Ottawa should not appeal tribunal order to pay Indigenous kids: advocates

The government has until Friday to decide if they want to appeal a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling to compensate and provide services to Indigenous kids.

The Liberal government has just two days to decide whether it will once again appeal a court order — one that told the government to both compensate and provide services to Indigenous children.

While federal ministers responsible say they’re weighing the “complex” decision, Indigenous advocates continue to push the government to drop the litigation.

“The government is at a crossroads and so is the country,” said the Child and Family Caring Society’s Cindy Blackstock in an emailed statement.

“Ottawa can continue to fight legal orders to end 154 years of discriminatory public services for First Nations children or it can put down its rusty legal sword, end the discrimination and reform the government so it does not happen again.”

The government has until Friday to decide whether to drop the legal battle, which centers around two different rulings.

The first is a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling from September 2019, which found the federal government “willfully and recklessly” discriminated against Indigenous children living on reserve through the underfunding of services.

As a form of redress for this discrimination, the Tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 each to roughly 50,000 First Nations children and their relatives.

The second ruling is from November 2020. It expanded the scope of Jordan’s Principle — a rule that pledges to provide First Nations children with the services they need when they need them, rather than compartmentalizing the services – taking the time to sort out which level of government is responsible for the cost.