For more than 50 years, Friendship Centres in Ontario have been at the forefront of working to ensure the needs and wellbeing of urban Indigenous children and youth are being met. Our advocacy centres on the rights of urban Indigenous children and youth to culture-based programs and services that support them to thrive.
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This submission articulates the OFIFC’s position on the development of policy and programs that affect Indigenous children and youth. As a joint submission of the OFIFC, the Ontario Native Women’s Association, and the Métis Nation of Ontario, this document informed the development of the provincial Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy – a multi-generational, whole-of-government approach to policy and program development related to Indigenous children and youth.
In 2015, the OFIFC, the Ontario Native Women’s Association and the Métis Nation of Ontario authored a joint-submission on the review of the Child and Family Services Act, 1990. The partners call on government to increase recognition and to better reflect the needs of urban Indigenous communities and the role of community-based urban Indigenous service providers within child welfare legislation.
This submission to the province builds on previous advocacy and outlines seven key issues with provincial child welfare legislation. The role of community-based service providers is central in supporting the needs of urban Indigenous communities. Recommendations outlined in this submission and associated advocacy by the OFIFC were incorporated into the renewed Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.