Friendship Centres become more integral to the urban Aboriginal experience
- EFN Staff | March 10, 2014
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt announced last month an Urban Aboriginal Strategy aimed at increasing the economic participation of urban Aboriginal people. The Government of Canada is changing the Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS) by consolidating four programs into two and by providing greater support to the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) for the delivery of the programs.
The federal government will be providing $43 million per year over the next two years to the NAFC for the delivery of funding to organizations offering programs and services that align with the Government's priority of increasing the participation of urban Aboriginal peoples in Canada's economy. The new approach will result in greater efficiency and reduced duplication.
The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) welcomed the renewed and enhanced partnership with the Government of Canada, expressing their enthusiasm in playing a greater service delivery role for urban Aboriginal people in Canada.
"This is the most significant realignment of funding in the past 35 years, and is great news for Friendship Centres and urban Aboriginal people," said Nelson Mayer, NAFC President. "We see this as an opportunity to show leadership and to collaborate more closely with our federal partners, and other organizations, to innovate in program delivery and reach more Aboriginal people in a number of new and exciting initiatives."
Under this funding realignment, the responsibility to deliver a number of programs will be given to the NAFC. The NAFC will administer $43 million of the $50.8 million announced today for the new UAS. The goal of the realignment is to increase the services for urban Aboriginal people and foster greater collaboration and develop partnerships between all levels of government, organizations, urban Aboriginal communities and other stakeholders to increase the participation of urban Aboriginal peoples in Canadas economy.
"(This) announcement highlights the trust we've earned through many decades of partnership and hard work," said Jeffrey Cyr, Executive Director of the NAFC. "It's a recognition of the incredible impact we make in the lives of countless urban Aboriginal people every day."
Nearly 60% of Aboriginal peoples live in urban areas and the Aboriginal population is growing at a faster rate than the non-Aboriginal population. Friendship Centres are a highly effective resource for many Aboriginal people, achieving 2.3 million points of contact nationwide annually. In 2011/12, Friendship Centres across Canada delivered over 1,490 programs and services to approximately 700,000 urban Aboriginal people.
"We have many reasons to believe that Friendship Centres are the most effective way to deliver the necessary services to urban Aboriginal people," said Mayer. "By working together for nearly 60 years, we have been successful in meeting our people's unique needs."
The NAFC is democratically governed, status blind and is accountable to the federal government and directly to the urban Aboriginal community. Friendship Centres are Canada's most significant off-reserve Aboriginal service delivery infrastructure. Established in 1972, the NAFC is a network of 119 Friendship Centres from coast-to-coast-to-coast.