Yukon MLAs approve 'groundbreaking' changes to child, family services act that gives First Nations more say

Yukon lawmakers have unanimously approved changes to the territory's Child and Family Services Act that officials say will better protect Yukon First Nations children taken into care. 

Members of the Yukon legislative assembly voted to pass Bill No. 11 through its third and final reading on Thursday. 

The bill contains a number of amendments that health and social services minister Tracy McPhee, who introduced the bill last month, described as "groundbreaking, precedent-setting moves to benefit our children."

The amendments include a requirement that a director notify a child's Yukon First Nation, as well as their parents' First Nations and associated Indigenous governing bodies, should the child be the subject of a "protective intervention." 

The First Nations and governing bodies then have the right to be involved in case planning and court proceedings related to the child under the act, and must also give consent to a child in care being adopted. 

As well, a cultural plan must be developed for every child in care to ensure that they maintain ties to language, traditions and ceremonies. 

"Embedded in the preamble of Bill Number 11, this government acknowledges the mistakes of the past, and we are on a path with Yukon First Nations to establish a child welfare system based on non-discriminatory values and fundamental child and human rights," McPhee said in the legislative assembly during the lead-up to the vote. 

"The changes brought by Bill Number 11 will change the experiences for Yukon children — mostly for Yukon First Nations children —  and that is the work that we are here to do today." 

According to McPhee, there were 81 children in care of the Department of Health and Social Services as of January; 96 per cent of them were Indigenous.

'A real true step in reconciliation'

The amendments in the bill stem from a 2019 report by the Child and Family Services Act Review Advisory Committee, an independent group tasked with assessing and collecting feedback on the Yukon's child welfare system. Instead of coming up with recommendations, the committee's final report, entitled Embracing the children of yesterday, today and tomorrow, contained 149 "required actions," 65 of which required legislative changes. 

A steering committee made up of representatives from the Yukon government, the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) and 12 Yukon First Nations has been working on implementing the actions. 

CYFN Grand Chief Peter Johnston, who was among the dozens of people in the legislative assembly's public gallery Thursday, applauded the work that had gone into crafting Bill No. 11, noting it was particularly fitting that it passed on National Indigenous Languages Day.

While Yukon First Nations have been resilient, Johnston said colonial structures and systems had taken a toll, and it was crucial for First Nations to have a say in their children's futures as well as for children to maintain ties to their cultural identities.

"The ability for them to navigate in this world knowing who they are is of the utmost significance," he said. 

Education minister Jeanie McLean, meanwhile, told reporters it was "really emotional" for her to see the bill pass. 

McLean previously served as Kwanlin Dün First Nation's justice director, a role in which she oversaw child welfare issues. She recalled that Yukon First Nations had raised a number of concerns when the Child and Family Services Act first came into effect in 2010, describing the amendments in Bill No. 11 as "a real true step in reconciliation." 

"As an Indigenous person as well and a person who has worked my entire career, really, for the advancement and rights of Indigenous people… colonialism has impacted, I think, everyone, but First Nation people, specifically have been impacted in the deepest way," she said.

"You have to look into the past to move forward into the future, and that is what we're doing, for sure." 

Work not done yet, opposition parties say

While the Yukon Party and Yukon NDP acknowledged the significance of Bill No. 11, the leaders of both parties warned that the Yukon government's work was not done yet. 

"When we talk about this act, it's more than just words… This is just the first step," Yukon NDP leader Kate White said in the legislative assembly, adding that she hoped it wouldn't take years for amendments to actually come into force. 

"It's our responsibility to make sure that this is more than just words on paper, that we breathe the life that was intended into it, and that we do see the change of the future of children." 

Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon, meanwhile, pointed out that both the Yukon Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate had raised concerns with the amendments that haven't been addressed yet.

Advocate Annette King, in a child rights impact assessment last month, wrote that while the amendments in Bill No. 11 were "strong," there were several things that could be improved, such as including a more explicit emphasis on children's rights and on Jordan's Principle. 

Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod-McKay, meanwhile, flagged possible issues related to children and families being able to access their own information and records.

"We will be watching with great interest to see how the implementation of this new act unfolds," Dixon said, adding that he hoped the government would continue to work with King and McLeod-McKay. 

"We do hope that the possibility or need for further amendments down the road is something that the government does consider."