The Honourable Bob Mcleod
Premier and Minister
Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations and Chair of Aboriginal Affairs Working Group Government of the Northwest Territories
4920 - 52ndStreet
PO Box 1320
Yellowknife NT
X1A 2L9
Dear Mr. McLeod:
On behalf of my colleague, the Honourable K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Status of Women, I am writing to seek support of the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group to fulfill one of the key commitments arising from the National Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which took place in Ottawa on February 27, 2015.
At that time, delegates to the Roundtable committed to implement a pan-Canadian awareness and prevention campaign, to build greater understanding and create increased awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women and girls.
In the spirit of fulfilling this commitment, I wish to draw members' attention to a proposal put forward by the National Association of Friendship Centres. The National Association of Friendship Centres has developed a national proposal to put life-saving information into the hands of Aboriginal youth, women, men, girls and boys. Titled Action for Women Mobile, the objective of this project is to create a mobile application that will have extensive reach and scope in both urban settings and in communities, providing information, tools and support that Aboriginal women and girls need to make informed choices, whether they are confronting violence, or seeking information regarding its prevention.
The proposed mobile platform will provide information to Aboriginal women and girls on how to protect themselves from violence and where they can go for help. It will also be designed to assist Aboriginal youth, so that they have information about violence prevention, how to cope with the effects of violence, strategies to end violence, how to engage in healthy relationships, and where to go if they need help. The proposed platform is not only for women and girls, but also for men and boys.
This project presents an opportunity to join our collective efforts in raising awareness and building critical knowledge. To this end, the Government of Canada will be investing $500,000 in 2015-2016 in the National Association of Friendship Centres' Mobile Platform project, and we are inviting provincial and territorial jurisdictions to match the remaining $500,000 cost of the project, which would equate to $38,500 per jurisdiction.
The proposal from the National Association of Friendship Centres represents a tangible way to reach a great number of women and girls in a user-friendly and affordable manner. To ensure that the application is sensitive to the needs of various Aboriginal communities, culturally appropriate and tailored to the needs of specific regions, the National Association of Friendship Centres will commit to sharing the application with National Aboriginal Organizations with the view of developing further content and ensuring reach into the communities they represent.
We are proud to support this initiative and we hope Aboriginal Affairs Working Group members will as well. Please refer to the attached brochure for further information.
Sincerely,
Bernard Valcourt, PC, QC, MP
Encl.
c.c.:
The Honourable K. Kellie Leitch, PC, MP
The Honourable Stephen McNeil, MLA
The Honourable Keith Russell, MHA
The Honourable Wade MacLaughlan , MLA
The Honourable Edward Doherty, MLA
The Honourable Geoffrey Kelley, MNA
The Honourable David Zimmer, MPP
The Honourable Eric Robinson, MLA
The Honourable Jim Reiter, MLA
The Honourable John Rustad, MLA
The Honourable Darrell Pasloski, MLA
The Honourable Peter Taptuna, MLA
Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard
Ms. Betty Ann Lavallée
Mr. Perry Bellegarde
Mr. Terry Audla
Mr. Clément Chartier
Mr. Nelson Mayer
Minister of Aboriginal Relations, Province of Alberta
