September 17 (Ottawa, ON) – Métis National Council (MNC) Vice-President and Minister of Social Development, David Chartrand, joined the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and leaders from the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in the release of a co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Framework to improve early learning and child care for Indigenous children in Canada.
In support of the Indigenous ELCC Framework, the Government of Canada is committing up to $1.7 billion over 10 years to strengthen early learning and child care programs and services for Indigenous children and families starting in 2018-19. Up to $450 million will support a Métis Nation ELCC Framework and will be managed in partnership with the Métis Nation.
“The Métis Nation Early Learning and Child Care Framework will bring unprecedented change to our families’ futures,” stated MNC Vice President David Chartrand. “This is a major investment in the lives of our Nation providing solid foundations for building strong and healthy children and families. Today’s announcement marks another practical milestone along the path of reconciliation negotiated by the Métis Nation and Prime Minister Trudeau’s government.”
Minister Duclos stated: “Métis Nation partners have identified a vision for early learning and child care in which Métis children and families throughout the Homeland are provided with culturally relevant, self-empowering early learning and child care programming and services. The joint release of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework with Vice President David Chartrand honours our continued work together to achieve this vison.”
The Métis Nation Framework will create new culturally relevant and supportive ELCC spaces for young Métis Nation children and their families supported by predictable, flexible, long-term and sustainable funding approaches. This will be achieved by establishing and staffing Métis Nation ELCC facilities with specific mandates to deliver Métis culture-based ELCC programming for Métis Nation children and families.
MNC President Clément Chartier also applauded this major new federal investment in the Métis Nation. He stated: “The Métis Nation ELCC Framework demonstrates again that the Canada-Métis Nation Accord that we signed with the Prime Minister in 2017 is working well. We are co-developing and negotiating new policies and programs for the Métis people that will truly be transformative and positive for our social and economic development.”
Download MNC Press Release
Download Government News Release
Download IELCC Backgrounder
Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/indigenous-early-learning/2018-framework.html