A leading children’s advocacy group is recommending that chiefs from across Canada gather in Calgary to vote against a 10-year, $47.8 billion proposal to reform Indigenous child and family services programs.
Cindy Blackstock says the deal does not go far enough to end racial discrimination in the child welfare system, calling on mayors to read the bill’s fine print and seek independent legal advice before voting. are.
“At this time, we are not in a position to recommend this final settlement agreement,” said Blackstock, executive director of the Indigenous Children and Family Care Association.
“We feel that Indigenous children should be protected from that discrimination over the long term.”
The Assembly of First Nations will host a three-day special session starting Wednesday to ensure public support. agreement Congress reached an agreement in July with chiefs from Canada, the province of Ontario, and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
Ontario’s premiers voted last week to support the proposal despite concerns that the deal could be incomplete, speeding up talks and an equally heated national The stage is set for a debate.
The agreement aims to reform more than 30 years of discriminatory child welfare policies in Canada that led to more Indigenous children being placed in government custody than at the height of the boarding school system. There is.
It also ends a 17-year legal battle in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over the government’s chronic underfunding of child and family services.
A court upheld the charges in 2016 and subsequently ordered both reform and restitution. This resulted in a $23.3 billion compensation agreement and a $47.8 billion reform settlement.
Blackstock’s Compassionate Association launched a complaint with AFN in 2007, but the association did not sign a reform agreement.
Blackstock Questions Dispute Resolution System
Regarding the engagement process, Mr. Blackstock questions whether chiefs were provided with enough timely information to give informed consent. She pointed to a passage that requires AFN to publicly say in favor of the agreement.
As for the deal itself, she said her main concern is that Canada’s “long-term reform” efforts last only nine years, including the current fiscal year, and there is no funding commitment after that.
She is also concerned about the proposed alternative dispute resolution system, AFN said. is optionalnot required.
“It doesn’t actually hold Canada accountable for ending discrimination within those nine years. In fact, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Organization does not require Canada to spend more money or organize “We are expressly prohibited from ordering any person to deal with a complaint,” Blackstock said.
“It takes decision-making for Indigenous children away from Indigenous leaders and places it in the hands of a secret commission, of which Canada is a member.”
CBC Indigenous requested an interview with AFN National Director Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
In an unrelated press conference last week, Woodhouse-Nepinak responded to the chiefs’ concerns and said council was working on amendments to be considered at the Calgary meeting.
“We’ve set aside three special days just to focus on this issue, and with the leadership of my legal advisors in the room, we’re going to go through it line by line,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
“We have heard the voices of chiefs loud and clear.”
In Calgary, chiefs are facing conflicting resolutions, including one to uphold the reform deal, one to veto it until changes are made, and one to postpone the decision for 90 days.
Chiefs from Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation held their own meeting last week, and after an emotional debate, delegates voted to uphold the agreement.
It remains to be seen whether this support will translate into support at the national level. In June, three AFN local leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the council’s conduct and accused it of deviating from its mandate.
The Tusilikotin National Government said last week that it did not believe the process was transparent or inclusive. The Tusilkotin government, which oversees six communities in British Columbia, is calling on chiefs to reject the deal.
AFN estimates that 300,000 Indigenous people, including people in custody and their families, have been directly affected by the modern child welfare system.
