Increased support for families of missing & murdered Indigenous people 

Ottawa – There is a national, toll-free 24/7 crisis call line providing mental health support for anyone who requires emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous people. For assistance, call 1-844-413-6649. Supports are also available through the MMIWG2S+ health and cultural support services. Support could include professional counselling with a focus on healing, emotional supports such as listening and referrals to additional services, and culturally specific help centred around traditional healing methods and Elder services.

Increasing access to justice for families of missing and murdered Indigenous people, as well as Indigenous victims and survivors of crime is a priority for the Government of Canada. Indigenous community-based organizations have the expertise and knowledge to support victims in their communities. Ensuring that they have the tools and resources they need helps address the gaps in specialized distinctions-based services and supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Offering distinct supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis helps to ensure culturally safe and centred service delivery.

David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Gary Anandasangaree, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, Chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle announced $95.8 million over five years and $20.4 million ongoing, starting in 2023-24 to support families of missing and murdered Indigenous people and Indigenous victims of crime. These expanded services now include MMIWG2S+, men and boys. This funding will increase access to culturally safe supports for victims and their families to assist them with their grief and healing journey by providing dignified and responsive supports for Indigenous victims and survivors of crime (or violence) and the families of MMIWG2S+, men and boys. More specifically, this funding includes:

• Family Information Liaison Units (FILUs): $37.3 million over five years and $7.75 million annually on an ongoing basis to ensure that the critical services provided by FILUs to families of all missing and murdered Indigenous people, including men and boys, continue to be available for as long as they are needed, and enable FILUs to expand their operations to address gaps in service delivery and remain responsive to the needs of Indigenous communities.
• Community Support and Healing for Families Initiative: $20.0 million over five years and $4.15 million annually on an ongoing basis to ensure that all families of missing and murdered Indigenous people, including men and boys, have access to Indigenous-led, community-based supports to assist them with their grief and in their healing journey.
• Access to Indigenous-led victims services and supports: $38.6 million over five years and $8.45 million annually on an ongoing basis to support a wide range of Indigenous-led and co-developed activities to support and assist Indigenous victims of crime and survivors of violence across Canada.

The final reports of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, among others, have made it clear that the way forward to support Indigenous victims and survivors of crime requires sustainable, collaborative, and Indigenous-led supports and services. These reports have called on all levels of governments to ensure that sustained actions and investments give life to self-determined, grassroots solutions to support the process of decolonization.

This investment also responds to the Government of Canada’s commitment to improve the availability and access to Indigenous-led, culturally safe, and trauma-informed victim services and supports. This commitment was made in the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the federal government’s contribution to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan. This investment also supports the implementation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #40, which calls upon all levels of government to create, in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, adequately funded and accessible Indigenous-specific victim programs and services.