Canada strikes $23b settlement in Indigenous discrimination case

TORONTO (AFP): Canada has agreed to a revised settlement of Can$23 billion ($17 billion) to compensate Indigenous children and families for discrimination in the child welfare system.

The final deal, announced Wednesday by the Canadian government and Indigenous groups the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, boosted the settlement a further Can$3 billion from the Can$20 billion agreed last year and expanded eligibility for compensation.

“This $23 billion final settlement agreement is a long overdue turning point for so many thousands of families,” Cindy Woodhouse, Assembly of First Nations Manitoba Regional Chief, said in a statement.

The settlement impacts some 300,000 children, adolescents and families and would close a case brought before a human rights tribunal more than 15 years ago that found the government had underfunded Indigenous children’s services compared to those for non-Indigenous children.

The tribunal must still green light the revised agreement, which has been approved by the Assembly of First Nations.

The tribunal had rejected the initial settlement, considering, among other things, that the agreement excluded certain children.

The settlement announced Wednesday will apply to those who were part of the welfare system between April 1, 1991, and March 31, 2022.

Despite making up less than eight percent of children under 14, Indigenous children account for more than half of those in Canada’s foster care, according to a 2016 census.

“The compensation announced today is a historic amount, matched only by the historic amount of harm that occurred to First Nations children,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations, cited in a statement.