Canada discriminated against Aboriginal children: tribunal

The quasi-judicial body says the federal government discriminated against children on reserves in its funding of child welfare services, failing to provide them the same level of services that exist elsewhere.

Many other First Nations leaders and organizations from across Canada issued statements voicing their support for the ruling, including Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, who called Blackstock a hero.

The strengths and shortcomings of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s recent ruling on funding to First Nations children in care are immediately apparent in the opening acknowledgement, which begins: “This decision concerns children” (emphasis theirs).

The extraordinary length of time it has taken to get to this point necessitates the timely development of a funding formula and implementation plan.

Wilson-Raybould, a former B.C. regional chief with the Assembly of First Nations, said the tribunal’s decision is “about equity”. Dwight Corey, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

“This Government agrees that we can and must do better”, said Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett.

A review previously commissioned by Ottawa found a child welfare funding shortfall on indigenous reserves of about 22 percent.

Angus scoffed at the notion that the government doesn’t have at least some sense of how much it needs to spend per year to end the disparity.

UNICEF Canada’s President and CEO David Morley hailed the tribunal’s ruling as “historic”, saying it sets an important precedent “by promoting the right of Aboriginal children to be free from discrimination”.

The human rights complaint was launched on behalf of 160,000 First Nations children by Cindy Blackstock and the First Nations and Family Caring Society, along with the Assembly of First Nations in February 2007.

Justice Canada lawyers argued in futility that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to make any determinations on the issue and that Indigenous Affairs only cut cheques which did not qualify as a delivery of a service. We want a real system that will protect those children, keep families in tact if at all possible.

Fixing the patchwork of responsibility that has developed between these levels of government is going to be far more hard than scrapping a funding formula and increasing cash flow.

“I can’t even believe we had to take the federal government to court to get them to treat First Nations children fairly”, Blackstock told CTV News Channel earlier in the day.

As a result of the decision, the Human Rights Commission has asked for an immediate removal of the most discriminatory aspects of the funding schemes that Indigenous Affairs used to pay for child welfare on reserves, and for the proper implementation of Jordan’s Principle, which says indigenous people should have the same access to services as other Canadian children without delays caused by jurisdictional disputes between governments or government departments. This ruling is nine years in the making.

“In this great country there is no room for discrimination and racism”, Bellegarde said during a news conference.

The Liberal government has committed to implementing all of the suggestions from the TRC, including an overhaul of child welfare, but Blackstock said she is keen to see action and noted the legally binding tribunal decision could take this out of the government’s discretion. “I will not give up until [the government does] the right thing”.