Sign the Petition: Calling on Canada to Protect Essential Support Services
Honouring Commitments to Survivors: Why Healing Programs Must Continue
For more than 30 years, the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) has walked alongside Survivors, families, and communities - providing culturally grounded healing, wellness, and crisis support.
Today, some of these essential programs are at risk of sunsetting due to federal funding uncertainty.
This risk exists despite earlier assurances that IRSSS services would be protected when funding responsibility transitioned from Indigenous Services Canada to the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). These programs were never intended to be temporary. They are trusted, Indigenous-led services that meet ongoing and growing needs.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The impacts of the Indian Residential School system - and related colonial policies, child welfare practices, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit peoples (MMIWG2S) - did not end when the schools closed. Survivors, intergenerationally impacted families, and communities continue to live with the effects of trauma, loss, and disconnection. The need for culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, and Indigenous-led support remains urgent.
In recent years, demand for IRSSS services has increased significantly, not only for healing and wellness programs, but also for emergency and environmental crisis response, including wildfires and other community emergencies. In the last year alone, programs dependent on this core funding reached nearly 195,000 people - clearly demonstrating how vital they are. These supports help communities stay safe, resilient, and connected when they are most vulnerable.
Any interruption or loss of these services would cause real, tangible harm to the people and communities who rely on them - and would undermine ongoing efforts toward healing, wellness, and reconciliation.
WHY FEDERAL ACTION IS NEEDED
The harms caused by the Indian Residential School system are a federal responsibility. While funding administration has shifted over time, federal accountability remains. Stable, long-term funding is essential to ensure continuity of care and to prevent gaps in services that Survivors depend on.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR
IRSSS has launched a federal action petition calling on the Government of Canada to:
Commit to immediate and sustained continuation funding for IRSSS Core funding at risk
Honour prior commitments made during funding transitions
Ensure there are no disruptions to Survivor-centered services
Establish long-term funding stability that reflects the true scope of need
Once presented in the House of Commons by a Member of Parliament, the federal government is required to respond.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
By signing and sharing this petition, you are standing with Survivors and impacted families and helping ensure that Indigenous-led healing and wellness services continue without interruption.
HOW TO SIGN THE PETITION
Visit the House of Commons website; Petition e-7132: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7132
Click on the “Sign the Petition” button at the bottom of the page
Fill in all required form fields (personal information, address) and check the verification boxes; then click “Sign”.
IMPORTANT STEP: You will receive an email from House of Commons Petitions after submission – you must click on “Please confirm your support to complete the process” to finish signing the petition.
PLEASE NOTE: If you encounter technical problems or have questions about the e-petition process, please contact the Clerk of Petitions at PMB-AED@parl.gc.ca. IRSSS is unable to provide technical support for signing the petition.