Liberals’ Indigenous welfare bill criticized

OTTAWA— The federal government is working “day and night” to ensure concerns over proposed welfare legislation to benefit Indigenous children are taken seriously to enable the bill to be introduced soon, Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O’Regan said Friday.

It would be unhelpful and “entirely disrespectful” if the concerns were not heard, O’Regan said in an interview, adding the government hopes to be able to table the bill as quickly as possible. Earlier this week, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron published an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying the bill allowed for “provincial intrusion” into First Nations’ sovereignty.

“(W)e do not wish to see the federal government put in place a child-welfare system that subordinates or places us under a province with no recognition of our right to set our own family policy and protect our children and families,” he wrote. If provincial authorities can tell First Nations how to handle child-welfare cases, that’s a renewal of colonialism, he wrote.

Since the shuffle, however, the Trudeau Liberals have opted to delay the legislation, which was originally expected to be brought forward by the end of January. O’Regan said the government heard through engagement with First Nations, Inuit and Métis that “essential elements” must be addressed before that can happen.