Transfer of youth-serving organization The Link to Brokenhead Ojibway Nation marks a 'day of hope'

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 3:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A century-old Winnipeg-based enactment that works with families and younker successful situation is getting a caller commencement and taking different measurement toward reconciliation.

The cognition of The Link is being shifted from a not-for-profit enactment that relied heavy connected authorities backing to being owned and led by Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.

"We are sharing a precise important milestone. Today, we stitchery to denote the repatriation of services to our First Nations people," committee chair Candace Olson said astatine a quality league connected Thursday, aft which a memorandum of knowing was signed with Brokenhead.

The Link, on Mayfair Avenue, provides some short- and semipermanent enactment for younker and their families done counselling, situation intervention, radical care, a 24-hour younker shelter, lodging support, education and employment assistance.

Seventy per cent of the families who access its programs and services are First Nations, "so it's incredibly important that we marque these steps forward," said Olson.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said the transportation of "a large societal service organization" to a First Nation is a archetypal successful the province's history.

"This isn't conscionable astir a modulation of responsibility, it's really a translation of systems," she said. "This is simply a time of hope, a time of courage."

The organization was established successful 1929 as the Sir Hugh John Macdonald Memorial Hostel, named for judge Hugh John Macdonald, lad of John A. Macdonald. The latter, Canada's archetypal premier minister, is regarded by galore arsenic an architect of the residential schoolhouse system. 

The organization's initial mandate was to "provide a Christian location for under-privileged boys surviving successful the incorrect situation owed to atrocious location conditions," according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

It adopted the Macdonald Youth Services sanction successful 1993 and changed it again to The Link successful 2021 in the tone of reconciliation.

It is now Manitoba's largest enactment for younker and families successful crisis, employing much than 300 radical and helping 10,000 families annually.

But it has always been done "under a assemblage authorities structure," Olson said.  

"We're looking guardant to taking this travel towards restoring what was taken and supporting Brokenhead Ojibway Nation successful re-establishing sovereignty."

A modulation committee volition beryllium assembled soon to facilitate the process and guarantee the attraction radical person is rooted successful First Nations culture, values and traditions, she said. That process is expected to take about 4 months.

"It's a instrumentality to our archetypal work — caring for our children successful a mode that reflects who they are, wherever they travel from and what they request to thrive," said Gordon BlueSky, main of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, which is astir 70 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

"For generations, First Nations families person been impacted by systems that weren't designed with america successful mind. From residential schools to the Sixties Scoop to modern kid welfare, our radical person seen excessively galore children separated from their civilization and community," helium said.

"Today's statement is astir healing those harms. This is reconciliation successful action."