What You can do About National Day Truth and Reconciliation – Urge Governments to Fund Tachick Lake Healing and Treatment Centre

September 24, 2021

Many people continue to look for ways they can help achieve some of the calls to action for Truth and Reconciliation. Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) has a call to action that is very important to us and the people serve, and will only take moments of your time.

Our health and wellness team needs your help in securing funding for the proposed Healing and Treatment Centre on Tachick Lake, located on the traditional territory of Saik’uz First Nation. We encourage you to write to your Member of Parliament (MP) and your Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and urge them to pressure Federal and Provincial Governments to fund the Tachick Lake Treatment Center.

You can copy and paste the letter written below and send by email or regular post. Your small effort will make huge difference in demonstrating public support for this very important work.

For a list of Federal MPs click the link below and select the representative from your area:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

For a list of Provincial MLAs click the link below and select the representative from your area:

https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members

(Your name)

(Your address)

(Date)

Dear (name of MP or MLA),

Indigenous people continue to be over-represented in the ongoing opioid crisis. This issue highlights a profound need for health & wellness services and recovery support. I join Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) in the recognition for safety of all community members. The Tachick Lake Healing and Treatment center intends to address some of these issues by initiating culturally appropriate care to Indigenous people living with addictions.

CSFS requires funding to complete the Tachick Lake Healing and Treatment Centre, located on the traditional territory of Saik’uz First Nation in the central interior of BC.

Partial funding has been committed by First Nations Health Authority and the BC Ministry of Health, but CSFS is still seeking a total commitment of $10.26 Million. CSFS is working with the Province of BC and the Federal Government to fully fund the project – but the urgency in doing so cannot be understated.

To date Indigenous Services Canada has not followed through with a funding commitment despite their stated support for the project. CSFS has received many statements of support from federal and provincial governments, but not enough financial support has been provided.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal recently rendered another judgement against the Federal Government to provide funding for capital projects ready to proceed. This call-to-action correlates with recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action.

The Tachick Lake Healing and Treatment Centre is a ready-to-launch facility and service that has been years in planning stages, the need for which grows each day. The project is ready to proceed as CSFS has acquired the site, completed initial planning work, and secured land use approvals. All that is required is commitment of funding.

I strongly urge Provincial and Federal Governments to deliver on their promises to fund the Tachick Lake Healing and Treatment Centre.

Sincerely,

(your name)

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