SASKATOON — Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron and First Vice Chief David Pratt attend an Assembly of First Nations meeting to review and possibly approve the compensation agreement for First Nations children and their families.
The settlement agreement pertains to families who experienced discrimination due to underfunding by the Canadian government of the First Nations Child and Family Services and the narrow definition of Jordan’s Principle.
Jordan’s principle was named after Jordan River Anderson, a five-year-old child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba who died after suffering from a rare muscle disorder called Carey Fineman Ziter syndrome.
Last year, the federal government announced it would provide over $23 billion in compensation for approximately 300,000 First Nations underfunded by FNCFS and Jordan’s Principle.
The compensation covers three decades, from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 2022, and encompasses serious harm against First Nations children and their families, including unnecessary family separation and denial of lifesaving healthcare services.
Those eligible for compensation are children removed from their homes under the First Nations Child and Family Services Program from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 2022, those impacted by the narrow definition of Jordan’s Principle from December 12, 2007 to November 2, 2017, and children who were delayed in receiving public service or products from April 1, 1991 to December 11, 2007. Some caregivers are also eligible for compensation.
Dr. Cindy Blackstock, the Executive Director of the First Nations Caring Society and the AFN filed the original human rights complaint in 2007, accusing Canada of underfunding the on-reserve welfare system. A separate class-action lawsuit was filed in Quebec in 2019.
“To truly honour them and the residential school and Sixties Scoop survivors, we must ensure this is the last generation of First Nations children hurt by the Government of Canada. That work continues and they are our inspiration,” said Blackstock.
Another $3 billion was secured towards the settlement through the efforts of the Caring Society and AFN last year from the original Agreement-in-Principal announced in 2022. The final payment guarantees $40,000 to each child removed from their homes in First Nations communities.
The federal government committed another $20 billion to reform the Child Welfare and Family Services system. Currently, 16 First Nations Child Welfare and Family Agencies operate in the province.
Once Canada’s First Nations Chiefs approve, the AFN will take the Final Settlement Agreement through approvals at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Federal Court of Canada to ensure the compensation is delivered as soon as possible.
Cameron said that First Nations children were treated like second-class citizens in the native land of their ancestors by the federal government and that the compensation is long overdue for those who suffered under an inequitable child welfare system.
“For those [taken] from their First Nations families, we grieve for them and the harm the pain felt during their childhood. We must make sure that the children growing up today never have to suffer the same way generations of First Nations people have suffered growing up in a colonial environment,” said Cameron.
Pratt thanked Blackstock and the Caring Society for their tireless work in drawing attention to the struggles faced by First Nations children across the country.
“Nothing can turn back time and erase what happened. Who knows what kind of lives those children would be leading today if they hadn’t been subject to discrimination and were properly supported? Instead, we know many First Nations children grew up in poverty,” said Pratt, who holds FSIN’s Health, Child Welfare and Social Development portfolio.
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