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CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $14.5 MILLION IN FUNDING TO IMPROVE SOCIAL SERVICES FOR QUEBEC’S FIRST NATIONS

Mashteuiatsh, Quebec, October 26, 2006 – As part of the First Nations Socioeconomic Forum, the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, is pleased to announce that First Nations in Quebec will benefit from increased funding of $14,449,050 from the Government of Canada.

The Government of Canada’s funding will be allocated through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada can be broken down as follows:

• $51,000 will go to Quebec Native Women for activities relating to training and support for shelters
  
  
• $75,000 will go to Quebec Native Women for pursuing the implementation of the Global Strategy for Prevention, Awareness and Intervention in Sexual Abuse for First Nations
  
  
• $25,000 will go to identifying the preventive services to be prioritized in Aboriginal communities and providing support for First Nations with respect to the strategies to be implemented
  
  
• $35,000 will go to child and family services skill development
  
  
• Health Canada confirms that it will be contributing $25,000 to a pilot project to assess First Nations’ needs in preventive services and parenting skills.
  
  
• This year, Health Canada has set aside $9.7 million for Quebec to fund programs and strategies supporting early childhood development in First Nations communities.
  
  
• Health Canada will continue to work with First Nations organizations to prevent suicide in their communities and has allocated $3.8 million over four years for upstream investments as part of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention among the First Nations of Quebec.
  
  
• Health Canada has a budget of $80,000 for 2006/2007 to look into options for ongoing addiction training, notably through teletraining.
  
  
• $500,000 will go to implementing a new initiative ensuring the development of concrete prevention and family support measures, which will help keep First Nations children in their communities as much as possible
  
  
• Minister Prentice recently announced additional funding for the Family Violence Prevention Program. To meet the needs of a five First Nations shelters in Quebec, funding of $158,050 is immediately available for shelter program operations.
  
  

“Adequate funding for essential services to protect women, children and families is a priority for Canada’s New Government,” stated Minister Prentice. “We are working with First Nation partners to bring about change that will see a better future for Aboriginal women, children and families”.

For more information, please contact:

Deirdra McCracken
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development
(613) 997-0002

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