Potential $40 Billion Agreement for First Nations Child Welfare
Agreement-in-Principle on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan’s Principle
On January 4, 2022, the Canadian government announced that it has reached an Agreement-in-Principle on compensation and long-term reform of First Nations child and family services and Jordan's Principle. If finalized, this $40 billion agreement will be the largest settlement agreement in Canadian history, allocating $20 billion for compensation and $20 billion for long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system.
This compensation and reform is needed to address the harm done to more than 163,000 First Nations children residing on-reserve who were not provided with appropriate services by the Canadian government. Many of these children were taken into the care of child welfare because their families were not given access to services and supports needed to address the effects of colonization. The inequitable access to services is rooted in funding inequity for services on reserves and has resulted in Indigenous children being twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to be placed in foster care.
Background:
The knowledge of these inequities, backed by rigorous research in the Wen:de report, led the Child and Family Caring Society along with the Assembly of First Nations to file a human rights complaint in 2007. The filing of this complaint resulted in almost a decade of litigation, during which the Canadian government attempted to have the case dismissed before the facts could be heard through a variety of legal and illegal methods. Finally, in 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) came out with a ruling.
This landmark ruling…
found the federal government discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding the on-reserve child welfare system.
“recognize[d] those First Nations children and families who are or have been adversely impacted by the Government of Canada’s past and current child welfare practices on reserves” (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada v Canada)
acknowledged the harm done to those “who are or have been denied an equitable opportunity to remain together or to be reunited in a timely manner” (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada v Canada)
and noted that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (now Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) was aware of “its flawed and inequitable child welfare funding for at least sixteen years, had access to solutions to address the problem, and yet repeatedly failed to take action” (Cindy Blackstock, 2016).
The CHRT ruling required the Canadian government to provide $40,000 of damages to each child affected by the on-reserve child welfare system since 2006. Since then the government has not provided the compensation required, trying to appeal the landmark ruling and avoid having to pay compensation. This has resulted in 21 non-compliance and procedural orders against Canada.
On September 29, 2021, the Federal Court dismissed Canada’s appeal of the compensation order and filed a further appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal on October 29, 2021. Following this, the Caring Society consented to Canada’s request to pause the appeal for a short time. And finally, on December 31, 2021 negotiations between the parties reached an agreement-in-principle for Canada to satisfy the Tribunal’s orders to cease its discriminatory conduct and prevent its recurrence in the provision of child and family services and Jordan’s Principle.
The Agreement:
This agreement-in-principle allocates $20 billion for compensation and $20 billion for long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system.
Compensation is being made available to First Nations children, on-reserve and in the Yukon, who were removed from their homes between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022. Additionally, those affected by the governments narrow definition of Jordans principles can receive compensation. Children who did not receive or faced delays in receiving an essential public service between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022 will also be eligible for compensation. The Assembly of First Nations estimates that more than 200,000 children and youth could be eligible for compensation through this agreement. It is expected that children unnecessarily placed in foster care will receive at least $40,000 in compensation in order to align with the CHRTs 2016 ruling. However, the government of Canada has yet to state how much money children will receive and when ore how the payments will be made.
The $20 billion allocated to long term reform of the child welfare system will be distributed over a period of five years. The government will be giving $2,500 annually to each member of all 630 First Nations across Canada. This money will go to community agencies as opposed to individuals themselves. The money is meant to provide various services such as mental health and cultural support, in order to; address trauma, prevent child apprehensions and break the cycles of intergenerational trauma. The government is also committing to provide supports for youth aged out of care between the ages of 18 and 25, including services for financial literacy, to find housing, and to learn life skills.
Looking Ahead:
Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the complainant, has indicated that this agreement could be a valuable step forward. Furthermore, Blackstock highlighted the importance of the government listening to Indigenous communities and being careful about how the payments are made, so that traumas and challenges are not amplified for the youth receiving the compensation. She hopes that the government will adopt a plan that has been developed by the Child and Family Caring Society, along with children in care, in order to provide this compensation and support appropriately.
This agreement-in-principle is a good step in the right direction but as a non-binding agreement it is currently just pretty words on a piece of paper. As Cindy Blackstock put it “[n]o child's life is better today than it was yesterday because of these words on paper, we have to see the government actually deliver this stuff.” The parties to this agreement have until March 31, 2022, to finalize it, with parts of the agreement coming into effect April 1, 2022. The agreement also has to be approved by the CHRT and the Federal Court before it is finalized. Until an agreement is finalized and funding starts actually reaching Indigenous youth and communities, it is critical that we all pay attention to the government’s actions and continue to put pressure on it to take the necessary actions. Find a letter template at https://bit.ly/HaveAHeartLetter and visit https://fncaringsociety.com for more information on how you can take action.
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/first-nations-child-welfare-agreements-in-principle-1.6302636
https://www.fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/docs/WendeReport.pdf
https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/the_caring_society_statement_aip_4_jan_2022.pdf
https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/2016_chrt_2_access_0.pdf
https://fncaringsociety.com/i-am-witness
https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/2021_chrt_41_0.pdf
