Canada and N.W.T. sign historic funding agreement with Inuvialuit for child services

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Inuvik, N.W.T., on Monday to sign a funding agreement with the N.W.T. government and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in support of Inuit-led child and family services.

The agreement means the Canadian government will provide $533.5 million over the next decade for the implementation of Inuvialuit Qitunrariit Inuuniarnikkun Maligaksat the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation's child and family services law. The N.W.T. government is also providing $209,391 annually for that.

Trudeau said the goal is to strengthen the family unit and to avoid situations where the children are taken away from their parents.

"Understanding that the best thing for kids at risk is to make sure they don't get at risk. That means community support services, addictions services, housing investments, the kinds of things that will keep kids safe and you never get to the point of moving them," he said.

Inuvialuit Regional Corporation chair and CEO, Duane Smith said he was thankful for the federal contributions that helped them set the foundation for Monday's agreement.

"We had to get the law drafted, we have it enacted, now we just reached an agreement with the federal and territorial governments for us to do the implementation of it," Smith said.

Smith did not give a date but said work can now begin on building the infrastructure to improve services in the region.

"So we will be building our youth wellness centres. The Prime Minister touched on different programs that already complement how we are trying to alleviate children getting into these situations," Smith said.

The signing took place at a ceremony on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. N.W.T. Minister of Health and Social Services, Lesa Semmler signed the agreement with Smith and Trudeau.

Monday's signing comes two years after the N.W.T. government joined a Supreme Court legal challenge of Canada's Indigenous child welfare law as an intervener, stating that it infringed upon their rights under the Northwest Territories Act. The Supreme Court upheld the law this past February, stating that it was constitutional.

The Inuvialuit are the first Inuit group to develop their own child and family services under Bill C-92.

In a news release Monday, the federal government stated that the announcement sets a precedent for other Inuit groups to create their own child and family services legislation as well.