Spirit Bear Podcast

In this special episode of the Courageous Conversation Series, hosted by Gabrielle Fayant from A7G, Title, we take a deep dive into the unique experiences of Metis Settlements in Alberta with Vice President of the Metis Settlements General Council, Brenda Blyane.  Through a rich conversation, this episode explores the origins of the Settlements, their historical and political development and how t...

In this special episode of the Courageous Conversation Series, host Gabrielle Fayant from A7G is joined by Jennifer Altenberg, a passionate educator and youth worker who shares her journey working with Indigenous youth across the prairies. From creating safe, empowering spaces outside the classroom to now transforming what education look like within it, we reflect on the deep importance of holding...

In this special episode of the Courageous Conversation Series, host Gabrielle Fayant from A7G is joined by Brittany Matthews from the Caring Society and Koral Hamilton from Feathers of Hope for a critical conversation on Indigenous youth leadership, the importance and effects of data sovereignty and the urgent need for accountability in Canada’s policies and actions. Together, they explore how you...

What does youth engagement look like in child welfare reform and work? In this special guest episode we are joined by John Sharpe, Executive Director of Partners for Youth in New Brunswick, to explore what it means to move beyond tokenism and step into authentic allyship and co-conspiratorship with young people.

What happens when families of disabled children can’t access the support they need—and child welfare becomes the last resort? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries: Our Stories, Our Worlds, Our Futures, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Irwin Elman, former Ontario Provincial Child Advocate and current President of Defence for Children International-Canada,...

What does equity really look like in child welfare? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries - Equitable Standards to Youth Transitions – Implementing Equity in Child Welfare, we sit down with Mark Laforge from the Government of New Brunswick to discuss the Equitable Standards to Youth Transitions Evaluation Model. As a pilot partner, New Brunswick is leading the way in implementing tools...

How can storytelling help us process loss, find strength, and reclaim identity? In this special episode of Beyond Binaries: Our Stories, Our Worlds, Our Futures - Storytelling: Processing Loss, Finding Strength, and Reclaiming Identity , co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Metatawabin get intimate about their own experiences of loss and healing. Through raw reflection and conversation, they expl...

In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries: Our Stories, Our Worlds, Our Futures - Alumni, Memory, and Storytelling: Eldership, Storytelling, and Healing, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Metatawabin sit down with Marie Christian, a First Voice Advocate elder, to explore how storytelling, memory, and lived experience intersect to shape healing and community leadership.

In this episode of Beyond Binaries - Healing and Grief: Lived Experience, Loss, and Journey to Healing, cohosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Wetatawabin share elements of their own journeys through loss, grief, and healing. Together, they reflect on lived expertise, uncover commonalities across their experiences, and deconstruct the ways grief is carried and transformed. Grief is not the end of th...

Many young people from the child welfare system experience disconnection from their culture and language. In Scarborough, Ontario, a new community center is being built—supported by all levels of government—to serve an ethno-specific group and foster cultural reconnection. In this Special Guest Episode of Beyond Binaries – Reconnections: Culture, Language, Community , Nedra Rodrigo joins cohosts C...

How do relationships and connections shape the futures of young people leaving child welfare? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries we sit down with Heather O’Keefe from StepStones for Youth to explore the power of meaningful connections in supporting youth as they transition to adulthood.

What does it take to build a community that truly supports children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries, host Cheyanne Ratnam is joined by Valerie McMurtry (CEO, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada), Keziah Oduro (YPAC Member), and Wendy Chan (Associate Director, Program Impact, CAFC) to discuss how community, innovation, and...

How can youth lead the way in shaping the systems that affect them? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Sharif Mahdy from the Students Commission of Canada (SCC) to explore how youth engagement is important for driving real change.

Youth homelessness isn’t about rebellion—it’s about survival. In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries: Our Stories, Our Worlds, Our Futures, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Michael Braithwaite, CEO of Blue Door, to speak about the undeniable link between child welfare and homelessness.

What happens when lived experts take the lead in shaping the narrative on homelessness, youth justice, and media representation? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries: Our Stories, Our Worlds, Our Futures, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Joel Zola, founder of Street Voices, to discuss how his lived experience inspired a movement to amplify marginalized vo...

What happens when youth with lived experience lead the conversation on child welfare reform? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries - Centering Lived Expertise: Transforming Child Welfare in Canada, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Dr. Mélanie Doucet and Jessica (Jessi) Knutson from the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates (NCYICA) to discuss how you...

Why are Black children and families disproportionately affected by the child welfare system—and what can be done to change it? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries - Beyond the Numbers: Addressing Racial Disparities in Child Welfare, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Rachelle Matatawabin sit down with Vania Patrick-Drakes from One Vision One Voice (OVOV) to unpack the realities of anti-Blac...

What does it mean to have personal sovereignty being Indigenous having grown up in the violence of the colonial system? In this Special Guest episode of Beyond Binaries - Intersections: Indigeneity, Motherhood, Child Welfare, co-hosts Cheyanne Ratnam and Ashley Bach are joined by Rachelle Metatawabin and Kakeka Thundersky, who are incredible Indigenous women who are former crown wards and mothers.

On this episode of Spirit Bear Podcast, Dr. Cindy Blackstock is joined by Gabrielle Fayant and Alyssa Carpenter to discuss the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Call to Action 66 and their important work to call upon the federal government to establish multiyear funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation

On this second two-part episode of Spirit Bear Podcast, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, Amber Crowe and Dr. Dr. Barbara Fallon are joined by Dr. Ashley Vandermorris, staff paediatrician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at SickKids and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto to continue the discussion and explore the complex mental health needs for First Nati...

On this two-part episode of Spirit Bear Podcast, Dr. Cindy Blackstock is joined by Amber Crowe, a member and resident of Alderville First Nation and Executive Director of Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child &Family Services, an Indigenous Child and Family Well Being Agency and Dr. Barbara Fallon, the Associate Vice-President, Research for the University of Toronto and a Professor at the Factor-In...

On February 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth, and families was constitutionally valid in whole, following a challenge to the Bill's constitutionality by the Quebec Court of Appeal.  On this episode of the Spirit Bear Podcast, we're fortunate to be joined by two experts, Drs. Naiomi Metallic and Hadley Friedl...

In light of some of the monies that are finally starting to reach First Nations communities, as well as within the overall context of Bill C-92, the delivery of effective prevention services is an important topic. While some First Nations have made great strides toward implementing prevention services, others will be starting from ground zero.  On this episode of the Spirit Bear Podcast, hear from...

On this episode of Spirit Bear's Ask an Expert Podcast, we're joined once more by Drs. Barbara Fallon and Ashley Vandermorris, and Genevieve Sansone of the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development Policy Bench as they discuss the importance of culturally appropriate, community-based substance use interventions in First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities.

On this episode of the Ask an Expert podcast, Cindy welcomes back Dr. Helaina Gaspard of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) to discuss Jordan's Principle, the child-first legal rule that ensures First Nations children can access the supports they need when they need them. Tune in for a discussion on what we can learn from assessing the available data on Jordan’s Principle and wh...