ICFI to be retooled and made permanent, says Indigenous Services minister

The Inuit Child First Initiative will end next spring when federal government funding runs out — but that doesn’t mean the end of federal funding for Inuit children and youths, says Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty.

Earlier this year, there were fears the program would end, until it was extended for one more year until March 31, 2026. No new funding was announced in the federal budget that was delivered Tuesday.

“During the time that the extension is in place, we are going to be working with the community to redefine the delivery of that program,” Gull-Masty said Friday in an interview with Nunatsiaq News.

The Inuit Child First Initiative provides economic, social, educational and health support for Inuit children and youths. It is a parallel program to Jordan’s Principle, which provides similar financial support for First Nations children and youths.

“[The initiative] met a target, it met a need,” Gull-Masty said.

She said that what the new program will look like must be defined before money can be budgeted for it.

In the federal budget, a section of the table called Indigenous Reconciliation shows zeroes for future funding of several programs, including the Inuit Child First Initiative. (Image courtesy of the Government of Canada)

“I’m very concerned with the need for this program — maintaining it, protecting it, ensuring that there is a long-term solution,” she said.

Gull-Masty would not provide a timeline for the development of a new program to replace the Inuit Child First Initiative.

“I’m not going to supercede my partners” which include Inuit organizations and leaders, she said. “I want them to be involved in determining what [the program] looks like.”

Gull-Masty’s comments didn’t satisfy Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout.

“The Liberals have been asking us to trust them for the last 10 years,” Idlout said in an interview Friday.

“They have shown each year how less and less they are committed to addressing important social issues in Nunavut.”

She said that if the government intends to develop new programs for Inuit children and youths, “why do they not include it in the budget?”

Idlout did not buy Gull-Masty’s explanation for the zeroes in the government’s projections for future spending on the Inuit Child First Initiative.

Idlout cast doubt on Gull-Masty’s statement that new funding programs for Inuit children and youths will be created.

“I think that’s hiding behind more broken promises,” she said.

“They are asking us to trust them, why aren’t they being transparent about who they are consulting with? Who are these Inuit partners that they are working with? No one seems to know.”

Idlout said, “Inuit children are so hungry they are stealing food from grocery stores.”

The government is vacillating, she said.

“Even if they understand, they don’t seem to care enough to act sooner.”