Federal Govt Reaches Agreement on First Nations Child Welfare Compensation

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller and Justice Minister David Lametti announce details of the agreement in principle to compensate First Nations children and their families harmed by the federal government's underfunding of the on-reserve child welfare system. Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse (Assembly of First Nations), Grand Chief Joel Abram (Chiefs of Ontario), Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse (Nishnawbe Aski Nation), as well as Robert Kugler, David Sterns and Joelle Walker (counsel for the Moushoom and Trout class actions), and Elder Claudette Commanda also take part in the news conference. Under the $40-billion agreement, half will go towards compensation and the other half will go towards reforming the current system.

The agreement responds to a ruling made in 2016 from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) and to class-action lawsuits. The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society filed a complaint with the CHRT in 2007 alleging that the child welfare system discriminated against First Nations children. Parties in the dispute set a deadline to reach an agreement by December 31, 2021. (January 4, 2022)