NICHI Connects:
NICHI Members gathered in Ottawa on September 22, 2025 for the first ever day of indigenous advocacy on housing. Members from coast to coast to coast were invited and a tremendous number of members signed up to participate. Crestview Strategies and the CEO arranged for elder prayer and then groups of 2-10 members were given a number of opportunities to meet Parliamentarians from the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties. During meetings of 30 -40 minutes in duration Members were able to elevate their issues to those elected officials in over 30 meetings that were staggered across Parliamentary office Buildings on Parliament Hill from 10 am until 6 pm.
A report summary has been prepared and will be shared with the membership by e-mail and placed on the Member Portal of the NICHI.ca website. The report offers a summary of meetings and discussions, follow-ups and commitments made are also offered in summary.
We know the event was a success and has created a buzz about For Indigenous By Indigenous (FIBI) successes and challenges and has helped open doors to further conversations in the future to address the profound housing issues in Urban, Rural and Northern communities across Canada. We look forward to a future event and are hopeful more membership will attend the next event. Please share the positive benefits of your being members and networking like during this event. Be sure to encourage other Indigenous Housing Providers to join our ranks through applying to be NICHI members.
Photographs from many of the meetings were taken and in addition to being posted and shared on NICHI social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and X were also posted by MP's on their social media accounts. The MP (former Chief) Billy Morin Conservative from Edmonton in addition to hosting meetings also returned to provide a keynote luncheon address to all NICHI members on September 23rd.
