The Metis Nation Saskatchewan held a ground blessing and ground breaking ceremony Wednesday afternoon for their new childcare centre in Saskatoon.
The Metis Centre of Excellence Early Learning and Childcare Centre, set to begin construction in the coming weeks, will have space for 90 kids and over 30 staff.
MN-S President Glen McCallum says the centre was made possible through partnerships.
“It’s so important to have those partnerships with the City of Saskatoon and the Province of Saskatchewan,” said McCallum. “True partnerships will yield what we are celebrating today.”
The childcare centre was described by officials as a centre where the Metis community in the city can come and connect.
MN-S Child and Family Minister Kathy Pruden Nansel says the facility is about breaking the cycles of residential schools. Pruden Nansel drew connections to the screening of a documentary launched recently on the survivors of the Ile a la Crosse boarding school.
“Our kids are going to be in a Metis cultural environment, hear their language, see their cultural symbols, and be around their elders,” she said. “Those are all things, unfortunately, many of our family members were deprived of… we are breaking cycles.”
The childcare centre is scheduled to open its doors in Fall of 2025.
(Photo by Joel Willick.)