Support continues for Indigenous healing space

Canadian Tire Dealers of Manitoba latest to make funding commitment

Treaty One Land (September 28, 2021) – Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba today announced that Canadian Tire Dealers of Manitoba have generously pledged their support to help build the new Indigenous Community Healing Space for kids and their families at HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital.

The project, announced in June 2021, is led by Dr. Mélanie Morris, Canada’s first Métis pediatric surgeon, and the hospital’s first physician lead for Indigenous Health. The space is designed to be a place where children and families feel safe, connect with each other, and nurture their whole self – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – while away from their home community and cultural supports.

Developed in consultation with the Foundation’s Indigenous Advisory Circle, a group of First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders from across Manitoba, as well as Elders, community organizations and families, the 2,000-sq-ft Indigenous Community Healing Space will feature:

• Design elements that reflect Indigenous culture, spirituality and worldview
• Space for traditional Indigenous ceremonies, including smudging
• Place for Indigenous Elders, healers and Knowledge Keepers to support families in care
• Library space for Indigenous children’s books
• Comfortable breastfeeding corner for mothers

The space will be vital for the more-than-50 percent of children using the hospital who are from Indigenous communities, many living with conditions like diabetes and some cancers that have greater incidence and prevalence among Indigenous kids, and which require lifelong hospital care.

“So many families from Indigenous communities, including our staff and customers across the province, find themselves away from home and needing the services of HSC Children’s Hospital,” says Jim Crighton, dealer / owner of Canadian Tire on Brandon’s 18th Street. “We are happy to help, and fortunate to be in a position to contribute to creating this safe and welcoming space that will help make a hospital stay more comfortable.”

This project is important for the Foundation’s and hospital’s journey towards reconciliation. Recognizing the value of Indigenous healing practices and making them available for Indigenous patients where requested is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 22:

We call upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health-care system to recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices and use them in the treatment of Aboriginal patients in collaboration with Aboriginal healers and Elders where requested by Aboriginal patients. (TRC Action item 22)

“Together, we can support the needs of Indigenous families, and lead with a focus on reconciliation for the past and improved care for Indigenous children into the future,” says Stefano Grande, Foundation president and CEO. “We are grateful to the Canadian Tire Dealers of Manitoba and encourage business leaders in Manitoba to join partners like them, CIBC, Wawanesa and The Winnipeg Foundation, in supporting this important project.”

The Canadian Tire gift of $110,000 brings the total funds raised for the project to more than $350,000.

Donations to the development of the Indigenous Community Healing Space can be made at goodbear.ca/indigenoushealth.

Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba and Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. We respect the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past, and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.

About Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba: Celebrating 50 years of community impact (1971-2021)

Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba is dedicated to ensuring that every child treated at HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital has the best care and experience possible. 

Since 1971, with incredible donor support, the Foundation has raised more than $150 million to help sick and injured children from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut. Funds support important programs that bring comfort to sick children, life-saving equipment, and health research to improve the lives of children everywhere. Let’s make anything possible. Learn about your impact at goodbear.ca.

For more information:

Katherine Fox
VP, Marketing & Communications
Children’s Hospital Foundation
kfox@goodbear.ca
204-330-2294