Court to rule today on Ottawa's challenge of First Nations child welfare compensation order

The Federal Court is expected to issue a decision today on whether a landmark human rights tribunal compensation order for First Nations children should stand.

In the fall of 2019, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 — the maximum allowed under the Canadian Human Rights Act — to each child affected by the on-reserve child welfare system since 2006. 

The tribunal said the parents or grandparents of those children (depending on who was the primary guardian) would also be eligible for compensation, as long as the children were not taken into the child welfare system because of abuse.

Today's decision could leave Ottawa on the hook for billions of dollars in compensation.

The ruling also ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 to each First Nations child (along with their parents or grandparents) who were forced to leave their homes to access services, or who were denied services covered by the policy known as Jordan's Principle.

That policy states that the needs of a First Nations child requiring a government service take precedence over jurisdictional disputes over who should pay for it.

The Jordan's Principle portion of the order covers the period from Dec. 12, 2007 — when the House of Commons adopted Jordan's Principle — to Nov. 2, 2017, when the tribunal ordered Canada to change its definition of Jordan's Principle and review previously denied requests.