Marcel Painchaud
Memorial at Oakville Museum for the 215 Indigenous children
On July 31, the Ontario government announced $7.1 million in funding to support Indigenous communities in the province, in response to calls from the community to provide further support for those involved or impacted by the fallout of residential schools throughout generations.
The Indian Residential School Community Engagement Fund (IRSCEF) is a new application-based funding stream under the Support for Indian Residential School Burials program.
This funding is designed to be Indigenous-led, Survivor-centred and culturally sensitive, and as flexible as possible in responding to and supporting Survivors' initiatives.
This funding is to be used in addition to earlier projects that investigate potential burial sites due to the thousands of children being forced to attend residential schools.
Since the shocking discovery of unmarked graves in and around former residential schools, many have been re-traumatized and now seek assistance from different levels of government to investigate areas that may contain unmarked graves of the children who attended these schools but never returned home.
Specifically, this fund is to assist with community engagement, mental health and addictions support, research activities, public education and awareness, staffing supports and commemoration initiatives.
"Ontario has heard from Indigenous partners and leadership that more support is needed for the broader network of communities and organizations involved in or impacted by investigations at Indian Residential School sites," said Greg Rickford, minister of Indigenous affairs.
"Our government is directly responding to Indigenous feedback, and the IRSCEF will allow us to fund Indigenous-led and survivor-centred programs and services that are flexible and respond to the needs of survivors and their families."
Gabriel Dalton - Unsplash
Truth & Reconciliation for past residential school trauma continues after the discovery of unmarked graves.
While everyone agrees that funding to address residential school trauma is important, questions about who will receive this money, for how long and whether or not this announcement might be intended to assuage concerns that some have with the Ring of Fire development in northern Ontario remain unanswered.
Angela Bellegarde of Tapwewin Indigenous Insights commented upon reading the announcement, "I wonder how much 'consultation' there was and with whom the government consulted. If they had, they would realize that this needs more than a one-year solution."
"The trauma exposed through residential schools is intergenerational. This is not 'history'. It's still living and affecting lives three and four generations later. This is something that all levels of government and all Canadians need to address. Reconciliation is something we all need to work towards."
Stephen Paquette, a long-time advisor to the Halton District School Board on Indigenous rights, education and knowledge, said, "When we look at the $7.1 million allocated to this initiative, and we consider there are 133 First Nations communities in Ontario, that amounts to approximately $53.000 per community."
"We also have to take into account there are many urban Indigenous communities and agencies which, if they are eligible for funding, further reduces that amount. Long-term funding is what is required."
Applications can be submitted through the Ontario government's Transfer Payment Ontario website until Tuesday, September 5, at 4:00 p.m.
