Press Release: Federal Petition: Loss of IRSSS Core Funding
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For Immediate Release
Indian Residential School Survivors Society Calls on Federal Government to Honour Reconciliation Commitments and Ensure Continuity of Essential Healing Services
[Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver, BC), February 18, 2026] –
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) has launched a federal action petition calling on the Government of Canada to ensure the continuation of essential core funding (Indigenous-led healing and crisis support programs) that are currently at risk of sunsetting.
For more than 30 years, IRSSS has provided culturally grounded wellness, emotional support, emergency crisis response, and environmental crisis support services not only to Indian Residential School Survivors, but also to intergenerationally impacted families and communities affected by colonial legislation, child and family services policies, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit peoples (MMIWG2S) and more across British Columbia. These services were originally funded directly by the federal government through Indigenous Services Canada and later transitioned to provincial-level funding distribution, with assurances that essential programs would not be allowed to sunset.
Despite those assurances, IRSSS now faces funding uncertainty that threatens the continuity of long-standing, trusted supports.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission made it clear that healing is central to reconciliation and must be sustained over the long term,” said Angela White, IRSSS Executive Director. “Survivors and families continue to live with the impacts of residential schools, and the need for culturally safe, Indigenous-led healing and crisis response has not diminished. Allowing these services to lapse would cause real harm to individuals and communities who rely on them.”
IRSSS programs provide critical support during moments of profound vulnerability, including mental health and emotional crises, community emergencies, and environmental disasters - services that are uniquely tailored to the needs of Survivors and Indigenous communities. Any disruption or loss of these well-established supports would significantly impact community wellbeing and undermine reconciliation efforts.
The petition calls on the Government of Canada to honour its commitments under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action by ensuring stable, continued federal funding for Survivor-centered healing and crisis support services.
Once authorized by a Member of Parliament and presented in the House of Commons, the federal government is required to provide a formal response.
IRSSS encourages Survivors, Indigenous communities, and allies across Canada to add their voices in support of continuity, accountability, and healing.
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ABOUT THE INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVOR SOCIETY:
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) is an Indigenous-led registered Canadian charity that has supported Survivors, families, and communities for over three decades through culturally grounded healing, wellness, crisis response, and environmental emergency supports. IRSSS remains committed to advancing reconciliation through Survivor-centered care.
For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
IRSSS Communications
Indian Residential School Survivor Society
Communications@irsss.ca
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