada will bring high speed Internet access to five fly-in Matawa First Nations communities in Northern Ontario. The 880-kilometer broadband fiber-optic cable network will replace unreliable satellite connections and resolve long standing Internet issues for Nibinamik, Neskantaga, Eabametoong, Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations. ISC contributed $2.1 million for the project design.
  • Internet for BC coastal communities; The Connected Coast Project will construct a new fiber-optic network consisting of a subsea cable along the coast of British Columbia, from Prince Rupert to Vancouver and loop around Vancouver Island, serving as many as 196 rural and remote British Columbia communities including 44 First Nations. The project is co-funded by ISED's Connect to Innovate program, ISC and the Province of British Columbia
  • ISC is also supporting Peerless Trout First Nation, Alberta, in the construction of two towers and facilities in order to expand cellular wireless mobility. Cellular 3G/4G/LTE mobility coverage will be available in the residential areas of Peerless Trout First Nation, Peerless Lake, and Trout Lake, and on Highway 686.

Results and Outcomes

• As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested over $79.6 million of targeted funds (excluding operating expenses) to support 41 Connectivity projects, twenty-six of which are complete. These projects will benefit 285 communities, serving approximately 297,000 people.

About the Service

• Investments in School Facilities support the creation of quality learning environments that are safe and healthy, promoting better educational outcomes for students living on reserves. These investments include new constructions as well as additions, renovations and major repairs to existing schools in First Nations communities
• Out of approximately 448 existing schools on-reserves, 181 (40%) have been assessed to be in fair or poor condition, requiring imminent renovations, additions or replacement. The main objective in funding education facilities is to support the creation of quality learning environments that are safe and healthy - promoting better educational outcomes for First Nations students living on-reserve.
• Adding a new school or schools to a community often require upgrades to vital services within communities, such as roads, electricity, connectivity and water, which often increases the cost of the project. In addition, remote communities often require teacherages to house teachers that need to come from outside of the communities to work within the schools.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Funding for the school portfolio was announced in Budget 21 for four years. This funding renewed the sunsetted Budget 14 and Budget 16 funding. While this is welcome funding and allows for progress on this vital piece of infrastructure, market conditions, labour shortages, supply chain issues and inflation have had a major impact on this piece of infrastructure. This has resulted in large increases to these projects and tenders coming back much higher than anticipated, limiting the amount of infrastructure that can be built.
• ISC provides investments in new construction, major additions, renovations and major repairs to schools in First Nation communities. There are three ongoing school projects being delivered through an innovative approach (bundling school projects together with multiple communities), which allows community members to play a hands-on role in all aspects of infrastructure project delivery, from design to construction. six projects delivered through this approach were completed in the last year.
• Bundling school infrastructure projects increases support for Indigenous enterprises and generates greater competitiveness to attract larger construction contracts, experienced consultants and construction firms.
  • ISC is working in collaboration with First Nations organizations to review existing school infrastructure policies to better reflect today's reality as part of the broader long-term strategy to improve First Nations' infrastructure across the country.

Results and Outcomes

• As of March 31, 2022, more than $1.53 billion of targeted funds have been invested, allowing the completion of 42 new schools built and 93 school renovations and upgrades. This investment also supports several other ongoing school-related infrastructure projects. The balance of the total $2.26 billion budget has been committed through to 2024–2025.
• Investments increase capacity of First Nation communities by providing them with the tools, training and support to maintain and operate education facilities.

