Canada announced in early January that it had reached a 40-billion Canadian dollar ($29bn) deal to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services program and compensate Indigenous children who were removed from their homes, or who did not receive or faced delays in accessing services.
A final settlement, which Canada said was the largest in its history, was unveiled this summer.
But the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT), in a decision dated October 24 but made public on Tuesday, cited concerns that the agreement could result in some children and caregivers being paid less.
The tribunal’s rejection of the agreement “is disappointing to many First Nations people,” said Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hadju, who noted the plan had been “designed by First Nations people for First Nations people in a culturally specific way."
The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, a group that spearheaded a years-long battle to get Canada to compensate Indigenous children and their families for being unjustly forced into the welfare system, welcomed the tribunal’s decision, however, saying that they affirmed Canada’s “obligation to pay a minimum of $40,000 [Canadian dollars] in human rights compensation” to all eligible victims of the government’s child welfare policies.
Indigenous community advocates have fought to get Canada to abide by a 2016 CHRT ruling that found the federal government had discriminated against Indigenous people in the provision of child and family services.
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