Indigenous leaders are urging Canada to reconsider its decision not to restart domestic negotiations on a $47.8 billion proposal to reform the child welfare system after chiefs rejected it last fall. I’m looking for it.
Instead, Canada aims to enter into a region-specific unilateral agreement with the Chief Operating Officer of Ontario (COO) and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). NAN helped negotiate this agreement and was the only organization to fully support it.
Terry Tesey, regional director of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in British Columbia, said chiefs in other regions now feel like they’re being “punished” for their decisions. .
“It’s like you’re being punished for not toeing the line, and that’s the real problem. That’s not good faith negotiation,” Teezy told CBC Indigenous.
Similarly, David Platt, first vice president of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Peoples, said the federal Liberals needed to “stop playing games” and “get back to the table” nationally.
If they don’t respond, “we will continue to fight,” said Pratt, whose organization represents Saskatchewan’s 74 First Nations, which forced Ottawa to negotiate in the first place.
“It’s very unfortunate that Canada has chosen this path of treating Ontario with respect, and rightly so, but it excludes the rest of the country,” he said.
The fight has primarily taken place in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled in 2016 that the government racially discriminates against Indigenous children by underfunding community child welfare systems and refusing to respect the Jordanian Principles. It was decided that
The Jordan Principles ensure that indigenous youth in need of assistance have access to health and social services without the delays associated with jurisdictional disputes over government-funded costs.
Canada has tabled a potentially historic settlement to implement a binding order from the court. But after the chiefs refused, an Ottawa lawyer wrote in a Jan. 6 letter to AFN that Canada’s mandate precluded further negotiations at the national level or with anyone other than the COO and NAN “at this time. “It’s not allowed,” he said.
The COO is a province-wide umbrella group and the NAN represents the 49 First Nations in Northern Ontario.
Last Tuesday, Jennifer Coselli, a spokeswoman for Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, said Canada is not excluding AFN or refusing to follow chiefs’ directives. COO and NAN wanted to work with Canada within the terms of the original proposal, and Canada did so, Coselli wrote in the text.
AFN, which represents chiefs across the country, said in a bulletin Friday that if Canada is not willing to negotiate nationally, the next option “may be litigation.” Teezy agreed.
“That would be a last resort. So it would be a shame to have to go to court again for what Canada has to do,” he said.
“If Canada hadn’t discriminated against our children for so many years, we wouldn’t be here. And it’s not like Canada is doing us any favors. It’s Canada’s duty.”
“The children are paying the price.”
COO and NAN are long-standing parties to a complaint filed in 2007 by AFN and the Indigenous Children and Family Care Association.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the Caring Society, a co-plaintiff in the court who did not participate in the settlement negotiations, reiterated on social media last week why she opposed the proposal.
“This agreement announced huge sums of money and sounded good until I read the fine print,” she wrote to X.
But there was also “secret governance without regional representation” and time-limited funding with many conditions, she added.
“It’s no wonder that Indigenous peoples’ plans to negotiate more effective, fair and inclusive agreements were not recognized nationally,” Blackstock wrote.
NDP Indigenous services critic and Nunavut MP Lori Eidlaut said the Liberals are breaking their promises and pitting Indigenous peoples against each other by negotiating exclusively with Ontario, which Teegee has rightfully denied. He called it a harsh criticism.
In response, Pratt praised and praised Ontario’s leaders for negotiating a deal that worked for them. But the proposal was rejected nationally simply because it favors Ontario and excludes others, he added.
It remains unclear how much action will be taken after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to suspend Parliament until March and step down once the Liberals choose a replacement. The opposition could hold elections as early as March.
“It’s frustrating. We’re caught in the middle of this political turmoil. [Trudeau’s] It’s its own government,” Teezy said.
“And ultimately, the kids are probably going to pay the price here, and that’s not good.”
Pratt said that won’t happen if the government’s goal is to scare Indigenous peoples into flipping out and accepting agreements they’ve already deemed inappropriate.
“I don’t think leaders will fall for intimidation tactics because we’ve been through this with Canada for a long time. It’s nothing new,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of work to do and I’m hopeful. We’re always hopeful and we’re always optimistic.”