About the Service

• In October 2021, ISC's Deputy Minister called on the Lands and Economic Development Sector to develop a departmental climate change strategy, in partnership with other sectors, regions and Indigenous partners. The Strategy will explore how ISC can better address Indigenous priorities on climate change and contribute to the federal climate agenda. Key themes for the Strategy will be supporting Indigenous community capacity and leadership on climate change; managing and mitigating against departmental vulnerability to climate change impacts; enhancing coordination and communication of data and information; and enhancing departmental governance and coordination on climate change.
• Numerous studies which indicate that it is more cost-effective to invest in climate change mitigation and preparedness efforts rather than to respond to emergencies when they occur. Public Safety Canada estimated that for every $1 invested in mitigation efforts, $7 to $10 can be saved in post-recovery costs.
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation have been identified as key priorities of Indigenous Partners (Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Métis National Council), as well as a Government-wide priority.
• ISC works with First Nations to increase high-risk communities' resilience to the impacts of climate change and provides direct funding for climate resilience through structural mitigation projects. Examples of climate change adaptation infrastructure projects include dikes, sea walls, natural infrastructure, fire breaks, and erosion-control measures.
• ISC also provides climate change mitigation funding to First Nation communities to support communities to transition to clean, renewable, and reliable energy systems. This includes energy efficiency and alternative energy projects.
• Various sectors within ISC play a role in climate change adaptation and mitigation, including Emergency Management, Lands and Economic Development, and First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. ISC RO works closely across ISC sectors and with other government departments to support climate adaptation and mitigation in indigenous communities.
• Although supporting climate resilient infrastructure on-reserves is a priority for ISC, there is limited funding dedicated to climate adaptation and mitigation. To support our partner communities in addressing the need for climate resilient infrastructure, ISC works with various government departments that provide funding to Indigenous recipients through a variety of programs, including:
  • Collaborating with Infrastructure Canada on the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, Canada's Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program and the delivery of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
  • Working with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada on the development of the National Adaptation Strategy.
  • Collaborating with other government departments and the Assembly of First Nations through the Joint Committee on Climate Action to advance climate change adaptation and mitigation measures for First Nations. ISC is also working on the development of a framework and the identification of the incremental costs to ensure measures that mitigate current and future risks from climate change are incorporated into on-reserve infrastructure lifecycle management.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• ISC is supporting First Nations to transition from fossil fuel to clean, reliable, and affordable energy systems through a combination of alternative energy projects featuring solar, hydroelectric, wind and others. ISC is also supporting communities to improve and optimize energy systems through upgrades and energy efficiency projects. There are currently 53 First Nations communities that are dependent on diesel for electricity within Canada (excluding the territories). In thirty-seven of these communities, ISC provides funds to ensure sufficient and reliable electricity. The remaining communities are served by provincial utilities. These diesel-dependent communities' range in size from less than 40 residents to over 2,500. RO is supporting First Nations to transition from fossil fuel to clean, reliable, and affordable energy systems through a combination of alternative energy projects featuring solar, hydroelectric, wind and others., in collaboration with Land and Economic Development, Natural Resources Canada, CIRNAC, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Infrastructure Canada.
• RO is also supporting communities to improve and optimize energy systems through upgrades and energy efficiency projects.
• The FNIF invests in infrastructure projects that modify hazards, including removing, reducing, or eliminating them, segregating hazards by keeping them away from people and assets, and altering the design and construction of assets to make them resilient to potential hazards.
• Some key projects are:
  • The Northern Ontario Grid Connection Project led by the Wataynikaneyap Power, will connect 16 First Nation communities located in remote northern Ontario to the provincial electricity grid, thereby ending their dependence on costly, emission-intensive diesel energy.
  • ISC is working with the Skwah First Nation, Shxwhá:y Village and the City of Chilliwack in British Columbia to build approximately six kilometers of dikes along the Fraser River to protect against flooding.

Results and Outcomes

• As of March 31, 2022, and since 2016, ISC has invested $121.1 million to support 102 infrastructure adaptation/structural mitigation projects. These projects will benefit 106 First Nation communities serving approximately 116,000 people.
• Since 2016, ISC has invested in energy projects to enable communities to transition away from diesel dependency and to improve energy efficiency within First Nation communities. Ongoing and completed projects include energy efficiency projects, such as lighting system upgrades, switching from fuel oil to natural gas, and alternative energy projects.
• As of March 31, 2022, ISC has invested $289.5 million of targeted funds (excluding operating expenses) to support 169 energy systems projects, 114 of which are complete. These projects will benefit 177 communities serving approximately 193,000 people.

Snapshot

Delivery of social programs for Indigenous Peoples is a shared undertaking among federal, provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous communities. The Government of Canada funds or directly provides services for First Nations (primarily on-reserve) and Inuit that supplement those provided by provinces and territories. Provincial and territorial governments are the key providers of services to Indigenous Peoples off-reserve (including status and non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis). Many Indigenous governments and communities are also involved in directing, managing and delivering a range of services to their members.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) funds the following key social services for Indigenous Peoples:

• Income Assistance provides individuals and their families living on-reserve and Status Indians living in Yukon with funds to cover essential needs, such as food, clothing and shelter (rent and utilities) and special needs (e.g., doctor-recommended diets), similar to provincial and Yukon income assistance programming. The program also provides funding for case management and pre-employment supports to help individuals transition towards employment or education.
• Child and Family Services agencies are established, managed and controlled by First Nations and delegated by provincial authorities to provide prevention and protection services. ISC funds those agencies under the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. In areas where these agencies do not exist, ISC funds services provided by provinces and the Yukon but does not deliver child and family services. These services are provided in accordance with the legislation and standards of the province or territory of residence. ISC uses a prevention-based funding model to support early intervention and alternatives to traditional institutional care and foster care, such as the placement of children with family members in a community setting.
• Family Violence Prevention Program supports Indigenous women, children, families, and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual people who are affected by gender-based violence through various violence prevention projects and access to a network of emergency shelters and transitional housing (second-stage) across Canada, including in the North and in urban centres.
• Assisted Living services include non-medical social supports through in-home care, adult foster care or group homes, and long-term care facilities for residents on-reserve.
• Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples provides organizations, such as Friendship Centres, with funding to offer culturally-appropriate services to Indigenous individuals living off-reserve or moving to an urban area.

