Minister of Indigenous Services completes inaugural visit to First Nations communities in British Columbia

This week in her first visit to British Columbia as Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Patty Hajdu was able to meet with a number of First Nations leaders and communities impacted by the events of 2021 to discuss shared priorities, challenges faced by recent events and emergencies, and the ongoing supports required in the months ahead.

Minister Hajdu and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) would like to recognize the resilience and strength of First Nations leadership and emergency services teams in the region for their work over the past months. She also offered her ongoing support for communities and survivors of residential schools as the identifying of unmarked graves furthers the intergenerational trauma of these institutions. 

On February 23, Minister Hajdu travelled to Kamloops and met with Chief Willie Sellars of Williams Lake First Nation and conveyed the Government of Canada’s condolences on the identification of potential burial sites at the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School. 

Minister Hajdu delivered a virtual address to Chiefs attending the Union of BC Indian Chiefs’ Meeting. In her remarks, she recognized the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, climate change and the opioid crisis on First Nations and confirmed Canada’s commitment to continue to work with them in addressing these emergencies. 

She met with the First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) and First Nations Leadership Council to discussed shared concerns and priorities, and confirmed an additional $5.7 million in supports from ISC’s Emergency Management Assistance Program for the 2022–23 fiscal year. This funding is in addition to the $6.2 million provided to the Society since last summer to help support First Nations in their response and recovery efforts.

Minister Hajdu was also welcomed by Kúkpi7 Roseanne Casimir and the council of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc to their community. They discussed a number of priorities, including housing, economic development, mental health supports, food sovereignty and the importance of protecting the sacred sites of unmarked graves of children who never returned home.

On February 24, Minister Hajdu met with Chief Marcel Shackelly of the Nooaitch Indian Band to discuss the impact of flooding on his community, as well as recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Later that day, she met with Chief Christine Minnabarriet of Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, Chief Arnold Lampreau of Shackan Indian Band and Chief Lee Spahan of Coldwater Indian Band. She was given an aerial tour of their communities, which were significantly impacted by the devastating floods last November. She was able to see first hand the widespread damage done to infrastructure and the environment. 

First Nations in British Columbia have endured unprecedented compounding emergencies in the past year: flooding and forest fires, the opioid crisis, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, communities continue to endure the traumatic effects of residential schools as they identify the location of unmarked graves. 

ISC and the Government of Canada will continue to work in partnership with First Nations leadership and emergency services as they support their communities and residents through these challenging events, and in their priorities for the months ahead.

Quotes

“Thank you to First Nations in British Columbia for the warm welcome and reception in your territories. I lift up my hands to the Chiefs, Councils and First Nations emergency services teams for their extraordinary efforts throughout the past year dealing with unprecedented and compounding emergencies. I was very moved by the conversations with Survivors and community leaders about the recent discoveries at the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School and Kamloops Residential School and recognize the grief, trauma and pain those discoveries have caused. Our government remains committed to our partnership to support you and your communities through these challenging times.” 

The Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Indigenous Services

Quick facts

• In December 2021, the Government of Canada committed $5 billion to support British Columbia in its recovery from natural disasters.
• In British Columbia, ISC has a service agreement with Emergency Management British Columbia to provide emergency management services on reserves that are comparable to those available to other BC communities. The department reimburses First Nations, as well as provinces, territories and authorized third-party emergency service providers, 100% of eligible response and recovery costs, including evacuation costs.
• A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on emergency management services with the First Nations Leadership Council, the Province of British Columbia and ISC also sets the stage for a trilateral approach. These agreements underpin ongoing discussions among partners on how to better support First Nations during emergencies and include FNESS in emergency response platforms.
• To date, CIRNAC’s Residential Schools Missing Children – Community Support Funding has approved sixty-five applications related to research, knowledge gathering, commemoration, memorialization and field work investigation of residential schools, totalling just over $73.8 million. Of these approved funding applications, 14 are community-based initiatives in British Columbia.