Chiefs gather in Calgary to vote on $47.8B child welfare reform proposal

A leading child advocate is recommending against a 10-year, $47.8-billion proposal to reform the First Nations child and family services program, as chiefs from across Canada gather in Calgary to vote on it.

Cindy Blackstock says the deal is not enough to end racial discrimination in the child-welfare system, and she's urging chiefs to read the proposal's fine print and seek independent legal advice before voting.

"At this point, we're not in the position to recommend this final settlement agreement," said Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

"We feel that First Nations children ought to be safeguarded against that discrimination for the long term."

The Assembly of First Nations is hosting a special three-day meeting beginning Wednesday, in a bid to secure national support for an agreement the assembly reached with Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation in July.

Ontario chiefs voted to endorse the proposal last week despite concerns the deal may be imperfect and the consultations rushed, setting the stage for an equally impassioned national debate.

The agreement aims to reform more than three decades of discriminatory Canadian child welfare policies, which led to more First Nations children being taken into government custody than at the height of the residential school system. 

It would also end a contentious 17-year-old legal battle at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over the government's chronic underfunding of on-reserve child and family services.

The tribunal upheld the complaint in 2016, later ordering both reform and compensation. This led to a $23.3-billion compensation deal and the proposed $47.8-billion reform settlement.

Blackstock's Caring Society initiated the complaint along with AFN in 2007, yet the society didn't sign the reform agreement.

Blackstock questions dispute resolution system

On the engagement process, Blackstock questions whether chiefs were provided enough timely information to give informed consent. She points to a paragraph that requires the AFN to speak publicly in favour of the agreement.

On the agreement itself, she said her main concern is that Canada's commitment for "long-term reform" lasts just nine years, since it includes the current fiscal year, with no funding commitment afterward.

She is also concerned about a proposed alternative dispute resolution system, which the AFN says is optional, not mandatory.

"It doesn't really hold Canada to account to stop its discrimination within that nine years. In fact, the alternative dispute resolution mechanism expressly prohibits that group from ordering Canada to spend more money or to deal with systemic complaints," Blackstock said.

"It takes away decision-making for First Nations children away from the First Nations leadership and puts it in the hands of a secretive committee on which Canada is a member."

CBC Indigenous has requested an interview with AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.

At an unrelated news conference last week, Woodhouse Nepinak said the assembly is working on amendments to be considered at the Calgary meeting in response to chiefs' concerns.

"We're putting three special days aside just to focus on this issue, go through it line by line with legal counsel in the room, with leadership," she told reporters in Ottawa.

"We've heard chiefs loud and clear."

In Calgary, the chiefs face competing resolutions — one to endorse the reform deal, one to reject it until changes are made, and one to delay the decision for 90 days.

The Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation held their own meetings last week, where delegates voted to endorse the agreement after an emotional debate.

It remains to be seen whether that support will translate into support at the national level. Three AFN regional chiefs in June voiced frustration with the assembly's approach and accused it of overstepping its mandate.

The Tŝilhqot'in National Government said last week it doesn't view the process as transparent or inclusive. The Tŝilhqot'in government, encompassing six communities in B.C., is urging chiefs to reject the deal. 

The AFN estimates 300,000 First Nations people, including those taken into custody and their families, were directly impacted by the modern child welfare system.