By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation As the national friendship centre movement expands to support Canada’s growing urban Indigenous population, the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) is facing funding uncertainty that risks cutbacks to vital community services. “We’re trying to show what friendship centres are contributing,” said new NAFC CEO Jennifer Rankin. “It’s repositioning ourselves as an economic partner by telling how many jobs we’re creating, infrastructure projects we’re involved in, the emergency response we’re providing.” While the NAFC requested $65 million annually in long-term funding, the federal government has indicated that funding will be less than half of previous years, when it reached over $70 million. Core funding provided through the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP) program since 2017 is expiring after the March…
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