First Nations Children’s Advocates Confident of Another Win Against Government

Advocates for First Nations children are confident the government won’t win an appeal that would get it out of compensating children whose human rights it violated through underfunding the child welfare system.

The Canadian government is currently appealing two Canadian Human Rights Tribunal rulings that ordered Ottawa to compensate victims and extend eligibility for Jordan’s Principle, which guarantees kids essential social services, APTN News reported.

At the time, the tribunal said that the government’s treatment of First Nations children and their families was a “worst case scenario” under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

“What we know from the government is that they try to use legal technicalities to try and get out of their obligations towards children,” First Nations Child and Family Caring Society executive director Cindy Blackstock told APTN News.

“I don’t think they’re going to win. They’ve lost every single legal hearing except for one, and that was overturned on appeal.”

The case goes back to 2007, when Blackstock and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) first lodged a human rights complaint alleging Canada’s discrimination against First Nations children on reserves and in the Yukon, by knowingly underfunding the child welfare system.

The tribunal ruled in 2016 in the childrens’ favor and ordered Canada immediately reform the system. In 2019, it awarded the maximum allowable amount of $20,000 to victims and their families along with another $20,000 because the discrimination was “wilful and reckless.”

The government didn’t do it, so the tribunal was forced to issue numerous orders. Now, Canada is appealing the compensation and Jordan’s Principle orders. 

The court hearing is scheduled to begin June 14. Canada is arguing that the complaint was about systemic discrimination, so it shouldn’t have to compensate individuals.

Meanwhile, last year, two class action lawsuits in Canada challenging the funding of First Nation child welfare services and children’s health services were certified after the federal government consented to their certification. 

Ottawa has reportedly agreed to mediation to reach a potential settlement of the class action lawsuits, which seek billions of dollars in compensation for First Nations children who were impacted by the on-reserve child welfare system and for children who were denied services that the federal government was reportedly obligated to provide under Jordan’s Principle.

What do you think of the government’s appeal against the ruling of the human rights tribunal? Let us know in the comments!

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