Financial Overview

Context

Recent data indicates that approximately:

• 40% of on-reserve households were in the "low income" category in 2015, more than three times the off-reserve proportion (40.4% versus 12.6%).
• Approximately 303,000 Indigenous youth (under 15 Years) will be of age to enter the labour market in the next decade compared to 239,995 ten years earlier.
• In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, one in three entrants to the labour force will be Indigenous within the next 15 years.
• The urban and off-reserve Indigenous population is expected to remain one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian population. Currently, approximately 52% of the Indigenous population live in urban areas.
• In Canada, Indigenous children account for only 7.7% of the country's child population, but represent 52.2% of children in foster care (according to Census 2016).
• The number of Indigenous seniors is expected to double between 2016 and 2036, increasing in size from seven percent to 16% of the total Indigenous population 65 and over years.
• Sizable growth in the senior population has already been illustrated by growth in the Registered Indian senior population. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of Registered Indian seniors increased by 88.4%. Over the same time period, the number of Inuit seniors increased by 68.1%.

About the Service

• Assisted Living provides supports for low-income people with chronic illness or disabilities living on-reserve to help them receive services in their communities.
• First Nations organizations are funded to deliver services in-home, including meal preparation and housecleaning, and also provide supports for people living in long-term care homes.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Rates of disability and chronic illness are much higher in First Nation communities. This combined with a growing and aging population is driving significant increases in service demand. ISC is taking steps to develop a sustainable service model.
• A recent (2022) off cycle funding decision provided $172.7 million over three years to address significant funding pressures and ensure that Assisted Living Program clients can maintain their access to local and culturally appropriate services. A Treasury Board Submission is being drafted to access these funds.
• To better support First Nations and Inuit individuals living with chronic illnesses and disabilities, ISC began engaging with Indigenous partners and other stakeholders on how to improve long-term care in First Nation and Inuit communities.
• More recently, ISC received $10.1 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to expand the engagement to include Métis. ISC will be seeking policy authority to support an expanded distinctions-based engagement that includes engagement of Métis partners.
• This engagement process will help reach a shared understanding on how to support Indigenous communities in addressing the gaps and needs in the long-term care continuum, enabling individuals to remain in their communities, close to the support of family and friends, as they age or as their care needs change.

Key Milestones

• Activities for the First Nation and Inuit- led engagement are expected to conclude in Fall 2022, paving the way for co-development.
• Activities for the Métis engagement are expected to begin in Fall 2022 and continue until Fall 2023, when a co-development process with Métis partners will begin.

Results and Outcomes

• Assisted Living services are currently delivered to over 10,000 clients, connecting them to essential social support services.

About the Service

• Family Violence Prevention Program helps improve the safety and security of Indigenous women, children, families, and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual people through the provision of funding for violence prevention projects and funding the operations of a network of emergency shelters across Canada, including in the North and in urban centres.
• ISC also funds community-driven violence prevention initiatives, such as awareness raising, stress and anger management seminars and support groups.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• A recent (2022) off cycle funding decision provided $36.0 million over six years and $6.0 million ongoing to fund more Indigenous-led culturally relevant services and programming provided by shelters, Indigenous organizations, and communities aimed at preventing family violence. A Treasury Board Submission is being drafted to access these funds. The Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative is a joint initiative between Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada and supports the construction of a minimum of 38 shelters and 50 transitional homes across Canada. This includes in urban areas and the North. It is focused on Indigenous women, children, and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual people escaping violence.
• The Family Violence Prevention Program's annual Call for Proposals will launch in late August or early September for violence prevention activities that focus on First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban or 2SLGBTQQIA+ people facing gender-based violence. This may include, but is not limited to:
  • enhanced wrap-around services
  • case management
  • programs to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation
  • culturally appropriate mental health and addiction supports
  • public outreach and awareness
  • conferences and workshops
  • stress and anger management seminars
  • support groups
  • community needs assessments
• Proposals can range from short term activities with a smaller budget (such as $50,000 for one year) to a multi-year project requiring a larger amount of funding due to the nature and scope of proposed activities.

