Saskatoon Tribal Council Signs Child and Family Services Agreement Worth $269 Million over Seven Years
In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Saskatoon Tribal Council Tribal Chief Mark Arcand and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty signed a child and family services agreement named Māmowōhkamātowin, Cree for "working together," on Treaty 6 Territory on October 7. It is the first regional agreement of its kind in Canada outside Ontario.
Under the agreement, the federal government will provide $269 million over seven years for child, family and youth services across the council's seven member First Nations, with most of the funding flowing directly to the Nations and the rest supporting the family service agency's operations and capacity.
The seven member Nations are the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Muskoday First Nation, Mistawasis Nêhiyawak, One Arrow First Nation, Whitecap Dakota Nation and Yellow Quill First Nation. The deal moves more decision-making over child and family services to the Nations themselves, supporting prevention services, housing and post-majority supports for young adults.
Indigenous Services Canada says regional agreements of this kind let First Nations design services under their own laws and cultures, as part of the federal transfer of child-welfare jurisdiction.
Source: Indigenous Services Canada
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 萨斯喀彻温省萨斯卡通市天际线。/ The Saskatoon skyline in Saskatchewan. (Photo: EriedgenArc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
