Minister announces reversal of funding changes for residential school searches

The federal government says it will lift a recently imposed $500,000 cap on funding to locate or memorialize children who didn't come home from residential schools — but there's worry only some communities will benefit from the reversal. 

Last month communities learned spending on their projects through the federal government's Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund would be capped at $500,000 a year, down from $3 million.

In a statement published Friday, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said those changes "fell short" of the government's commitment to finding children who were taken to residential schools. 

"After engaging with Indigenous leaders and communities, we have heard your concerns loud and clear," the statement said. 

"Our intention was to fund as many initiatives as possible but we recognize that the lack of flexibility of these changes was a mistake." 

Laura Arndt, lead for the Survivor's Secretariat, an organization leading efforts to investigate the Mohawk Institute residential school in Brantford, Ont., said that although their organization's funding was restored to $3 million it was at the expense of other organizations.

Arndt said she learned on a call with federal representatives Friday morning that $45.5 million was being allocated to the fund this year and next.

"Once you do the math, you realize it doesn't work for anybody," she said.

"It would work for the most powerful amongst the organizations and would do nothing for those just starting the work." 

Arndt said there are 147 communities that currently have funding in place and between 70 and 76 communities whose funding is pending approval.

"The problem for me still is, in good conscience, how do we as an organization accept $3 million in funding when other communities get nothing?" Arndt said.

"Every community should have access to needed resources....  If it's not sustainable and it isn't working for everybody, it's not a good deal."

'Emotional rollercoaster'

Next week in Thunder Bay, Ont., Arndt will meet with leaders from other organizations to discuss how best to salvage their projects.

Scott Hamilton, a professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., who has worked closely with communities searching for unmarked graves, said he will be giving a presentation on how to keep work moving forward. 

He said he couldn't imagine why the federal government thought cutting back funding for residential school site searches was a good idea in the first place, as it effectively squanders the millions the government's already spent.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster for survivors, for all of the teams that have been engaged in this work to see major investments of time and energy and effort and suddenly their legs are kicked out from under them," he said.

"What are they going to do now? What can they save? What can they rescue?"

He said communities now must start thinking about co-ordinating efforts, equipment and training to get a "better bang for the buck."