Chiefs gather in Calgary to vote on $47.8B child welfare reform proposal
CBC
A leading child advocate is recommending against a 10-year, $47.8-billion proposal to reform the First Nations child and family services program, as chiefs from across Canada gather in Calgary to vote on it.
Cindy Blackstock says the deal is not enough to end racial discrimination in the child-welfare system, and she's urging chiefs to read the proposal's fine print and seek independent legal advice before voting.
"At this point, we're not in the position to recommend this final settlement agreement," said Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.
"We feel that First Nations children ought to be safeguarded against that discrimination for the long term."
The Assembly of First Nations is hosting a special three-day meeting beginning Wednesday, in a bid to secure national support for an agreement the assembly reached with Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation in July.
Ontario chiefs voted to endorse the proposal last week despite concerns the deal may be imperfect and the consultations rushed, setting the stage for an equally impassioned national debate.
The agreement aims to reform more than three decades of discriminatory Canadian child welfare policies, which led to more First Nations children being taken into government custody than at the height of the residential school system.
It would also end a contentious 17-year-old legal battle at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over the government's chronic underfunding of on-reserve child and family services.
The tribunal upheld the complaint in 2016, later ordering both reform and compensation. This led to a $23.3-billion compensation deal and the proposed $47.8-billion reform settlement.
Blackstock's Caring Society initiated the complaint along with AFN in 2007, yet the society didn't sign the reform agreement.
On the engagement process, Blackstock questions whether chiefs were provided enough timely information to give informed consent. She points to a paragraph that requires the AFN to speak publicly in favour of the agreement.
On the agreement itself, she said her main concern is that Canada's commitment for "long-term reform" lasts just nine years, since it includes the current fiscal year, with no funding commitment afterward.
She is also concerned about a proposed alternative dispute resolution system, which the AFN says is optional, not mandatory.
"It doesn't really hold Canada to account to stop its discrimination within that nine years. In fact, the alternative dispute resolution mechanism expressly prohibits that group from ordering Canada to spend more money or to deal with systemic complaints," Blackstock said.
No stranger to cooking competitions, Cree chef Shane Chartrand says Top Chef Canada is the real deal
The new season of Top Chef Canada is launching later this month and for one Cree chef being asked to compete was "a dream come true."
Hurricane Helene poured a devastating deluge on the southeastern U.S. this past week, killing at least 130 people by Tuesday, leaving hundreds missing, causing record flooding and storm surges and cutting power to millions of homes and businesses. Here's a look at just how bad it was — and a few reasons why.