05/06/2026
Metawa’s Indigenous Animal Wellness Services Working with Indigenous Communities. A shining example of care and working together to better the lives and health of animals in those areas
What happens when the feds actually step up.
Matawa First Nations in northern Ontario are fly-in communities.
Nine of them.
The nearest vet hospital is over 300 km away.
For years there was nothing. No clinics. No vaccines. No spay and neuter.
Just dogs, and the problems that come when there's zero infrastructure to manage them.
Then in February 2024, Matawa launched an Animal Services pilot. Funded by Indigenous Services Canada. Coordinated by Judi Cannon. Built and run by the communities themselves.
Here's what it's done so far:
· Close to 300 spay and neuter surgeries in the first round of clinics
· Over 600 wellness exams
· More than 1,000 vaccines
· Responded to a parvo outbreak in Nibinamik in April 2024 — a response that would've been impossible without a team already in place
· One community, Neskantaga, was working toward a 90% spay/neuter and vaccination target by late 2025
Each community has a part-time Animal Guardian.
There's dog safety education in schools.
Career info for kids interested in vet work.
Pet food going to families.
Listening circles with Elders to shape the program.
In October 2024, Minister Patty Hajdu announced another $1.5 million to extend the pilot from two years to four. She didn't sugarcoat it — she said dog rescue in First Nations has been a Band-Aid, and communities need actual sustained services, not crisis management.
Now here's the part that matters for what we talk about on this page.
Ontario updated its animal protection laws — Bill 171. It didn't mention First Nations. No consultation. No application. So even with the new provincial rules, nothing changed for dogs in Matawa communities. The gap is jurisdictional. Provincial law doesn't reach. So it falls to federal funding, charity partnerships (PetSmart Charities, Toronto Humane Society, Northern Reach Network), and the grit of people on the ground.
The Matawa Chiefs Council isn't waiting.
They're developing a business plan to expand the model to other northern Ontario First Nations that are in the same boat.
They're trying to build something permanent.
This is what we mean when we say the feds need to be at the table. Not to take over. To fund. To partner. To stop pretending dogs on First Nations don't exist because they fall through a jurisdictional crack.
Matawa shows it can work. The question is whether the government has the backbone to make it the standard, not the exception.
Based on what Matawa did and the resources they've made public, here's what a First Nation in Alberta would realistically need to do to get on the same page.
Step 1: Get the chiefs on board with a resolution.
The whole Matawa pilot started with a Chiefs Council resolution in May 2023. Not a casual conversation — a formal, documented commitment saying "we want a two-year animal services pilot and we want to revive culturally grounded dog care practices." Nothing moves without leadership backing. Start by getting your community's leadership aligned and get it in writing.
Step 2: Find someone to drive it.
Matawa hired Judi Cannon as their Animal Services Coordinator — one dedicated person whose whole job is this. Not a volunteer squeezing it in. Not someone in the band office who "also handles dogs." One person. That's what Indigenous Services Canada needs to see when you ask for funding — that there's someone accountable to run the program.
Step 3: Hire local, part-time Animal Guardians.
Each of Matawa's nine communities has a trained, part-time Animal Guardian . These are community members. They count dogs, talk to families, figure out what's actually happening on the ground, and coordinate when clinics come through. They are the foundation under everything. Without them, it's just outsiders showing up and leaving.
Step 4: Know your numbers.
Matawa ran population surveys. How many dogs? How many are fixed? How many litters per year? You need data to show ISC, and you need data to build a plan that fits your community. Matawa even made templates for this — animal population surveys, pet registration forms, data collection spreadsheets — and they've made them available for other First Nations to use .
Step 5: Go to ISC for funding.
This is the money source. Not the province — provincial animal welfare legislation doesn't apply on reserve, as you already know. The $1.5 million that Matawa got came from Indigenous Services Canada . The ask is for a pilot project: spay/neuter clinics, vaccination programs, the Animal Guardian positions, and a coordinator. Frame it as public health. Because it is. Pack aggression, dog bites, parvo outbreaks — these are safety and health emergencies, not animal lover side projects.
Step 6: Bring in veterinary partners.
Matawa partnered with vet teams willing to travel (Allandale Veterinary Hospital out of Barrie, University of Guelph's vet college, Northern Reach Network, PetSmart Charities) . Start building those relationships while you're working on the funding piece. Don't wait for the money to come through to figure out who's going to actually hold a scalpel.
Step 7: Build a sustainability plan from day one.
ISC gave Matawa two years of funding. They didn't wait until the second year to think about what comes next. The Chiefs Council passed a resolution for a business plan in October 2024, and they're developing a model to expand to other First Nations . Funders want to know the program won't collapse the moment their check clears. Have a plan for year three and beyond.
Step 8: Use the One Health framing.
Matawa framed everything — the funding ask, the public communications, the community engagement — around One Health: healthy dogs mean healthy people mean healthy communities . It's not a dog program. It's an infrastructure and public health program that happens to involve dogs. This framing opens doors that "we love animals" never will.
Step 9: Engage the community for real.
Clinics, yes. But Matawa also did listening circles, school programs, career info for kids interested in vet work, pet food distribution, dog safety education . Make sure the community owns it, because the program only works if people trust it enough to bring their dogs in.
One more thing worth knowing: Matawa has publicly posted a bunch of their resources — templates for bylaws, data collection tools, population survey forms, even a full community resource guide.
They're on the Matawa website under Animal Wellness Services.
The contact email for questions is [email protected], and Judi Cannon's phone number is listed right on the page.
Someone from your First Nation could reach out directly and ask: we want to do this here — what do we need to know? The infrastructure for knowledge sharing already exists .
As Every Dog Matters - Alberta .. I am continually searching - researching -networking - striving to find solutions for ALL of Alberta .
I am intent on making a difference for ALL of our dogs and their people .
If your community is implementing infrastructure that is successful .. please reach out to me .
The more solutions and positive outcomes we can share ….the sooner we will finally make a dent in the crisis together
None of this is easy. But Matawa proved it's possible. The model is sitting there, and the people who built it seem willing to help others follow.
Questions about Matawa Animal Wellness Services?
Contact
Judi Cannon
Matawa's Indigenous Animal Wellness Services Specialist
1-807-620-3908.
[email protected]
ATTN : Judi Cannon
