Statutory funding for Missing Children and Survivors
Petitioners ask Parliament to implement statutory, Indigenous-led funding for the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund (sunsetting in 2026) and for Survivor healing and cultural supports, ensuring programs remain Survivor-centered and consistent with UNDRIP and the TRC.
Why we would sign this petition
- Maintains and expands Indigenous-led searches for unmarked graves and missing children, enabling continuity of community-driven work that requires sustained, predictable support.
- Provides stable, long-term funding for Survivor healing and cultural services, improving access to supports needed for ongoing recovery.
- Fulfills TRC calls and Canada's UNDRIP commitments by enshrining Indigenous leadership and Survivor-centered approaches in law.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Statutory funding creates long-term federal obligations and budgetary trade-offs that may strain public finances or displace other priorities.
- Mandating funding without clear accountability measures risks ineffective use or duplication; governance and measurable outcomes must be defined.
- Some may prefer alternative solutions—targeted program reforms, provincial roles, or non-legislative agreements—that could be faster or more flexible than new statutory entitlements.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons Indian Residential Schools operated in Canada from 1831 until 1997, and over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Red River Métis children were forced to attend; Generations of Indigenous children were directly affected, and the loss of language, culture, and wellbeing reverberates through their descendants; The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recognized the system as cultural genocide, and its harms constitute an ongoing federal fiduciary duty; The Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund, which enables Indigenous Nations and communities to locate unmarked burial sites, search for missing children, and conduct archival research, is sunsetting in 2026 with no renewed commitment; Federal funding for Survivor healing and cultural supports is also being reduced, while recovery is far from complete; Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls 72 through 76 on missing children and burial records and Calls 21 and 22 on Indigenous healing, remain unfulfilled; and Canada is committed under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act to uphold Indigenous self-determination and culturally appropriate services. We, the undersigned, Citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to 1. Implement statutory funding for the Missing Children Community Support Fund, so Indigenous-led work to locate missing children and unmarked graves continues. 2. Implement statutory funding for Survivor Supports, healing, and cultural services for First Nations, Inuit, and Red River Métis families and Nations; and 3. Ensure these programs remain Indigenous-led and Survivor-centered, consistent with UNDRIPA and the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action.
Government response
No government response is available yet.