The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) has received
reports that Heritage Canada plans to cut NAFC funding by 25% in
each of the next three years. Mr Marvin Connor, Community
Development Worker at the N'Amerind (London) Friendship Centre Inc
has prepared the following letter in response and asks friends of
the Native peoples to use it to lobby their federal members of
parliament and cabinet ministers to continue funding NAFC at the
present levels. The letter explains the importance of the
Friendship Centres.
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Nov 9, 1994
Dear Sir or Madam:
Greetings. Friendship Centres provide a wide range of services to
Aboriginal people living in Canada's towns and cities. These
services touch on a wide range of areas from health to justice to
employment and training.
Aboriginal people living off-reserve or away from Metis and Inuit
communities represent approximately 3/4 of the total Aboriginal
population in Canada. A growing concern has been expressed not
only by Aboriginal organizations but also by the federal and
provincial governments that these populations have legitimate and
growing concerns regarding their governance and the services which
are provided to them.
Clearly, service delivery is a cornerstone of self-government, and
efficient and effective service delivery is a goal of all
governments.
Friendship Centres have proven through their 35 year history that
services are best provided to urban Aboriginal communities by urban
Aboriginal organizations. Friendship Centres have picked up where
existing levels of government have left off, and have been
providing the services for which the urban aboriginal communities
have expressed a need.
In the present economic climate of deficit reduction through
expenditure reduction, Friendship Centres have proven that a small
investment in community-based services goes a long way towards
solving the problems that urban Aboriginal people face.
Services provided through Friendship Centres lessen the demand on
government services, which are provided at a premium cost and at
reduced levels of effectiveness and accountability.
Friendship Centres have already been hit hard by cutbacks to
funding for the Department of Canadian Heritage which provides core
funding through the Aboriginal Friendship programme. The impact of
further cuts on Friendship Centres will be devastating. The
question then becomes can the government afford to jeopardize such
an effective operation? I think not!
I hope that once you recognize the valuable contributions made by
Friendship Centres across Canada to the growth and well-being of
our Nations First People that you will make the protection of Core
funding to Centres a priority and that Friendship Centres can be
assured that there will be no further cuts to the Aboriginal
Friendship Centre programme.
It is important to understand that Friendship Centres are
culturally, linguistically, morally and spiritually a necessity
from a community development point of view. Friendship Centres are
a non-reserve base for 75% of the total aboriginal population in
Canada.
In friendship,
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Please send copies of this letter (or better still your own letter
based on the facts in it) to your local MP, and to:
The Hon. Michel Dupuy, Minister of Canadian Heritage
The Hon. Paul Martin, Minister of Finance
The Right Hon. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister
and to all the Native MPs:
The Hon. Ethel Blondin-Andrew, M.P. Western Arctic; Secretary of
State for Youth and Planning
Mr Jack Anawak, M.P. Nunatsiaq
Mr Elijah Harper, M.P. Churchill
All can be sent postage free to:
House of Commons, Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
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For further information contact:
Mr Marvin Connor, Community Development Worker
N'Amerind London Friendship Centre Inc
260 Colborne Street, LONDON ON N6B 2S6
Tel: (519)672-0131, Fax 672-0717
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Posted by Harold P. Koehler hkoehler@web.apc.org