Ottawa announced Tuesday that it had secured agreements in principle to compensate First Nations children harmed by a lack of funding for child welfare, revealing for the first time the first details about what the landmark agreement will cover.
Crown Indian Relations Minister Marc Miller said the $ 40 billion deal marks the largest in Canadian history.
It comes after six weeks of negotiations with the parties, which included the Assembly of First Nations, Ontario chiefs and lawyers for two related class action lawsuits.
“No amount of money can reverse the harm suffered by First Nations children,” he told a news conference in Ottawa.
Of the billions earmarked to be spent on the matter, the figure was first reported as part of last month’s tax update, $ 20 billion will pay compensation and the other $ 20 billion will be spent on reforming the system during five years.
Following a complaint filed in 2007, the Canadian Court of Human Rights ruled in 2016 that Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children living on reservations due to chronic underfunding of family and child services in their communities.
It also ruled that the government’s definition of the Jordan Principle, a measure that requires Ottawa to provide timely health, educational and social services to First Nations children, was too limited and needed expansion.
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Those eligible for compensation under the settlement agreement announced Tuesday will be First Nations children living on the reservation and in the Yukon who were removed from their homes between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022. as well as their parents and caregivers.
Those affected by the limited definition of the Jordanian principle of government from December 12, 2007 to November 2, 2017, as well as First Nations children who were unable to access the services they needed between 1 April 1991 and December 11. 2007.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said Tuesday that the government intends to use the $ 40,000 originally awarded by the court to each affected child and their families as a floor to compensate those who are eligible, while also creating that some children will be entitled to receive more.
Ottawa announces a $ 40 billion Indian child welfare agreement, the largest in history. #CDNPoli #FirstNationsChildren
Determining how the specific compensation will be calculated will be part of the work ahead, he added.
The regional head of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse, was among those around the negotiating table and said that more than 200,000 children and their families will be affected by this agreement, which stems from government discrimination. .
“It was not even about parenting. In fact, it is about poverty and First Nations children being separated from their families and communities rather than being helped with food, clothing or shelter,” he said on Tuesday.
Robert Kugler, one of the class action attorneys involved in the matter, said an estimated 115,000 children were separated from their families and likely more than 100,000 were affected by lack of access to the services promised under the Jordan Principle.
Ottawa said final deals have yet to be negotiated in the coming months. He said the money will flow once these agreements are reached and the necessary court and human rights orders have been issued.
The lawyers said the Federal Court must first approve the deal and they hope a hearing will take place before the end of June.
The compensation talks that led to Tuesday’s announcement had been chaired by former senator and chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Murray Sinclair.
Ottawa announced that negotiations would begin last fall, the same day it filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Court of Appeals. Justice Minister David Lametti said Tuesday that the government will withdraw the appeal once final agreements on compensation are reached.
The executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, Cindy Blackstock, said Tuesday that the agreement in principle is an important first step, but noted that it is not binding.
“These are just words on paper,” he said at a separate press conference.
“We need to commit to watching the government of Canada and holding it accountable until it gets some of these things.”
The Child and Family Caring Society, in conjunction with the Assembly of First Nations, filed the initial 2007 human rights complaint that sparked the 14-year battle over Ottawa’s handling of child welfare for First Nations children.
Blackstock attributed the increased public pressure to the settlement in principle, especially in light of First Nations discovering what are believed to be nameless graves of children forced to attend former residential schools.
Politically, the liberal government’s decision to oppose court orders in court has been harshly criticized by both the opposition and indigenous leaders.
On Tuesday, new federal Democrats raised concerns that the agreements are not binding, while conservatives criticized liberals for wasting years of time and money fighting the issue in court rather than making further progress on reconciliation.
The Federation of Indian Sovereign Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, said in a statement that reform money should be focused on preventing child arrests.
This Canadian Press report was first published on January 4, 2022.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com