Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Universal public services

Recommendation 85: Guarantee free and extended transportation:

1. Free transit pass for children ages 0-18 years old, all youth transitioning out of government care till the age of 25 years old, and for all adults on pensions, income assistance, and disability assistance.
2. Expand public transit, including HandyDart and community-based passenger van programs.
3. Access to free transportation to and from medical appointments, especially for those with disabilities and the elderly.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Universal public services

Recommendation 86: Implement better educational supports:

1. Expansion of the Head Start program for Indigenous families.
2. Guarantee a school breakfast and lunch food program in all public schools that is free, nutritious, and culturally diverse.
3. More Indigenous-focused schools with Indigenous teachers, Indigenousbased educational methodology and curriculum, and that is supportive to urban Indigenous students needs and contexts.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

Recommendation 111: Implementation of and full funding for federal Indigenous Child Welfare legislation that is attentive to specific First Nations, Metis, and Inuit needs. Ensure that Indigenous nations resume sole jurisdiction—and not simply service delivery—over child welfare for child-members of the nation who are on reserve and off reserve. This is in accordance with the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

Recommendation 112: In full partnership with First Nations, INAC must immediately:

1. Fully redress the inequities and structural problems of funding for First Nations children.
2. Support funding and policy options proposed by First Nations for child and family services.
3. Ensure that a formal compliance and reporting program be established specifically for the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

Recommendation 113: We applaud the work of Dr. Cindy Blackstock and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and call on the federal government to comply with the legally-binding orders of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to:

1. Immediately and fully apply Jordan’s principle to all First Nations children living on and off reserve.
2. Apply Jordan’s principle based on the need of the child and not limited to the normative standard of care.
3. Ensure that administrative delays do not delay service provision and respond to most cases within 48 hours.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

Recommendation 114: Implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Actions on Child Welfare, recommendations in Indigenous Resilience, Connectedness and Reunification – From Root Causes to Root Solutions by Special Advisor Grand Chief Ed John, and recommendations in Calling Forth Our Future: Options for the Exercise of Indigenous Peoples’ Authority in Child Welfare by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

End child apprehensions

Recommendation 115: End the apprehension of Indigenous children due to poverty or Eurocentric ideas of neglect that stem from a legacy of colonization. Poverty must not be conflated with neglect or mistreatment, and removing children from their families exacerbates cycles of trauma and poverty.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

End child apprehensions

Recommendation 116: Immediately disallow apprehensions of Indigenous babies at birth and while they are still breastfeeding.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

End child apprehensions

Recommendation 117: Prohibit the placement of Indigenous children into non-Indigenous foster and adoptive families, and regularly report on how many Indigenous children are in government care and how many are being placed in non-Indigenous homes.

Recommendations to keep Indigenous families together in the DTES

End child apprehensions

Recommendation 118: The provincial government must immediately review the care plans for all Indigenous children and youth currently in care and involve their Indigenous communities, especially extended family members and elders, in the care plan.