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Reports

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Decolonizing Work Readiness Programs for Urban Indigenous Youth Research Report (2024)

Date: September 30th 2024

Funder: ACOA - APECA

PartnersMi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre & First Light: St. John's Friendship Centre

Researchers: Dr. Heidi Weigand, Dr. Kristin Williams, Dr. Daphne Rixon, Diana Serban, Jessica Hepworth, Erica Weigand

Summary: This report explores how educational institutions and workplace readiness programs are decolonizing their approaches to support Indigenous youth in Halifax and St. John's. Collaborating with local friendship centres, the study aims to identify the needs of urban Indigenous youth to enhance their workforce readiness. It examines research ethics practices, employment barriers, and decolonization efforts by organizations offering training programs.

Communal Commercial Licensing Policy Research Report

Date: September 30th 2023

Funder: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

PartnersAtlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat Inc.

Researchers: Dr. Heidi Weigand, Dr. Kristin Williams, Zach Robar

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Summary: The project involved building from the three community workshops held in the Winter of 2023

with fishers, AAROMs, and fisheries organizations. The research focus met with individuals and

groups from the Atlantic region, including Eastern Quebec to determine the gaps and barriers to

the Communal Commercial Licensing Policy Framework development process. The feedback

from participants identified several key challenge areas. The following topics varied greatly from

region to region and nation to nation but are presented as overall challenges with the Communal

Commercial Licensing Policy Framework Development. There are five overarching recommendations: a) First Nations First Leading to Self-Determination, b) Listen to our Feedback and Make Meaningful Change, c) DFO Needs a Refresher on Indigenous Rights, d) Flexibility is Needed to Run our Businesses Sustainably, and e) Plain Language Reports / Language Translations, In addition, we recommended 10 actions to help drive the CCLP framework development and 5 recommendations to help APCFNC develop a co-managed continuous improvement process with DFO to support the community’s needs.

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A Case Study: Indigenous Fish and Fish Habitat in the Fisheries Act

Date: March 31, 2023

Funder: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

PartnersAtlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat Inc.

Researchers: Dr. Heidi Weigand, Dr. Kristin Williams,

Tammy Williams, Diana Serban

Summary: In this case study we present key observations from our analysis of the Canadian Fisheries Act

(2019) and the Canadian United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

(2021). Our analysis revealed seven areas of concern with the implementation of

UNDRIP as set out in the Action Plan to implement UNDRIP across all federal legislation in

Canada (section 5 of the UNDRIP Act).

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Fish and Fish Habitat

Date: August 31, 2024

Funder: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

PartnersAtlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat Inc.

Researchers: Dr. Heidi Weigand

Summary: discussions on draft policies and frameworks proposed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) specifically within their Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) through their waves of engagement process. Additionally, these workshops have been and continue to be a space for First Nations communities and organizations to share stories, build relationships, and highlight First Nations-led fish and fish habitat work happening across the region. Since 2021, APC has hosted two workshops each fiscal year for a total of six fish and fish habitat workshops. Key priorities that have been consistently expressed by participants throughout. APCFNC’s fish and fish habitat workshops are the desire and call for a First Nations-first principled approach to program development as well as the need for more information regarding DFO’s approach to their engagement process.

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Atlantic First Nations Mental Health and Addictions Strategy

Date: March 2022

Funder: Health Canada

PartnersAtlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat Inc.

Researchers: Dr. Heidi Weigand, Dr. Shelley Price

Summary:

Summary: This report is an executive summary of the full Strategic Mental Wellness and Addictions Plan. In this report we provide insights into the issues identified from the engagement sessions and literature review. We follow the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework, and we build on the 2015 Strategic Plan Evaluation results. We will present the key problem areas, followed by critical barriers to success, and end with the aspirational goals and recommendations. In the full report, we structure the report based on the four following change processes.

 

  1. Anger and Trauma: Colonial Structures - where we highlight the historical and ongoing colonial structures that were highlighted in the literature and through the engagement session.

  2. Frustration and Grief: Outcomes of Injustice - where we highlight the health outcomes that emerge out of the injustices brought on from the white supremacist, colonialist and neo-liberalist agendas.

  3. Hope and Care: Changing Western Narratives - where we highlight some of the ways in which the Western world is responding to the calls for change.

  4. Spirit and Love: Culture at the Heart of Healing - where we highlight the ways in which Indigenous communities are leading change in their communities through culture.

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