HUMA Committee Report

Supplementary Report by Members of the NDP

New Democratic Party members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities recognize that that the best training opportunities for First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples are culturally-relevant and regionally-based, and that the federal government should focus its support on partnerships that help ASETS holders develop strong programs to fit regional needs. 

Recommendation 1:  The federal government should consider culturally-specific programming in its plans for the distribution of ASETS funding. 

New Democrats recognize that streamlining the funding mechanisms for ASETS may provide administrative savings. But we also recognize that many witnesses called for culturally-specific programming to better serve clients. The federal government should take that into account when renewing ASETS funding and considering the mechanisms for distributing money to different groups.

Recommendation 2: Given the importance of diverse and comprehensive support services in the lives of Aboriginal people to allow them to overcome barriers in the labour market, federal government training support should include the funding of those support services.

 Currently, most training programs cannot fund extra interventions such as support services because these do not fit the parameters of existing funding agreements.  New Democrats recognize that to ensure the effectiveness of such programming, the federal government should exercise flexibility in terms of what kinds of services can be funded under the agreements.

Recommendation 3:  In its commitment to making safe childcare an integral part of the skills development training component of the renewal of the ASETS program, the federal government should add “regardless of status” to help ensure child care dollars are available to all Aboriginal people taking part in ASETS programming

New Democrats recognize that the need for safe, accessible child care is not limited to on-reserve clients, and the addition of “regardless of status” would provide clarity as to the scope of the government’s commitment.

Recommendation 4:  The federal government must streamline its processes so that both training providers and participants are informed of eligibility with an ample amount of time to prepare, and so that there is no disruption of service due to process delays.

New Democrats recognize that for ASETS funded programming to function as successfully as possible, funding must flow smoothly.