Kit for conducting an engagement session on child and family services
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About the engagement kit
The Government of Canada is committed to support the transformation of services provided to First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families.
This engagement kit was designed for:
- those who wish contribute to the engagement but cannot attend a meeting organized by the Government of Canada
- individuals, organizations or communities interested in organizing their own community meeting
This engagement kit contains:
- recommendations for running an engagement meeting in your community or organization
- a short bibliography of existing literature
- proposed engagement questions
- a template for submitting the feedback from your meeting to the Government of Canada
Tips for using the engagement kit
If you or your organization would like to conduct your own meeting, you are encouraged to consult Continuing the conversation: engagement questions for a quick overview of the foundation of the Government of Canada's work on child and family services reform, as well as for discussion questions to use in your meeting. These discussion questions are available to help frame the dialogue but should not be considered an exhaustive list if you or your participants wish to explore other related subject areas.
The list of existing literature provides useful information that may help to inform you or your participants' input.
The engagement reporting template provides a framework to document a summary of the discussions, which is critical to ensuring that feedback from your meeting can be included in the Government of Canada's reporting and analysis. Once completed, please email your reporting template to sac.sefreforme-cfsreform.isc@canada.ca.
Group sessions are encouraged as they can bring out a wealth of knowledge, expertise and wisdom, and allow for active discussion.
We encourage any independent session organizers to include a federal representative as a participant or presenter to ensure that any immediate questions can be addressed. If you would like to include a federal representative at your session, send a request to: sac.sefreforme-cfsreform.isc@canada.ca.
Thank you for your participation in this critical dialogue.
List of existing literature
- Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 (PDF)
- The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PDF)
- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action #1 to #5
- The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's 2016 Decision (PDF)
- Principles Respecting the Government of Canada's Relationship with Indigenous Peoples
- A report on children and families together: An Emergency Meeting on Indigenous child and family services
- Assembly of First Nations, Resolution no. 11/2018 – Federal Legislation on First Nations Child Welfare Jurisdiction (PDF)
- Reforming First Nations child welfare: Summary of engagement
- Canada and Nishnawbe Aski Nation work together on First Nation child and family services in remote locations
- Federal Legislation on Indigenous Child Welfare in Canada
- Proposal for a First Nations Child and Family Caring Act - Discussion Paper, by Sébastien Grammond (PDF) (non disponible en français)
- Keewaywin Engagement Manitoba First Nations Child and Family Services Reform – Final Report, September 2017 (PDF)
- Interim Report of the National Advisory Committee on First Nations Child and Family Services Program Reform – January 2018 (PDF)
Sample engagement reporting template
The following sample engagement report can be used to collect information on your engagement session.
Once completed, submit this information to sac.sefreforme-cfsreform.isc@canada.ca.
Date of meeting:
Name of note taker:
Type of meeting: community engagement, technical group, other
Location (city, province):
Names of all participants (full name and organization):
| Full name | Organization | Contact |
|---|---|---|
Questions to guide child and family services engagement
The following questions are meant to guide the engagement process for co-creating options for potential federal child and family services legislation.
Engagement process
- 1) The Government of Canada has proposed a two-stage approach for co-creating options for proposed legislation and addressing other matters that affect First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children, youth, and families. Do you agree with this process, or which process would you recommend?
Principles/values
- 2) What are some of the core principles that federal legislation on child and family services should include? Why do you think this?
Jurisdiction
- 3) How could federal legislation enable First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to fully exercise their right to ensure the safety and best interests of the child? What tools or levers are required?
- 4) How could federal legislation respect the different aspirations, contexts and stages of readiness of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across Canada regarding child and family services? Why do you think this?
- 5) Do the roles of provinces and territories need to be reflected in federal legislation? If so, how?
Specific issues
- 6) Federal legislation on child and family services could include guidance on issues such as funding, training, education and healing. What should be included in the legislation to give guidance on these and other issues?
- 7) What enforcement measures, if any, should be included in the federal legislation? Why do you think this?
Data and reporting
- 8) At the Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Child and Family Services in January 2018, participants acknowledged a lack of data on Indigenous children in care (e.g. number of children apprehended, why they are apprehended, where they are placed). Do you think legislation could be a tool to help address this gap? If so, what could this look like? Which indicators are most important and how should they be reported?