Justin Trudeau may be stepping down as Prime Minister in the coming months, but until the next federal election is called, a flurry of Indigenous leaders and consultants will be pressing hard to make sure the gains made under his government are not lost.
Work on legislation that needs to move through committees and requires royal assent to become law has officially been paused, now that Parliament has been prorogued. That includes Bill C-61, the Clean Water Act, which was held up by Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer in December. But the government still works and the Cabinet still acts. The executive branch still has the authority to move vital negotiations along and enact real policies that can save lives. And Canada and First Nations leaders can still push forward in some vital areas: specifically, the $47.8-billion child welfare agreement that, after years of hard-won negotiation, was rejected by the majority of Assembly of First Nations chiefs at a special assembly in October.
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That fall assembly pitted the Ontario First Nations leadership against most of the rest of the AFN chiefs. The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) vigorously supported the deal reached last July, arguing that First Nations children couldn’t wait another generation for yet another deal to be hammered out after more than a decade of legal battles at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over the discrimination faced by First Nations children. For generations, First Nations have fought to prevent children from being taken from reserves into government care, but resources are needed to make sure supports are in place to keep kids in their communities; much of the settlement was aimed at funding those supports. But when the chiefs’ assembly voted that agreement down, the COO announced that it would continue to pursue a settlement alone.
All seemed to be lost with the prorogation of Parliament. But on Tuesday morning, the day after Mr. Trudeau announced his plan to resign, the COO, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and the Canadian government put out a statement saying they will continue to negotiate to undo historical injustices and support First Nations families.
“Our leaders have given us a strong mandate to reject the status quo and assert their authority to control the care and well-being of their children,” said Alvin Fiddler, the grand chief of NAN – a political tribal organization that intervened on the landmark lawsuit against the federal government launched by Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the AFN in 2007. “It is unfortunate that we were unable to come together on a national agreement, but we firmly believe that this new path forward is the best way to bring meaningful change to the delivery of child welfare services in our Nations in Ontario.”
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Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu, who is also a resident of Thunder Bay, called the decision to continue negotiations a “significant milestone,” and added she is “optimistic that we will reach a deal where all First Nations have this reality.”
Ms. Hajdu is leaving the door open for the AFN to step in and pick up the ball. Will the chiefs allow this to happen, or will the divisions stand?
This may not be the last best chance they have, but there have been no indications from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre that he would be interested in shelling out billions of dollars in order to better the lives of Indigenous children if he were to become prime minister.
But it is still a bit of light, in the waning days of the Trudeau government, that time has not run out to negotiate a better deal for First Nations children.
First Nations people know Mr. Trudeau was not perfect. His agenda was fraught from the get-go when he promised clean drinking water to all First Nations communities and to fulfill all 94 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action during his first election campaign. Some progress has been made – more than 100 long-term boil-water advisories have been lifted since 2015 – but 31 advisories remain in effect in 29 First Nations communities, and only a dozen of the TRC’s calls have been fulfilled.
We desperately wanted to believe what the Prime Minister was selling in 2015. A decade later, in his final months in office, Mr. Trudeau has a chance to ensure a lasting legacy.
All Canadians can get behind actually putting First Nations children and families first and, in doing so, removing barriers so that our kids can live with their moms and dads and succeed in loving and happy homes.
Every child matters, both in and outside of Ontario. There is still much work ahead for Canada to prove that – and the clock is ticking.