Key Milestones

• Through the 2020 Shelter Initiative for Indigenous Women and Children, the construction and funding for 12 new emergency shelters was announced in summer 2021.
• In November 2021, a call for proposals was launched via the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative to fund the construction (led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) and provide ongoing operational support (led by ISC) to at least 38 new emergency shelters and at least 50 transitional (second stage) housing across Canada, including in the North and in urban centres. The Selection Committee has put forward their recommendations of selected projects from the first round that is currently pending approval from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and ISC. An announcement of the results is expected in August or September.
• The 2021-2022 Call for Proposal provided funding to support community-driven violence prevention projects, including:
  • Mental Health supports for Indigenous women, men, children, youth, families, 2SLGBTQQIA+ who are at significant risk or have experienced family violence or sexual exploitation;
  • Training to support employment pathways; and
  • Engaging men and boys to address sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+.

Results and Outcomes

• The program provides financial support for culturally-appropriate violence prevention projects across Canada, such as public awareness campaigns, stress and anger management support groups, and community needs assessments.
• The program provides annual core funding to the National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence to act as a national coordinator by supporting shelters and their staff through training forums, prevention activities, research and collaboration with key partners.
• Funding is also provided to Métis organizations to support engagement and community prevention projects that raise awareness specific to Métis women, girls, and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual people.
• The program supports the Moose Hide Campaign for activities that engage men and boys to take action against violence toward Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and/or asexual people.

About the Service

• ISC funds First Nations and First Nations organizations to provide income assistance to eligible individuals and families who are resident on-reserve or Status Indians living in Yukon.
• Income assistance funds living expenses, such as food, clothing, rent, utilities, and essential household items.
• Case management supports are also provided to help individuals move into employment or education.
• The On-Reserve Income Assistance Program operates alongside other support programs available on reserve, such as the Canada Child Benefit (Canada Revenue Agency) and the Old Age Security (Education and Social Development Canada), but administered by other government departments.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Income Assistance is currently undergoing program reform, following the completion of a two-year First Nations-led, regionally specific engagement process (2018-2020), in order to make the program more responsive to the needs of individuals and families living on reserve.
• Since 2021, the Department has been working with the Assembly of First Nations and other First Nation partners to co-develop policy options and ensure that their voices and perspectives are directly present in policy decision-making.
• The Department will continue to collaborate with First Nation partners to develop and cost policy options with the intention of returning to Cabinet with a needs based program in Fall 2022 and seek funding through Budget 2023.

Key Milestones

• Collaborate with First Nation partners on the development of options for reform of the Income Assistance program for Fall Cabinet decision and Budget 2023.

Results and Outcomes

• In 2018–2019, income assistance supports were provided to 72,809 clients and their dependents (131,793 people in total).
• In 2018–2019, case management supports were delivered in 157 First Nation communities.
• Case management and pre-employment supports have had a positive impact on individual's long-term health and social well-being. While a direct or causal link cannot be established, since the introduction of these supports in 2013, on-reserve dependency on Income Assistance has decreased from 34.0% in 2011-2012 to 27.7% in 2018-2019.
• In 2018-2019, more than 5,400 clients received case management supports and approximately 1,900 exited Income Assistance (50% exited to employment, 12% exited to education, and 38% exited for other reasons).

About the Service

• Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples is designed to assist First Nations (Status and non-Status), Inuit, and Métis living in or transitioning to urban centres. Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples provides funding to organizations to help meet the needs of urban Indigenous Peoples and to address challenges faced by the most at-risk community members.
• Between 2017-2022, Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples provided $51.2 million in grants and contributions annually:
  • $23.7 million per year received through Budget 2017; and
  • $27.5 million per year in annual grants and contributions funding for the former Urban Aboriginal Strategy.
• In addition, Budget 2019 provided $60 million over five years (2020-2025) to support a new Infrastructure stream, which provides infrastructure investments for Friendship Centres and other Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples recipients. Through Budget 2021, the urban component of the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund provided $200 million over three years (2022-2023 to 2024-2025) to support investments in major and minor infrastructure projects for all urban and rural Indigenous service delivery organizations.
• Through an off-cycle funding decision, Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples was approved for a total of $101.1 million over three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) to support programming for urban Indigenous peoples. With this new funding, approximately $60.5 million in grants and contributions funding (not including urban infrastructure) will be available annually over the next three years, when combined with the Program's ongoing funding of $27.5 million.
• Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples consists of five funding streams: organizational capacity; programs and services; coalitions; research and innovation; and infrastructure.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• Infrastructure: In March 2022, as a result of the call for major infrastructure proposals under the infrastructure stream of Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples, 17 major and two minor infrastructure projects were approved for a total of $35.1 million in funding. All remaining minor and major infrastructure proposals were placed on hold to be considered for 2022-2023 funding through the urban component of the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund. In July 2022, five additional major infrastructure proposals were approved for a total of $48.4 million of funding. Additional projects will continue to be recommended for 2022-2023 funding. An open call for proposals will be launched in fall 2022 for which all urban and rural Indigenous service delivery organizations will be eligible. New and on-hold proposals will be assessed to determine funding recommendations for 2023-2024.
• Program Renewal: A Treasury Board Submission is currently being developed to access the funds provided through the off-cycle funding decision.

