Question Period Note: The Indigenous Community Support Fund

• The Indigenous Community Support Fund was established as a no wrong-door approach to provide direct funding to Indigenous leadership and organizations for community-based solutions to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the spread of COVID-19.
• Since March 2020, more than $2 billion has been allocated to the Indigenous Community Support Fund.
• The Government of Canada continues to provide support to Indigenous communities as they face ongoing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as we transition to the wind-down of COVID-19 related funding.

The Indigenous Community Support Fund
(ICSF) was introduced in March 2020 to provide funding to Indigenous communities and organizations to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been playing a supporting role to the First Nations Inuit and Health Branch (FNIHB)-led pandemic response, dedicating financial resources to cover eligible expenses that FNIHB does not assume. Since March 2020, more than $2 billion has been allocated to Indigenous Community Support Fund.

The ICSF is delivered via the program authorities of three existing programs: the Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP) and the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program (CFMP) for First Nations on-reserve, while funding to support off-reserve Indigenous organizations and communities, Inuit and Métis, Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Nations are allocated via the Urban Programming for Indigenous People (UPIP).

The ICSF has utilized a combination of three delivery models to allocate funds to eligible recipients: direct allocations to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation utilizing a funding formula methodology; a proposal, needs-based approach for all distinctions-based groups; and, contingency funding allocations to respond rapidly to acute pressures, such as outbreaks. Commonly funded activities include: perimeter security, the purchase of personal protective equipment, measures to address food insecurity, incremental staff costs, mental wellness, cultural, and seniors supports, and preparedness measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Budget 2022 announced an additional $190.5M in funding for the ICSF to continue to support Indigenous communities and organizations in their efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 2, 2022, Finance Canada approved the transfer of an additional $50 million in funding, originally allocated towards the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Public Health envelope, to supplement the ICSF, bringing the total ICSF funding this year to $240.5M. Funding will be distributed via a combination of direct allocations to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities based on previously used formulas, and through a needs-based process open to urban and off-reserve Indigenous communities and organizations.

Terms and Conditions
In order to enable carry forwards into this fiscal year, as well as to facilitate the distribution of Budget 2022 funding, the Department of Indigenous Services Canada received an extension of the time-limited COVID-19 amendments within the UPIP and EMAP Terms and Conditions, which has been approved by the Minister, now expiring on March 31, 2023.

If pressed on eligibility
• The ICSF supports:
o First Nations communities and organizations, including self-governing and modern treaty nations;
o Inuit communities and organizations in Inuit Nunangat;
o Métis Nation communities and organizations;
o Urban and off-reserve Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:
o measures to address food insecurity;
o education (and other supports for children);
o mental health and cultural supports;
o perimeter security;
o review of pandemic plans;
o vaccine roll-out and other activities related to supporting COVID-19 preparedness and response measures.

If pressed on funding allocations
• The ICSF is a distinctions based funding envelope and has been used to support First Nations, Inuit, Métis communities and urban Indigenous populations across Canada.
• Since March 2020, the ICSF has provided more than $1 billion in direct allocations to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, and approximately $820 million in needs-based funding.
• As of August 1, 2022, more than $419 million in needs-based funding has been provided to urban and off-reserve Indigenous communities and organizations.