First Nation groups in northwestern Ontario say federal budget cuts threaten programs

While he understands the need to cut back on spending, Donny Morris says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget does not send the right message to First Nations.

The chief of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) — a remote Oji-Cree community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., — is worried about the fate of his community’s KI Family Law program.

The program, also known as KIDO (Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Dibenjikewin Onnakonikewin) was launched in April 2023 with the passage of KI’s own law and creation of its own family welfare agency. It’s allowed the First Nation to assert jurisdiction over its child and family services.

KI leaders have spent the last 10 months negotiating a new four-year funding agreement with the federal government to support the program. However, last week they learned the agreement is only being extended for two years, raising uncertainties about its fate going forward.

“I was kind of surprised they would look at something that's community-grown, initiated by the community,” Morris said in an interview with CBC News.

“Next year, we're gonna be negotiating [again], and that's something that's hard on us.”

Carney's first budget under the Liberal government, which was narrowly passed by MPs last week, includes two per cent cuts at both Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada — almost $2.3 billion by spring 2030.

Elsewhere in northwestern Ontario, Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) is attributing the federal budget to “a strategic realignment” of its programs.

The organization provides a range of health, education, economic and social services to eight First Nations in Treaty 9 and one in the Robinson-Superior area.

On Nov. 14, it announced that “due to changes in federal funding, programs — such as Awashishewiigiihiwaywiin Social Services and certain programming within the Matawa Health Co-operative — will be discontinued.”

“Recent shifts in federal budget priorities have removed key funding avenues, including those supporting Jordan’s Principle and COVID-era wellness programs,” MFNM’s news release says.

A spokesperson for ISC told CBC News in an email that it cannot share details about its agreement with KI Family Law, but “can confirm these talks are ongoing.”

“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting a comprehensive reform of child and family services to secure long-term positive outcomes for Indigenous children, families and communities,” ISC spokesperson Eric Head told CBC News in an email on Saturday.

“The government also acknowledges the ongoing call for related funding that is predictable, stable, sustainable, needs-based and consistent with the principle of substantive equality.”