Indigenous youth shortchanged: critics
ALL I’M ASKING FOR IS EQUITABLE TREATMENT FOR THESE
KIDS.
The federal government is determined to overhaul the First Nations child welfare system, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says — even as critics say the budget fell well short of what is needed.
Increased capacity is also necessary so First Nations themselves can control child welfare services, Bennett said Wednesday in a postbudget interview.
“I look forward to those changes and we know that we will be excited to actually see the results for this real increased investment in child welfare systems,” Bennett said.
Cindy Blackstock, president of First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, spent nearly a decade fighting the federal government over what has long been characterized as the chronic underfunding of reserve care.
On Tuesday, despite a multibillion-dollar federal budget windfall for Aboriginal Peoples, including First Nations education, infrastructure and social housing, Blackstock assailed the government for failing to spend $200 million on indigenous child welfare services this year.
Blackstock’s society and the Assembly of First Nations argue that the government has failed to provide First Nations children with the same level of welfare services that exist elsewhere, contrary to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
At the end of January, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in their favour and the government decided not to appeal.
Blackstock said the $71 million in government funding for those services this year does not meet the legal obligation outlined by the tribunal.
“I don’t even know why I have to do this at all,” she said.
“All I’m asking for is equitable treatment for these kids. That shouldn’t be that difficult for a country like ours and to see how much of a struggle it has been, it does get really, really disappointing.
“I balance my own disappointment against the reality of these children.”
The tribunal could end up ordering the government to provide additional funding, Blackstock said.
AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde also urged the government to ensure the money flows for child welfare.
“We’ve got to take what is there now and get it out as soon as possible,” Bellegarde told a news conference Wednesday.
The system itself needs to be redesigned, he said.
“It is not just about the resources,” Bellegarde said. “That’s one piece, a very key piece. First Nations controlled jurisdiction over child and family services, we say — not only on-reserve, but as well as off-reserve.”
The Liberal government plans to invest $634.8 million in child and family services over five years and said the goal is to protect children from harm, rather than intervening after a crisis.
Funding for First Nations issues was a central theme of the Liberal’s first budget Tuesday, featuring $8.4 billion in spending commitments over multiple years for education, water, housing and other services.