Sweetgrass and CFWE news briefs - February 8, 2016

MMIW pre-inquiry meetings to be held in Edmonton, Calgary

February 8, 2016. Federal government ministers, including Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, will be in Edmonton on Thursday and in Calgary on Friday as the meetings continue across the country with survivors, family members and loved ones of murder and missing Indigenous women and girls, as well as national Aboriginal, provincial, territorial representatives and front-line organizations. The pre-inquiry meetings are to seek views on the design and scope of the inquiry. The Assembly of First Nations hosted its own pre-inquiry meeting last week on the Enoch Cree Nation. It established six conditions for the national inquiry: to conduct an open and transparent examination of the socio-economic, political and historical factors that lead to increased vulnerability among Indigenous women; examine police practices and protocols in investigating missing Indigenous women and in communicating with families; identify the barriers in implementing recommendations from previous inquiries and reports; provide a safe forum for families to participate; innovative practices and community-based supports in preventing violence and achieving reconciliation; and provide tangible recommendations and an implementation plan to prevent violence and improve responses where women are missing or murdered. AFN will be presenting its report to Bennett on Feb. 15. 

Unemployment impacts off-reserve workers

February 6, 2016. Job losses in Alberta have hit First Nations workers particularly hard, according to the latest Statistics Canada report. From about nine per cent a year ago, the number of off-reserve workers who had no work rose to 16 per cent in January – second-highest in Canada, after Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unemployment rate has spiked to 16 per cent. Major employers of First Nations personnel are the trades, transport and equipment operators – followed by sales and service positions. For the first time since 1988, Alberta’s level of unemployment is higher than the national average. Alberta’s unemployment rate sits at 7.4 per cent, while the national average is 7.2 per cent. The Alberta rate was an even seven per cent in December, and as low as 4.6 per cent a year ago.

MNA encourages novice hockey players to sign up

February 7, 2016. Novice-age Metis hockey players have until Wednesday to register for the Metis Nation of Alberta’s junior novice hockey team. To encourage participation, the MNA is covering all expenses, which include hotel, mileage (by bus), and meals. If families don’t have equipment, the MNA will connect them. The team will compete in the Alberta Native Provincials, to take place March 31-April 3 in Edmonton. To qualify, hockey players must be born in 2009 or 2010 and have proof of Metis ancestry.

Ministers to move forward on improving outcomes of Indigenous children in care

February 5, 2016. Federal, provincial and territorial social services ministers met last Thursday and Friday in Edmonton to discuss key social issues such as improving outcomes for Indigenous children and youth, reducing poverty, supporting high quality early learning and child care services, and removing and preventing barriers for people with disabilities. Ministers committed to engaging Indigenous partners and other ministers, such as the minister responsible for Indigenous and northern affairs Canada, in future discussions on how to reduce the number and overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in care. “We had a valuable opportunity to discuss social issues that have significant impacts on our communities, develop a shared understanding of the ways these issues affect our jurisdictions and set the stage for ongoing collaboration between governments and Indigenous communities,” said Alberta Minister of Human Services Irfan Sabir, who co-hosted the talks.