Intertribal Life Newspaper -

OTTAWA, Ontario—Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed, and Métis National Council President Clément Chartier, recently announced that the Government of Canada has co-developed federal legislation on Indigenous child and family services.

Indigenous children represent 52.2 percent of children in foster care in private homes in Canada, but account for only 7.7% of the overall child population. The over-representation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation children in the child welfare system is a humanitarian crisis. Indigenous children who have been in care face greater risks of adverse health outcomes, violence and incarceration.

“Moving forward with federal legislation on First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation child and family services is a vital step toward ensuring Indigenous children are never again forcibly taken from their homes without their parents’ consent,” said the Honorable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P., Minister of Indigenous Services. “Every possible measure should be taken to prevent Indigenous child apprehension and to reunite children with their families. New federal legislation is a powerful tool to support these efforts.”

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Canada’s First Nations Child and Family Services Program was discriminatory and ordered Canada to immediately address the issue. The ruling prompted further discussion on the creation of federal legislation as a way to ensure better care for Indigenous children.

This announcement is the culmination of intensive engagements between the groups, which focused on identifying ways to reduce the number of Indigenous children in care. Currently, Indigenous families are bound by rules and systems that are not reflective of their cultures and identities. The goal of the proposed legislation aims to support Indigenous families to raise their children within their homelands and nations and prevent child apprehension where safe to do so.

“First Nations are ready to reform child and family services in ways that respect our rights, cultures and family structures. First Nations have been held back for years by outdated laws, and we continue to experience the trauma and loss when children and families are broken apart,” said Perry Bellegarde, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations. “Legislation, co-developed with First Nations, is an important step toward addressing the need for reform across the entire system. First Nations are ready to focus on prevention over apprehension, and apply First Nations laws, policies and cultural values that place children at the center of our Nations.”

A pillar of the legislation will be the right to self-determination of Indigenous peoples to freely determine their laws, policies and practices in relation to Indigenous child and family services. In crafting legislation proposals, nearly 2,000 people participated in 65 engagement sessions.

“This proposed legislation will provide a new chapter towards increased recognition that we, the Métis Nation, are best placed to nurture and to care for our children,” said Clément Chartier, President of the Métis National Council. “This is an unprecedented initiative that will ensure the survival, dignity and well-being of our families, communities and nation for generations to come.”