Provincial Métis group to provide $2.88M to households affected by pandemic

The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) is providing interim funding of $2.88 million to help Métis households across the province whom the coronavirus pandemic has affected.

The funding will be allocated for emergency relief to address child-care supports, personal protective equipment, regional capacity and the needs of households in financial distress due to COVID-19, according to an MN-S news release.

The funding is part of a broader relief effort that includes another $7.25 million from the federal government. This plan also includes ongoing negotiations with the province to ensure adequate and timely access to needed health services, plus any other relief efforts yet to come. The organization continues to refine a pandemic plan to address the short-, mediumand long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The health of our citizens is paramount to the MN-S. Since COVID-19 became a growing concern in Saskatchewan, the MN-S leadership has reacted proactively and has been working very hard to determine the needs of our citizens in all corners of the province,” president Glen McCallum said in the news release. This funding will address the immediate cost of living in hardships that the pandemic has created, the release continued.

In response to the mass closure of daycares and childhood programs, MN-S is establishing measures to assist parents and guardians in obtaining safe, regulated and culturally distinct child care for their kids. A focus will be on needed protective equipment that will be acquired and distributed, with special priority given to front-line workers and high-risk citizens. More information is available at metisnationsk.com.