Fate of $20B compensation for First Nations children in hands of Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
CBC
Tens of thousands of First Nations children and caregivers are waiting on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to determine whether Ottawa's $20-billion offer to compensate them for discrimination satisfies its human rights orders.
The panel reserved its decision on Friday after hearing arguments over two days for and against the historic settlement agreement.
"It's not even close to the losses that we've incurred over time," said Carolyn Buffalo, a mother from Montana First Nation in Maskwacis, Alta., during an interview with CBC News.
Buffalo has had to fight a bureaucratic battle with Ottawa throughout the life of her son, Noah Buffalo-Jackson, who is now 20. He has severe cerebral palsy and requires around the clock care.
"I've had to fight for basic things, like wheelchairs, that other people would get without question," Buffalo said.
"We weren't asking for anything extra. All we wanted was just what other kids got."
Buffalo worries her son will be shortchanged again because the settlement agreement reached between the federal government and the Assembly of First Nations does not guarantee him the same amount of compensation other children would receive.
In 2019, the tribunal ordered Canada to pay the maximum penalty under the Canadian Human Rights Act: $40,000 to each First Nations child and caregiver denied essential services — under a policy known as Jordan's Principle — such as the Buffalo family.
It also demanded the government pay $40,000 to each child affected by the on-reserve foster care system and their parents or grandparents, as long children weren't taken into care because of abuse.
Instead of paying compensation in the way the orders are worded, the government negotiated a deal with the Assembly of First Nations, which was suing Ottawa for $10 billion to compensate a group of children and families not covered by the tribunal's orders.
The settlement agreement they finalized in July is the largest in Canadian history. It covers children and families discriminated against from 1991 on — 15 years longer than the tribunal's orders.
"We were able to take a good decision and broaden it," said Stuart Wuttke, general counsel for the Assembly of First Nations, during Thursday's hearing.
"A large number of children will get more compensation and be entitled to compensation than what this tribunal has ordered."
But the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society argues the deal dilutes the tribunal's human rights ruling. "There has to be another way," said Sarah Clarke, a lawyer representing the Caring Society, during Friday's hearing.
