The Saskatoon Tribal Council and the government of Saskatchewan announced a partnership to help women transition from Pinegrove Correctional Centre back into everyday life.
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety minister Christine Tell announced $3.6M in funding over the next three years for the Saskatoon Tribal Council to work on a new pilot project.
After the initial three years, two additional one-year extensions will be made available.
The project is called Īkwēskīcik iskwēwak which means “turning their life around” in Cree and will be designed and led by indigenous people. It will focus on healing, wellness, education, training, and eventually transition women back into the work force.
Tribal Chief Mark Arcand of the Saskatoon Tribal Council said these are some of the things currently missing in many Indigenous communities.
“So we’ve really got to make a conscious effort in the city of Saskatoon where they’ll be coming to provide a lot of them with healing at this point so when they go back if they have limited services, let’s say mental health, or addictions worker, psychologist that some of the communities may not have, that we’re getting that service to the inside Saskatoon,” said Arcand.
The STC is currently searching for a building in Saskatoon to use for the project.
Minister Christine Tell told media anything more than the initial three years and two years of potential extension would have to be re-visited at a later date. She said she has confidence in the STC to successfully put this plan to action.
“The STC understands and knows what the offenders in Pinegrove need, and so that’s what we’re trying to address, and we’ve got the right people at the right table having those discussions,” said Tell.
The project is mostly focused on women who commit minor offences and find themselves re-offending and is expected to begin this fall.