AFN votes on way forward after $47.8 billion child welfare reform deal is defeated

OTTAWA — First Nations chiefs have voted in favour of a new negotiation process to reform the child welfare system after a $47.8-billion deal with Canada was defeated Thursday evening at an Assembly of First Nations gathering in Calgary.

It calls for the creation of a children’s chiefs’ commission comprised of leadership from all regions in the country, and for a new negotiation and legal team.

The defeated deal was struck between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over the federal government’s underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory.

It tasked Canada with reaching an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, and also with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in foster care.

Squamish Nation chairperson Khelsilem says the new negotiation mandate was developed with about 50 leaders from across the country, and hopes it will set a positive path forward in the best interest of kids in care after a fairly testy special chiefs assembly.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press