Contributions to Support the Establishment and Revitalization of Cultural Spaces in Indigenous Communities

3.1 Purpose

The purpose of CSICP is to establish and revitalize safe, accessible spaces for cultural activities that are inclusive of the perspectives of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. This transformative program supports Indigenous peoples in reclaiming their identity as part of their journey towards self-determination. Culturally appropriate and inclusive spaces reconnect women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people with Indigenous ways of living, community support, healing, social networks, and knowledge transmission to future generations. As such, investing in cultural spaces is crucial in addressing the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. The program takes an inclusive approach by supporting a variety of potential spaces for cultural activities for all Inuit, Métis and First Nation peoples.

By investing in spaces for cultural activities which prioritize the voices of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals, the program aims to:

• Support Indigenous communities in advancing their self-determination, which will help to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals
• Address the National Inquiry Call to Justice 2.3, which calls upon all governments to prioritize safe and meaningful access to culture and languages for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in order to restore, reclaim, and revitalize their identities

3.2 Program objectives

CSICP's objective is to establish safe, accessible spaces for cultural activities which are inclusive of the perspectives of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities.

3.3 Expected Results

The CSICP's principal outcome is that women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals have increased access to cultural spaces where they feel free to share experiences, connect with their communities, and participate in cultural activities without discrimination, harassment, or denial of identity.

Indigenous self-determination and self-governance benefits from the participation, voices, and safety of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. This program is expected to increase the capacity for Indigenous groups to advance their self-determination in a manner that is more inclusive of the perspectives of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals.

The specific performance measures and indicators are:

Eligible initiatives and projects

Eligible initiatives and projects include the creation, renovation, and retrofit of cultural spaces that promote meaningful access to Indigenous culture, language, and decision making for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

Project costs

Project costs are intended to support the planning, design, construction, renovation, and retrofit of eligible cultural spaces. Retrofits are changes to an existing cultural space that seek to renovate, upgrade, or repair aspects of the building/asset. Retrofits should include ensuring that a space is safe and accessible to the all community members, in particular for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Detailed project costs must be included in the project plan as part of the application process. These expenses should directly support the program objective. Examples of project costs may include:

• Project planning (for example feasibility studies, environmental studies/assessments, architectural and engineering designs, technical studies, etc. all related to CSICP objectives) that examine approaches for the development of new facilities or the renovation of existing ones. Eligible feasibility studies must relate to CSICP objectives (for example examine approaches to development of new facilities or renovations of existing facilities)
• Salary of a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) in charge of overseeing the construction or renovation of a cultural space, as well as building materials and contracts of plumbers, electricians
• Building of new spaces for cultural activities (long houses, cultural centres, heritage parks, powwow grounds, etc.)
• Fees and professional honorariums related to establishing or renovating the eligible cultural space
• Transportation and access to cultural space that's considered as an extension of a cultural space, including access roads, sidewalks, ditches, signs, trails, bridges, vehicle requirements (buses, trucks, cars, snowmobiles, boats)
• Health and safety requirements required for the safety and function of the cultural space, including fire detection (alarms, sirens, detectors), plumbing, electrical and energy systems, garbage removal
• Specialized equipment purchases such as lighting and sound equipment that support the cultural activities
• Costs related to building, adaptive re-use or renovating a building or site (for example material costs, demolition, excavation, labour, repair of molding structures that pose a potential safety hazard, etc.) and related fixed capital costs

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

• taxes for which the recipient is eligible for a tax rebate and all other costs eligible for rebates
• spaces that provide commercial services
• project costs incurred before conditional approval of a project
• legal fees
• salaries and other employment benefits of any employees of the First Nation community;
• a recipient's overhead costs, its direct or indirect operating or administrative costs, and more specifically its costs related to planning, engineering, architecture, supervision, management and other activities normally carried out by its staff
• legal fees
• routine repair and maintenance costs
• audit and evaluation costs
• incremental costs beyond the program's 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 year duration

Basis for payment

Where it is essential to the achievement of program objectives and specifically provided for in the agreement to be entered into between CIRNAC and the eligible recipient, the basis on which contribution final payments and any progress payments are made is one or a combination of the following:

• Achievement of pre-determined performance expectations or milestones (for example completion of the planning phase, project commencement, project completion, etc.)
• Reimbursement of eligible expenditures (e.g. feasibility studies, environmental assessments, technical studies, etc.)

Recipients of a contribution must meet and continue to meet the specific terms and conditions of the contribution agreement prior to payments being made.

Payments will be made under flexible and fixed contribution funding approaches, in accordance with the Treasury Board's Directive on Transfer Payments.

Performance measurement and reporting

CIRNAC provides assurance that all departmental systems, procedures and resources for ensuring due diligence in approving payments under this program, and in verifying eligibility and entitlement and for the management and administration of the program are in place. Given that some of the applicants will be Indigenous groups with relatively small populations, measurement and reporting will be kept to a minimum to reduce barriers for their participation.

The department will expect a final report and financial statement. The final report will need to describe:

• A narrative of activities undertaken, including a description of the outcomes achieved
• A final account of expenditures