Government Commitments

Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation

2021 Fall Economic Statement

December 14, 2021

Government of Canada: This fiscal update includes a provision to settle the cases on harm to First Nation children currently before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and to invest in transforming the services offered to First Nation children and their families.

  • We have provisioned $20 billion for compensation and $20 billion to improve the system going forward.
  • $37M over 5 years for Indigenous Services Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat to work to meet Canada’s target of 5 per cent of federal contracts being awarded to businesses managed and led by Indigenous peoples as announced on August 6, 2021. The funding will be used to modernize the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business, engage and consult with Indigenous partners and rights holders, and implement a reporting framework.
  • $33M funding over 2 years proposed for Indigenous Services Canada to support a coordination agreement with Cowessess First Nation to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services under “An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families”, as announced on July 6, 2021.
  • $320M ovr 5 years is proposed for the departments of Canadian Heritage, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Indigenous Services Canada to further address the tragic legacy of residential schools. Funding will allow more Indigenous communities to undertake the work to locate, document and commemorate the burials of children who died while attending residential schools, enhance residential schools commemoration activities, install a National Residential Schools Monument, increase access to trauma-informed health and cultural support services and support the demolition and rehabilitation of residential school sites, as announced on August 10, 2021.

https://budget.gc.ca/efu-meb/2021/report-rapport/EFU-MEB-2021-EN.pdf