For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, ON, September 26, 2008: The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) urges federal party leaders to make urban Aboriginal issues a top priority.

The 2008 federal election comes at an important time for the Friendship Centre Movement. Friendship Centres have been struggling with insufficient federal core funding for well over a decade. Key federal urban programs and services are often designed and delivered with no input from Friendship Centres, which are Canada’s largest urban Aboriginal service delivery infrastructure. Tremendous challenges exist in other areas of federal jurisdiction with no targeted urban Aboriginal programming available. Many urban Aboriginal people face tremendous challenges daily with no targeted urban Aboriginal programming available in many areas of need. Making matters worse, all too often national policy processes to address these areas exclude Friendship Centres and our representatives.

“We have yet to hear federal party leaders commit heavily to Aboriginal people in their campaigns thus far,” said NAFC President Vera Pawis Tabobondung. “This is extremely disheartening when you take into account that Aboriginal people are the fastest growing population in Canada.”

In this light, the NAFC has written the federal parties asking for their plans to address urban Aboriginal issues. The NAFC will be posting their responses to inform our membership, our clients, and the Canadian public about their options in this election.

“In a typical year, Friendship Centres have over one million client contacts,” said NAFC Executive Director Peter Dinsdale. “We think it is important that urban Aboriginal people, and all Canadian voters, know where federal parties stand on the issues facing Canada’s fastest growing population.”

The NAFC believes it is crucial that urban Aboriginal people participate in Election 2008, and hope that our efforts will help educate and inform urban Aboriginal people – indeed, all Canadians.

The full list of questions can be found at www.nafc.ca.

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The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) represents the service delivery interests 118 of Canada’s Friendship Centres and their urban Aboriginal membership.


For more information, please contact:

Geraldine King, Communications Officer, NAFC
(613) 563-4844 ext 328 or mobile (613) 296-6234 or gking @ nafc.ca (no spaces)