Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation Alvin Fiddler speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on June 17. Mr. Fiddler says delays in passing the child-welfare deal ‘mean more lives harmed.’Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
It has been confusing to watch the latest round of arguments at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) over an $8.5-billion child-welfare agreement that the majority of Ontario chiefs have made with Canada.
Lawyers and representatives from all sides are doing lawyerly things: arguing, pointing out what words and statements mean – or, at least, what each side thinks they mean.
But it should never have come to this. There have been endless holdups after the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) struck a deal with the federal government to exercise sovereignty over their own children. What is confusing is that the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society appears to be at loggerheads with COO and NAN.
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It does no one any good, especially First Nations children, when the good guys fight each other.
How did we get here? If you’ve lost the plot – and that’s understandable – it goes something like this: A $47.8-billion long-term agreement was finally reached to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services program, after it was found that Canada was discriminating against First Nations children, separating them from their families. But the deal was rejected on Oct. 17, 2024, by the majority of chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations. Undeterred and believing the Liberal government would never go back to the negotiating table, Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict pressed ahead, along with Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, to negotiate an Ontario-specific $8.5-billion agreement. To be clear, nearly all of Ontario’s 133 communities wanted the deal done, and gave them the mandate to do so through a special chiefs’ assembly in February.
“We want to stop the discrimination now,” Mr. Benedict told me on Wednesday. “We need to seize upon the opportunity we have here. The elements of the proposed agreement are good. They meet the needs of our nations.”
The child welfare system has been around for more than a century in Ontario, and the thinking has been that the system knows best for First Nations children. “That is institutional thinking,” said Mr. Benedict. “There will be collaboration, regardless, moving forward. But they need to be led by the community.”
Meanwhile, the Caring Society, led by Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a member of Gitksan First Nation, has been providing policy guidance, public education and support to promote the well-being of First Nations children, and advised against the original $47.8-billion deal. With the Ontario-specific deal, Dr. Blackstock says there are questions about the sufficiency and security of the funding, the level of control the government will have, and the enforcement provisions over the eight years of the agreement and for generations beyond.
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“My key message is we are not fighting COO or NAN. We are together fighting discrimination,” she said, adding that Canada should release the $8.5-billion while the parties continue at the CHRT. “This is the divide-and-conquer stuff that Canada always does.”
There is an urgent need in northern communities. Remote geography and a lack of infrastructure and services mean responding to crises takes far longer. Most communities have no doctors. If you need mental health services, children are flown south and put into group homes. Meanwhile, the child suicide rates remain tragically high.
The majority of Ontario First Nations communities want this agreement to happen. They are exercising their sovereignty and inherent right to make their own decisions regarding their children. They want to keep First Nations kids safe at home, with culturally appropriate support and care.
The Caring Society’s attempts at delay are seen as unacceptable interference in their inherent jurisdiction, the Chiefs of Ontario have argued. In other words, they want the Caring Society to move out of the way.
“Delays cost the children,” said Mr. Fiddler. “2016 was the first tribunal ruling that said there is discrimination against First Nations kids and it is 2025. More delays mean more lives harmed. Everyone should be concerned about this.”
Mr. Fiddler recognizes it is not a perfect deal, but it will allow families to access resources to look after their own children. “It is transferring authority back to the First Nations. That is in our authority to do it. This is about our kids. It is not about politics.”
The Caring Society is very clear they are prepared to litigate forever, said Mr. Benedict, which he fears will come at the expense of the younger generation – and no one wants that. “We cannot lose another generation of children,” he said.
The $8.5-billion deal must proceed without delay. Then, the Society should meet with COO and NAN and talk it out – not at a hearing, but at a kitchen table. This deal is not perfect, but it is better than nothing. First Nations children can’t wait any longer.