Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, announced the launch of a call for proposals to support Indigenous Peoples, communities, and groups as they begin work to develop their own legislation and explore Indigenous-led models for child and family services.

More specifically, this funding is intended to provide support to Indigenous Peoples, communities and groups wishing to:

• explore models and options to exercise jurisdiction;
• develop Indigenous child and family service legislation, systems, and programs  prior to entering into tripartite coordination agreement discussions with federal and provincial or territorial governments.

As communities develop their laws, specific funding will also be made available for their participation in Tripartite coordination agreement discussions to further advance these models. These discussions will be essential for reaching a successful agreement between Indigenous communities, the Government of Canada, provinces, and territories to provide services to children and their families. They will also help ensure a smooth transition from the existing system to the one envisioned by Indigenous communities, free from racism and discriminatory practices.

Through this call for proposals, activities, such as community engagements, planning, research, IT systems design or communications activities, and more, can be funded. Eligible recipients are section 35 rights-holders, which include First Nations, Inuit and Métis nation groups; Indigenous governing bodies, as defined under the Act, as well as National Indigenous Organizations.

Indigenous Services Canada recognizes that not all Indigenous Peoples, communities or groups are at the same state of readiness nor have the same resources to exercise jurisdiction under the Act. To this end, this funding is available to support eligible Indigenous groups, communities or peoples as they work within and across their communities to build strong foundations in preparation for their participation in coordination agreement discussions.