A judge has verbally approved a $23-billion settlement that will see the federal government pay more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families for long-term underfunding of child welfare services on reserves.
Under the settlement, the government must also spend an additional $20 billion to reform the child welfare system.
The complaint, initially made in 2007, alleged Ottawa discriminated against First Nations by underfunding child welfare services on reserves and denying indigenous children equal access to school supplies, medical equipment, and other supports.
In a landmark 2016 ruling, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found the federal government discriminated against children on reserves, calling the treatment of First Nations child welfare “willful and reckless.”
“The panel acknowledges the suffering of those First Nations children and families who are or have been denied an equitable opportunity to remain together or to be reunited in a timely manner,” stated the tribunal, adding that First Nations people were adversely impacted by services provided or denied by the government.
Ottawa had offered to spend $20 billion to reform the child welfare system and another $20 billion on compensation last year, but the tribunal rejected the proposal, saying that not all eligible claimants would receive compensation.
