Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Canada move forward on reconciliation as Treaty Partners

INUVIK, NT, March 6, 2024 /CNW/ - Addressing the harms suffered by Survivors, their families and communities is at the heart of reconciliation and is essential to renewing and building relationships with Indigenous partners, communities, and governments in Canada.

That is why today, Duane Smith, Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC), and the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, met to announce important initiatives and undertake discussions to drive real progress on reconciliation in Canada:

• Inuvialuit Residential Schools Missing Children Initiative to Locate, Document and Memorialize Burial Sites will receive $854,437 in funding over two years to support the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to conduct research, knowledge gathering, commemoration and community engagement work related to nine former residential schools (Shingle Point in the Yukon and Hay River Anglican, All Saints, Fort McPherson, Grollier Hall, Stringer Hall, Akaitcho Hall, Grandin College, and Breynat Hall all located in the NWT). These schools were attended by children from the communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok.
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Advancing Reconciliation between IRC and Canada was signed today to help guide the work of IRC and Canada as treaty partners to advance reconciliation and renew their Inuit-Crown relationship. This MOU will strengthen a respectful Inuit-Crown relationship and help to establish a process to discuss matters of importance for Inuvialuit. This MOU helps implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act by responding to measure #24 in the action plan: "Remove and address jointly identified barriers to settlement, and co-develop approaches for the implementation of the right to self-determination through treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements, as well as through new policies and legislative mechanisms."
• Inuvialuit Family Wellness Centre is a new shelter project, funded as part of a larger investment of $85 million from the Government of Canada, that will provide culturally safe and trauma-informed services and supports for survivors of violence and their families. This project ensures that there is a place of refuge in Inuvik for Indigenous women to access support programming and create a stable environment where they can begin to regain an independent life. As we work to put an end to the national, ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people, the Government of Canada will continue to address the urgent need for new shelters and transitional housing for First Nations, Inuit and Métis across the country including on reserve, in the North and in urban areas.

These in-community discussions and funding supports are an important part of Canada's work with Indigenous partners to advance reconciliation, dismantle a colonial legacy of racism, broken promises and denial of rights and build renewed and transformed relationships together.

Quotes

"Forty years ago, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement created space for Inuvialuit to exercise our inherent right to care for our families, our communities and our region. It was a sworn commitment undertaken by Canada and Inuvialuit together. Today, we are demonstrating what can be achieved through a partnership based on mutual respect, creative foresight and a willingness to learn from each other. For example, working directly with us on critical infrastructure projects, many federal departments have come to understand higher cost of construction in the North and the need to account for this at the planning stage. We are hopeful that this learning will reach all departments so that we can continue our good work. Our collaborations will help heal wounds so that our families can move forward, help end the transmission of violence from one generation to the next, and help Inuvialuit and Canada continue our essential work with confidence."

Duane Smith, 
CEO Inuvialuit Regional Corporation

"The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is doing difficult but critically important work, on the ground, in their communities, to dismantle the legacy of colonialism and its ongoing impact. In partnership with the IRC, we will continue to support them in undertaking this solemn work to find the children who did not return from residential schools, to recognize Inuvialuit rights, to modernize our treaty relationship, and to ensure moving forward there is a safe space for Inuvik Indigenous women, children and gender diverse people as we work to put an end to this ongoing national crisis."

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Quick facts

Inuvialuit Regional Corporation

• The Inuvialuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They are composed of 6 communities (Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok). The Inuvialuit belong to three linguistic groups. Collectively the three dialects they speak are known as the Inuvialuktun language.
• Established in 1984 to manage the settlement outlined in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA), Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) represents the collective interests of Inuvialuit over 90,650 square kilometres with a population of over 5000 people.
• IRC's goal is to continually improve the economic, social and cultural well-being of the Inuvialuit through implementation of the IFA and by all other available means.

Residential Schools

• The locating of unmarked burials at former residential school sites across Canada is a tragic reminder of the abuse that many Indigenous children suffered in these institutions. The Government of Canada is working with Survivors, Indigenous leaders and affected families and communities to address historical wrongs and the lasting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual harms related to the legacy of residential schools. Part of this work includes efforts to locate and memorialize unmarked graves and burial sites and to commemorate the lives of all children who attended residential schools. These initiatives respond to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76 – Missing Children and Burial Information.
• Budget 2022 allocated $122 million over the next three years to the Residential School Missing Children's – Community Support Funding program, bringing the Government of Canada's total investment to $238.8 million to date to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72 to 76 on residential schools missing children and burial information.

Funding for Emergency Shelters

• In December 2023, the Government of Canada announced over $85 million in funding toward 12 new Indigenous-led emergency shelters across Canada that provide culturally appropriate, critical supports and services to help Indigenous women, children, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people escaping family violence. A new women's shelter in Inuvik, built and operated by Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, is one of the selected projects.
• Funding for shelters and transitional housing projects helps responds to Calls for Justice 4.7, 16.19, and 18.25 from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Help Lines

• A national residential school crisis line offers emotional support and crisis referral services for residential school Survivors and their families. Call the toll-free Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• The Hope for Wellness Help line also offers support to all Indigenous Peoples. Counsellors are available by phone or online chat. This service is available in English and French, and, upon request, in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca
• The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis Line is available to provide emotional support and crisis referral services to individuals impacted by the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people. Call the toll-free Crisis Line at 1-844-413-6649. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Associated links

Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
Residential Schools Missing Children – Community Support Fund
Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program
Missing Children and Burial Information – Calls to Action 72-76 
Inuvialuit Final Agreement 
United Nations Declaration Act Action Plan

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_{Taking care: We recognize this news release may contain information that is difficult for many and that our efforts to honour Survivors and families may act as an unwelcome reminder for those who have suffered hardships through generations of government policies that were harmful to Indigenous Peoples.}

_{A national residential school crisis line offers emotional support and crisis referral services for residential school Survivors and their families. Call the toll-free Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.}

_{The Hope for Wellness Help line also offers support to all Indigenous Peoples. Counsellors are available by phone or online chat. This service is available in English and French, and, upon request, in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca}

_{The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis Line is available to provide emotional support and crisis referral services to individuals impacted by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. Call the toll-free Crisis Line at 1-844-413-6649. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.}

SOURCE Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

media may contact: Christine Igluruq Inglangasuk, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, [phone], [email protected]; Matthieu Perrotin, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, [email protected]; CIRNAC Media Relations: [email protected], 819-934-2302