THUNDER BAY – The national human rights tribunal’s reaffirmation that the federal government’s child welfare system is discriminatory and Ottawa's subsequent pledge to implement all of the ruling's orders represents a “historic win,” says Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on Thursday publicly released a ruling, upholding its original 2016 decision that Ottawa has demonstrated “systemic discrimination” in underfunding child and family services agencies in Indigenous communities.
“It’s a historic win, not just for children in the Nishnawbe Aski territory but it’s a win for all children right across the country,” Fiddler said.
The ruling ordered Canada “cease its discriminatory funding practice of not fully funding the costs of prevention/least disruptive measures, building repairs, intake and investigations and legal fees.”
The ruling was issued confidentially to parties in mid-December before it was made public on Thursday. Earlier this week, federal government representatives indicated to the tribunal panel “that Canada is fully committed to implement all the orders in this ruling and understands that its funding approach needs to change, which includes providing agencies the funding they need to meet the best interests and needs of First Nations children and families.”
Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott in a statement on Thursday said all 105 First Nations Child and Family Services agencies were being contacted, informing them that the federal government will “immediately begin to cover agencies' actual costs for prevention, intake and investigation, legal fees, building repairs, among others, and will be reimbursing these costs retroactively to Jan. 26, 2016.”
“The federal government will ensure that it does not unnecessarily reallocate funds from other social programs, as ordered by the Tribunal. Additional investments for child and family services will be included in Budget 2018,” Philpott said.
Fiddler said the federal government has demonstrated a willingness to work together since they received the advanced notice of the latest ruling.
“They’ve been reaching out to all the parties – including Nishnawbe Aski Nation – that they want to find a way to work with us to ensure the rulings issued by the Human Rights Tribunal are implemented in a timely manner and in a respectful way,” Fiddler said.
The human rights panel said it believes all First Nations agencies, including three operating in Nishnawbe Aski Nation Territory, “that are in deficits as a result of Canada’s discriminatory practices should receive funds to cover their deficits as long as they are linked to child welfare or health service delivery to First Nations children.”
The panel also ordered the federal government to assess child welfare or health services related deficits for those agencies by the beginning of May. The three NAN agencies had provided an affidavit to the panel illustrating their funding shortfalls and the impact on service delivery.
“That’s huge. It’s very significant,” Fiddler said. “A lot of our communities and our agencies as a result of lack of funding have incurred deficits. Now with this ruling they have the opportunity to go back and do their accounting of all their expenses and submit those to the federal government.”
