Ottawa earmarks $40B for Indigenous child welfare compensation, program reform

The federal government announced today it is setting aside $40 billion in its fall economic update for First Nations child welfare as it continues talks on settling compensation claims.

The money is to cover the cost of settling a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order, two class action lawsuits and long-term reform of the Indigenous child welfare system over a five year period.

"It's a positive announcement, but what we need to see how this actually lands in terms of payments for children and families," said Cindy Blackstock, the executive director the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

In 2019, the tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 — the maximum allowed under the Canadian Human Rights Act — to each child, along with their primary guardian, who attended on-reserve child welfare system from at least Jan. 1, 2006, to a date to be determined by the tribunal.

It also directed the federal government to pay $40,000 to each First Nations child, along with their primary guardian, who was denied services or forced to leave home to access services covered by the policy known as Jordan's Principle.

WATCH | Miller on compensation plans:

"We reflect on 30 years of failure and discrimination toward Indigenous children in the child welfare system," Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told reporters at Parliament Hill.

"This is 30 years of the cost of failure, and that cost is high."

Miller said the $40 billion figure has not been finalized. He pointed to ongoing "fragile conversations" taking place between the federal government and Indigenous leaders, which could alter how much the government eventually offers. 

The $40 billion would be split "roughly" evenly between compensation for children and families who were once in the system, and long-term changes to the child welfare system.

Miller said the goal of those changes is "to make sure we are not repeating the model that has ripped children from their families into care."

The parties have agreed to negotiate until a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31.

If a final deal isn't reached, they could be heading back to court to hear the federal government's appeal of a Federal Court ruling, which upheld the tribunal order. The parties agreed to put litigation on hold while they try to strike an agreement.

Blackstock, who filed the original complaint with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in 2007, said the fight won't be over until discrimination against First Nations children ends.