TORONTO — The Ontario government has launched a new program to help families impacted by investigations into burial sites at former Indian Residential School sites.
The $7.7 million Indian Residential School Community Engagement Fund is available to communities and organizations to provide culturally appropriate mental health and wellness supports.
Greg Rickford, minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation, made the announcement Monday in Toronto.
"This investment is in direct response to what communities have told us they need — flexible, community-driven resources that address the impacts of this difficult work," the minister stated.
Applicants may be eligible for up to $250,000 for programs such as public education and awareness, survivor engagement, gatherings, commemorations, and research activities that connect community members to ongoing investigations.
Submissions for funding may be made online through the government's Transfer Payment Ontario website until Sept. 8, 2025.
The money for the initiative was previously announced in the 2025 provincial budget, which includes a total of $32 million for planned and ongoing burial investigations and for mental health, addictions and trauma supports.
The government said that, to date, it has committed almost $125 million to support the identification, investigation, protection and commemoration of burials at former residential schools in Ontario.
