AANO Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion
Conservative Party of Canada

The following is a report of the Conservative Members of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was initiated in 1998 with $350 million in funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. An additional $40 million was provided in 2005, and as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement of 2006 our Government allocated another $125 million in 2007. This last endowment was for a five-year period, to 2012, as described in the healing foundation's corporate plan, released in December 2009. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is currently implementing the wind-down strategy described in that plan. The Foundation has prepared for this wind-down and advised its community partners accordingly.

Health Canada’s Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support (IRSRHS) program is continuing to provide mental health and emotional support services to former students of Indian Residential Schools, and their family members, as they participate in the Settlement Agreement processes.

In preparation for the increased demand on Health Canada’s IRSRHS program our Government committed an additional $65.9 million over two years as part of our Government’s commitment under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement to provide mental health and emotional support services to former students and their family members participating in the common experience payment.

Paragraph 23 and Recommendation A
The Conservative Members of the committee reject the claims in Paragraph 23 and Recommendation A of the Report. It is evident from testimony and submissions to the committee that The Resolution Health Support Program (IRSRHS) is well suited in terms of the mandate, geographic range and personnel resources to continue delivering healing services to residential schools survivors and their families for the longer term in communities across Canada.

Recommendation B
The Conservative Members of the committee believe Recommendation B is misleading. It indicates that the IRSRHS should be “expanded to include community-based and delivered healing services”, when testimony and submissions from Health Canada officials clearly identify that Health Canada provides this service: “Health Canada has a network of 120 Aboriginal service provider organizations which provide the services of 174 Resolution Health Support Workers (RHSW), and 281 Cultural Support Providers (CSPs).”

Recommendation C
The Conservative Members of committee believe that Recommendation C is also misleading as it recommends the Government “ensure that funding allocated in Budget 2010…be fully targeted to supporting…community-based healing projects”. As the Study Report shows, our Government has actually increased funding to mental health and emotional support services through the IRSRHS. Furthermore, the geographic range and personnel resources of Health Canada’s program will exceed that of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s.