AFN votes to reject $47.8B child welfare reform deal with Canada

By Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press on October 17, 2024.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak gives her opening address at the Assembly of First Nations annual general assembly in Montreal, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

OTTAWA – First Nations chiefs have voted to reject a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal, reached in July with the Canadian government.

At a special chiefs assembly in Calgary, 267 out of 414 chiefs voted against it after a lengthy debate that at points was emotionally charged as they argued either for or against it.

The deal was struck between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over the federal government’s underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory.

It tasked Canada with coming to an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, and also with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in foster care.

Chiefs and service providers critiqued the deal for months, saying it didn’t go far enough to ensure the discrimination stops, and have blasted the federal government for what they say is its failure to consult with First Nations in negotiations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.