THE ASSOCIATION OF NATIVE…

THE ASSOCIATION OF
NATIVE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES AGENCIES OF ONTARIO (ANCFSAO)

SUBMISSION TO

Emergency Management Policy and Governance Branch

RESPONSE SUBMISSION RE:

Proposed Legislative and Regulatory Amendments to
the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA)

THIS SUBMISSION IS MADE ON BEHALF OF ONTARIO’S THIRTEEN (13) INDIGENOUS CHILD AND FAMILY WELL-BEING AGENCIES (ICFWBAs)

January 23, 2025

 
Preamble

The Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO) appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback with regards to the proposed amendments under Bill 238, amending The Emergency Management Modernization Act and the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) 2017 to enable the Minister to issue direction to ministry-funded service providers regarding extraordinary matters, which may include extreme weather, natural disasters, interruptions to essential services or other matters of public interest.

With a good mind and collective voices of the thirteen (13) Indigenous Child and Family Well-being Agencies, who are members of the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO), we share our reflections and concerns and offer recommendations pertaining to areas of compliance and enforcement measures within the proposed legislative and regulatory amendments relevant to the Indigenous child and family wellbeing sector.

About ANCFSAO

ANCFSAO is a membership association made up of thirteen Indigenous Child and Family Well-being Agencies (ICFWBAs), twelve of which are fully mandated and one that is pre-mandated to provide child protection services. All our member agencies are integrated service providers providing protection and prevention services as delegated and directed by their respective First Nations communities, offering wholistic, wraparound prevention-focused supports. Collectively, our membership provides services to over 90% of all First Nations Communities in Ontario as well as to the urban Indigenous populations within their jurisdictions.

Feedback re: Proposed Amendments and Approach

1. The Indigenous Child and Family Wellbeing agencies were not consulted as part of the 45 engagements during Summer 2024. Providing extensive supports to First Nations families and communities during times of crises which can be further exacerbated during situations of emergencies, agencies are directly implicated in emergency planning and work closely with First Nations communities under their existing laws and protocols. Regulatory development ought to avoid resulting in a dual-compliance framework with potential inconsistencies.

2. Schedule 1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act facilitates co-ordination as part of emergency management including Indigenous communities and designated child wellbeing agencies.
o First Nations communities may have their own emergency management plans that supersede Provincial jurisdiction and likely are already more robust and tailored to specific community needs. It is unclear how prescribed requirements for agency emergency planning would impact First Nations designed frameworks already in place.
o First Nations data includes lands and resources and all community information. Any documents, including emergency management plans, belong to the First Nation. Provincial governments must respect the Principles of OCAP® in any sharing of such emergency planning documents.
o Agencies will now be required to be compliant with the new provincial strategy and its requirements, which may extend to its approved and/or licensed caregiver homes. Ministry to consider reducing of burden for caregivers (e.g. training and reporting requirements) so as not to deter caregivers from stepping up to care for children and exacerbate existing lack of placements crisis across child welfare.
o Requirements and impact to Agencies existing emergency plans and programs will remain unclear until a provincial emergency response framework is developed and further directives are issued. Clarity for sector would be helpful.

3. Schedule 2, which includes amendments to the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act, will impact entities funded under MCCSS and will likely affect Outside Paid Resources. Impact may also transfer to Customary Care, Kin in Care, and other out-of-home care settings.
o The entities identified above may be required to submit emergency management plans, which could include fire drills and other evacuation plans.
o These plans could be modified by the Minister or requested to be modified.
o Customary care homes, being founded in the traditions of individual nations may be required to comply with Schedule 2 amendments to the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act. Bill 238 may have regulations that run contrary to the spirit of the custom of customary care.
o The regulations that might affect customary care homes under Bill 238 are yet to be determined.

4. If Bill 238 is passed, regulations will be developed to operationalize the legislative changes and set out further prescribed requirements outlining specific measures relevant to child and family agencies. Consultations with the ICFWB sector should be held and feedback respected and reflected in the regulations.
o Potential for misalignment of First Nations needs, realities experienced in remote and rural communities and Ministry requirements pertaining to emergency response may result in non-compliance.
o Consultations with First Nations are imperative as this work proceeds to ensure communities in remote and northern areas can inform development of a framework that would support their needs.

5. No additional funding for compliance has been provided for agencies, First Nations or other care providers in the ICFWB sector to support capacity with emergency response or the added resources required to develop plans, programs, reporting and training.
o Agencies may experience having to comply with government requirements while working to meet First Nations needs without additional resources allocated. This could affect agencies’ ability to be in compliance with regulations.

6. Data that is related to Indigenous communities should be managed in a way that respects their rights and governance structures. The Ministry needs to engage with First Nations, who may have their own jurisdiction over emergency planning, to develop emergency management strategies that are culturally appropriate and effective.

7. It remains unclear whether additional training will be required for agencies to align with the new provincial framework.

ANCFSAO is requesting additional information regarding the ways in which the Emergency Management Modernization Act, 2024 may affect the Indigenous Child and Family Wellbeing sector, including agencies and First Nations communities.

We welcome further opportunities to collaborate with our government partners to ensure that the collective efforts are effective and successful in protecting the safety of Indigenous children, youth and families.

For additional inquiries please contact:
Elena Lifshits Carrera, Manager, Policy and Research ecarrera@ancfsao.ca