Federal funding cuts have forced Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S), to end its mental health counselling program, prompting concern from First Nations Canadians who rely on the service.

Letters were recently sent to affected clients confirming the closure, with the nation citing reduced federal support for the decision and advising the federally funded initiative is set to sunset on March 31, 2026.

Coralee Fairbrother, a Métis Nation-Saskatchewan citizen, expressed her dissatisfaction with the closure.

"I'm really angry about that because if you know that your funding agreement is coming due...then you should be having a plan in place for your people," Ms Fairbrother said, APTN News reports.

Ms Fairbrother lives with Major Depressive Disorder and depends on medication and therapy to manage her health.

Her eight-year-old daughter also receives support through the program after being diagnosed with ADHD.

She said her daughter's behaviour at school and at home improved after they began accessing the program.

"She was just diagnosed with ADHD and is needing all this extra support because the last couple years have been really bad with behaviours in school and things," Ms Fairbrother said.

"So, it's gotten a lot better since we started accessing the program."

Ms Fairbrother said she is concerned about returning to services provided by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

"I met with my psychiatrist today, and he said I can apply to mental health and addiction services through the health authority, but that's where I was before I accessed Métis Nation," Ms Fairbrother said.

"They give you six sessions and there's a wait list of six months."

MN-S Mental Health and Addictions Minister and Métis woman, Beverly Fullerton, initially confirmed the closure in a news release, saying the program was ending due to federal funding cuts.

"The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan has been placed in the very difficult position of reducing mental health services due to federal funding cuts," she said.

"These cuts will directly impact our citizens who rely on these supports, and they will also affect valued members of our Mental Health and Addictions team."

Ms Fullerton said clients would be contacted to assist with transition planning.

"While direct payment for counselling services through this program will no longer be available, we are ensuring that clients are individually contacted and supported through transition planning," she said.

The nation had been seeking alternative funding but received confirmation late in the fiscal year that support would not continue.

"We didn't want to have to say that we can no longer provide these services," Ms Fullerton said.

"We were really focused on 'is there any other funding streams from Canada that can keep this going?'

"We knew we had a responsibility to our citizens to let them know and to our staff as soon as we know."

She added most MN-S funding is tied to specific agreements with Ottawa, making it difficult to shift funds between programs.

"You can have the most perfect program running and people accessing it, and then you get notice in November before fiscal (year)end that this is coming to an end," Ms Fullerton said.

"It leaves people scrambling, and it's never positive."

Métis Nation-Saskatchewan woman and Indigenous health researcher, Caroline Tait, said the decision was difficult to reconcile during what she described as a wider crisis.

"The cutting of mental health supports for Métis people comes at a time when we are in a provincial mental health and addictions crisis," Ms Tait said.

"It is difficult to reconcile cuts to mental health for Métis people when MN-S appears to have funding for other non-health related programs and services and when they have plans to open an office in Ottawa.

"MN-S appears to be operating more like a corporation run by a CEO than it is as a government for and by Métis people."

MN-S later announced it had secured short-term bridge funding to maintain supports for current clients.

In a new statement, Ms Fullerton said the impact of the cuts had been heard clearly from citizens.

"We've heard our citizens loud and clear: the cuts to our mental health supports program have had a devastating impact on those accessing these services," Ms Fullerton said.

She said reimbursement funding would be provided by the federal government for mental health dollars previously transferred to support MN-S emergency response efforts in Summer 2025.

This funding will serve as bridge funding to ensure continuity of care for citizens currently accessing mental health programs, with the ministry directed to contact participants directly to outline next steps and provide clarity on continued support.

"This moment highlights the importance of self-determination and securing a self-government agreement," she said.

Original reporting by APTN News