On January 15th, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Sharon Sutherland, Executive Director of Mediate BC, announced $922,866 in project funding for Mediate BC to improve access to justice for Indigenous and racialized communities in British Columbia. Justice Canada is providing funding over four fiscal years (2022/2026) through the department’s Justice Partnership and Innovation Program

The funding is in support of Mediate BC’s Navigating Collaborative Decision-Making in Child Welfare project, which is working to develop public legal education and information resources and providing legal support for Indigenous and racialized families navigating the child welfare system, including:

• Plain language resources in multiple languages

• Community outreach

• Community workshops

• Expansion of legal advice and support services provided by Collaborative Decision-Making Navigators

Mediate BC’s website at https://www.mediatebc.com/for-families/child-protection-navigator currently offers information on the Collaborative Decision-Maker Navigator program including a video in which Sierra Wells, Senior Collaborative Decision-Making Navigator, explains what the Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) Navigator service is all about.

A fact sheet on the CDM processes is available for download at: https://www.mediatebc.com/sites/default/files/CDM%20Navigator%20Brochure%200303.pdf

A June 2023 Needs Assessment report for the CDM Navigator Project, prepared by Talia Holy, MA, is also available at: https://www.mediatebc.com/sites/default/files/NeedsAssessmentMarch2023.pdf