Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops – Canada’s Catholic Bishops have agreed to establish a new registered charity to support and advance healing and reconciliation initiatives. The charity is expected to manage the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund, which will accept contributions from 73 dioceses across Canada in order to fulfill the $30 million financial commitment made by Canada’s Bishops in September. The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund will be managed with financial measures in place to ensure transparency and good governance.
The fund will publish annual reports and will be subject to an audit by an independent accounting firm each year. Any administrative costs will be on top of the $30 million being raised and will not be deducted from this principal amount. While specific disbursement guidelines will be informed by additional input from Indigenous partners, we intend the funds to contribute to the following priorities:
- Healing and reconciliation for communities and families;
- Culture and language revitalization;
- Education and community building; and
- Dialogues for promoting indigenous spirituality and culture.