Nearly $50 million from federal government dedicated to youth justice services in Manitoba

The federal government says funds have already begun flowing to the province to help keep youth out of the justice system.

On Friday, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said $49.8 million will go towards helping youth in Manitoba.

"They help us build safer, healthier communities by keeping youth out of the criminal justice system in the first place,” Lametti said at the press conference at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre.

That’s more than a quarter of the nearly $185 million the federal government has set aside for Canada’s Youth Justice Services Funding Program between 2021 and 2027.

It's meant to give support to areas such as rehabilitation and restorative justice, as well as other programs to help keep youth avoid the justice system.

"It’s investing in the province which is looking at ways in which we can assist young people to the degree in which they will hopefully fall in a better path,” Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux said.

Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre’s program support manager, Lanna Many Grey Horses says the centre is seeing its own success stories with its Indigenous-led approach to trauma-informed youth programming.

"Coming together with the community, the police, the justice system and looking at really, long stem practices that are going to help,” said Many Grey Horses.

Half of all youth in correctional facilities between 2021 and 2022 were Indigenous - according to Statistics Canada data. It says 64 per cent of female youths in these facilities were Indigenous - and 48 per cent of males were Indigenous.

She says youth are breaking inter-generational trauma cycles through connection to culture.

"Our youth are doing extremely well. They are getting highly educated, entering schools. They are getting their education they are working, volunteering, they are doing a lot of different things."

One example of the success that she has been seeing is young people going from being in the program to working at the centre.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice says the funding is an increase of more than $3 million a year.

"The province is pleased the federal government has increased their contributions as it will assist with Manitoba’s commitment to Indigenous reconciliation efforts and reduction in the over-representation of Indigenous in the youth justice system," they wrote in an email statement.

The province says it, like other jurisdictions, funds the vast majority of youth justice programming.

It says some recent youth commitments include creating a youth health lodge, along with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, in Thompson, as well as increasing the use of restorative justice, and offering alternatives to the mainstream justice system.