Key Milestones

• Supporting minor infrastructure investments (under $1 million) in essential health and safety and energy efficiency renovations (from fall 2019).
• Supporting major capital infrastructure investments (over $1 million) through the Urban Indigenous Capital Funding stream (from 2020 onwards).

Results and Outcomes

About the Service

• Budget 2021 announced $103.8 million over five years, beginning in 2021-2022, for a new Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative to support Indigenous communities to develop more holistic community-based safety and wellness models, recognizing gaps in the current suite of programming offered by Public Safety Canada.
• The program funds community safety and wellbeing projects for Indigenous communities, women, children, and families across Canada – including First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban, and Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual + (2SLGBTQQIA+) people.
• The Pathways Initiative supports Indigenous-designed interventions and Indigenous definitions of safe, secure and resilient communities, and will allow for greater community control, innovation and alternative approaches that recognize the importance of traditional knowledge and practices, as well as a role for professionals, other than law enforcement, in contributing to greater community safety and well-being.
• The Pathways Initiative does not support enforcement activities nor provide funding to policing bodies. Several proposals have been submitted to the Pathways Initiative seeking support for peacekeeping activities, which closely resemble Public Safety's Community Safety Officer program. ISC is working to more clearly communicate the Pathways Initiative program parameters. The identification and communication of funding priority areas for future fiscal years is being considered, and would provide additional clarity around the program scope and authorities.

Financial Profile

• Expenditures in fiscal year 2021-2022 were $1.5 million. A re-profile request was submitted to carry forward $8.7 million in unspent funds for allocation in 2022-2023.
• To date, 17 proposals have been approved for funding, including 11 projects totaling $5.2 million in 2022-2023 and 6 proposals totaling $1.5 million in 2021-2022.

Top Key Current Files or Projects

• To maximize accessibility, the Pathways Initiative has an open and ongoing call for proposals. Recommendations for funding take into consideration factors such as geographical and distinctions-based distribution. ISC regions and Public Safety Canada are consulted during the assessment process.
• The approved proposals originate from 6 different provinces and territories and, when implemented, will provide community safety and well-being support to 14 First Nations, one Inuit women's representative organization, and two urban Indigenous organizations. The scope of projects ranges from research projects and the establishment of networks to address missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, to community liaison officers to enhance the safety of communities and land based healing initiatives.
• Efforts are currently underway to review and recommend up to 16 additional proposals for approval in the second quarter of this fiscal year. Efforts are also underway to formally establish a project review committee for all subsequent rounds of project evaluations.
• ISC is currently working with Public Safety Canada on a strategic framework for collaboration in order to more cohesively support Indigenous communities in addressing safety and wellness concerns. The collaboration will support the delivery and development of culturally relevant and community-led safety solutions and well- being initiatives. Providing wrap-around support to foster community safety and to strategize the pooling of local resources leads to effective, long-lasting, holistic service delivery and safety solutions.
• ISC is supporting Public Safety in their work with First Nations partners to co- develop a legislative framework for First Nations policing, as well as engaging with Inuit and Métis on policing matters. The creation of the Pathways Initiative was intended to allow space for innovation that could potentially inform future statutory funding or other program/funding models, while this work is underway.

Results and Outcomes

• The Pathways Initiative supports the self-determination of Indigenous communities to design community safety and wellbeing interventions that suit their needs.
• The program design aligns with the Government of Canada's priority to advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and supports Call for Justice 5.4 of the National Inquiry into MMIWG by providing support for the self-determination of Indigenous communities to design community safety and wellbeing interventions that suit their needs.
• The Pathways Initiative supports Calls for Miskotahâ 23 and 62 by assisting Métis communities and partners to implement Indigenous designed programs, interventions and services to improve community safety and well-being. It will also specifically support programs, services and interventions that address existing and emerging needs relating to the safety and well-being of Indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People.