What We Do

Reconciliation in Action

• In honour of Orange Shirt Day and the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Caring Society partnered with Assembly of Seven Generations, Project of Heart, and Beechwood Cemetery to host an event on September 30 in Ottawa that was attended by over 1,500 people.
• Have a Heart Day was celebrated in COVID-safe ways by clubs, groups, schools, and communities across Canada.
• In partnership with National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) and with the assistance of FNCARES, the Caring Society finalized its seven-part virtual series on the five Touchstones of Hope principles.
• #BearWitnessDay and #JordansPrinciple were trending on Twitter on Bear Witness Day as individuals, groups, communities, schools, and workplaces honoured Jordan River Anderson and learned about Jordan’s Principle.
• We distributed over 700 packets of seeds to individuals, schools and organizations celebrating Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams. People of all ages to planted heart gardens in memory of children lost to the residential school system, to honour residential school survivors and their families, and to support the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Spirit Bear and Friends

• Spirit Bear’s first film, Spirit Bear and Children Make History, in now available with closed captions and subtitles in both English and French!
• With the official release still to come, Spirit Bear is thrilled to announce that his second film in the Spirit Bear film series, Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dreams, was finished in January 2022.
• Over 15 new schools and community members were joined by a Reconciliation Ambearrister. Each hosted bear accompanies the group as they learn about and promote the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.
• Spirit Bear has over 1,000 new Twitter followers and 800 new Instagram followers! He now has over 13,000 pawesome social media friends!
• Spirit Bear pawblished his fourth calendar, Spirit Bear’s 2022 Guide to Reconciliation and his learning guide in French to accompany his third book, Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams.
• Over 500 copies of Spirit Bear’s books and over 1,000 calendars were donated to First Nations agencies, schools, hospitals, and other groups!
• We sold over 6,500 of Spirit Bear’s books and over 1,000 copies of the 2021 calendar. All proceeds support child- and youth-led reconciliation initiatives.

Big Win for the Kids

• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has issued 23 procedural and noncompliance orders since the 2016 landmark ruling, three of which were issued in 2021-2022.
• On September 29, 2021 the Federal Court issued a decision upholding the Tribunal’s orders on compensation for First Nations families impacted by Canada’s discrimination.
• In March 2022, the Tribunal ordered Canada to provide $2,500 per First Nations person on reserve and in the Yukon for child welfare prevention services and to fund, at actual cost, post-majority supports for federally funded youth aging out of care, as well as First Nations young adults who have aged out of care up to age 26.
• Over 2.04 million services and products were provided to First Nations children since July 2016 because of Jordan’s Principle and the May 2017 noncompliance order.

Making New Friends

• We completed over 120 virtual and in-person, COVID-safe events in 10 provinces and four countries!
• The Caring Society has over 2,500 new followers on Twitter and over 2,100 new followers on Facebook. We now have more than 35,000 social media friends!
• We participated in over 150 media engagements, appearing in both Canadian and international media.
• Through our awards and scholarships, we were able to recognize 12 fantastic groups and individuals who are taking action to ensure equity for First Nations children.
• We published four newsletters featuring over 35 articles. We distributed newsletters to over 250 First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies, Caring Society members, and educators.