Indigenous child welfare lawsuits and settlements

Cindy Blackstock, who as executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society brought theses cases forward starting in 2007, said the Liberals have had to be dragged “kicking and screaming” to effect change. “There absolutely needs to be public pressure on this,” she said.

On CBC's Power and Politics today, she also stated that non-indigenous people can play a major role in getting justice for the indigenous children who have been abused in the federal government's child welfare system by demanding that the Liberal government not appeal the Federal Courts two rulings in this regard. 

Mike Coates, co-founder and executive chairman of Rubicon Strategy, called the Liberals’ efforts on Indigenous issues “more virtue signalling,” and suggested they likely “won’t execute meaningful policy change.”

In a classic Trudeau move, on the same day the courts come down with its ruling that the government must pay the $6.5 billions in damages related to the child welfare case, Trudeau makes sure that a Truth and Reconciliation ceremony for residential school students who talk about their abuse in the schools is held on the Parliament grounds not on Truth and Reconiliation Day but on the eve of Truth and Reconciliation Day. Classic symbolic gesture of supposed care for indigenous people as long as no serious money is involved and a good diversion from the court case news going against the Trudeau Liberal government on the same day. 

There has been a strong reaction against Trudeau for going on vacation to Tofino on Truth and Reconciliation Day amongst indigenous people, especially after his itineary said he would in private talks in Ottawa on that day, only to learn he was on a flight to Tofino BC. On Power and Politics, Lynne Groulx, CEO of the Native Women's Association of Canada said "This is unfortunate and disappointing when it is the government that has said indigenous issues are the most important priority for the government and that its action now does not matter its words. So that is very inappropriate in my view. He should be the one leading the reconciliation process. He should be setting the example."

No doubt many indigenous people feel they will be betrayed again when the Trudeau Liberals appeal the child welfare cases after fourteen years of legal and human rights tribunal findings against them to the Court of Appeal, and possibly later to the Supreme Court. 

Saint Anne Resdiential School Survivor Evelyn Korkmax response to Trudeau not attending the Truth and Reconciliation Day ceremonies: "This is not surprising. This shows his words don't match his actions". She knows of what she speaks because this is where some of "the most horrific treatment of Indigenous children in Canada" occurred, including using an electric chair on children. The Harper and Trudeau governments have fought settling this case in courts for more than a decade.

Evelyn Korkmaz spent four years at St. Anne’s Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont., beginning when she was 10 years old.

On the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Korkmaz is sharing the legacy of trauma and suffering she endured while she was forced to attend the school.

Stories from St. Anne’s paint some of the most horrific treatment of Indigenous children in Canada, with reports of children being put in straight jackets for punishment. “There was an electric chair at St. Anne’s,” Korkmaz said to CTV National News.

For some, the discovery of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School in B.C. this spring was their first look at the genocidal colonial history that created the intergenerational trauma wrought by the church-run institutions from the 1870s to 1996.

But for the more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children who were forced to attend residential and so-called Indian Day schools, that legacy full of rape, abuse and death condoned by, and crafted by the churches and the Canadian government is something they have had to live with for decades.

Korkmaz and other survivors from St. Anne’s have been locked in a long legal battle with the federal government and the Catholic Church to receive compensation for the abuses they suffered, as federally appointed adjudicators have doubted their credibility and claims of severe abuse. Korkmaz says that there are some 12,000 police documents that would prove their claim. “I have a right to know about what happened to me,” she said. “Why my perpetrators raped me.”

The Ontario Supreme Court ruled that the records be released in 2014, but they were heavily redacted – something Korkmaz finds unacceptable. ...

The federal government has not committed to ending their legal battle against the survivors of St. Anne’s, a process that has cost them millions over the years. But advocates say any hope of reconciliation is null without the truth. “I think that any government should stop fighting Indigenous people,” said Stephanie Scott of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to CTV National News. “I think its time to move forward in this country to resolve all outstanding matters.”

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, that call has echoed across the country as communities march and hold ceremonies in solidarity with First Nation, Metis and Inuit survivors of the residential school system – and those who never made it home.

While the unredacted documents from St. Anne’s have still not been released to survivors, Korkmaz and others like her say that will not give up until they are properly compensated for the abuse they suffered.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/on-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliati...

 

Here's a history of the federal government's blocking of evidence concerning the Saint Anne residential school case leading up and including Trudeau's actions in this regard (for the history before 2013 see the url below). In summary, it shows that the Trudeau Liberal government has continued a multi-decade long history of coverup, delay, refusal to release documents ordered by the courts, attempts to destroy documents already requested in order to sabotage the case:

June 25, 2013: Canada’s counsel acknowledges it came into possession of OPP records of abuse at St. Anne’s in 2003 but says that court transcripts of these hearings “are not probative of issues in this process.” 

December 17, 2013: Court hearing for the Requests for Direction brought forward by survivors, the TRC, and the federal government regarding the disclosure of OPP documents begins. Canada’s position was that it did not have to include details of people after they’d left the school and that it was not obligated to acquire documents from third parties.

January 14, 2014: Justice Paul Perell of the Ontario Superior Court makes his ruling and orders Canada to “produce the OPP documents in its possession to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. ...“

June 30, 2014: OPP documents are released to Brunning and to counsel for survivors. However, in court records, Perell notes that “the documents contained redactions” (Canada was prepared to provide unredacted documents only in the case of publicly available criminal trials). According to Perell, Brunning says of the revised narratives and POI (person of interest -possible residential school members who may have abused children) that Canada “did not organize or summarize the documents in a manner that was helpful to IAP (Individual Assesment Process) of Claimants, their counsel, or adjudicators....

June 23, 2015: Following an RFD submitted by survivors, Perell rules that Canada must revise the narrative and POI reports for St. Anne’s to include details of abuse at the school and to provide the secretariat for IRSSA with unredacted copies of court documents.

2015 to 2019: Various survivors whose claims were processed before the OPP investigation was disclosed and before the narrative and POI reports were updated attempt to re-visit their IAP claims. According to a 2020 affidavit from Metatawabin, requests from numerous survivors to receive fresh evidence and the updated reports were denied. 

July 6, 2018: An update is produced on the IAP’s “sunset order,” a document that lays out how the IAP process will conclude. Included in the process is the destruction of IAP documents and the database of IAP decisions, for reasons of privacy and confidentiality.

April 12, 2019: The Supreme Court of Canada makes a ruling about an IAP claim in Manitoba that says supervising judges “can intervene if there has been a failure to apply and implement the terms of the Agreement” and that “courts have a duty to ensure that the claimants receive the benefits they bargained for. 

May 12, 2020: Metatawabin files an RFD requesting that the 2014 and 2015 decisions about the OPP investigation and updated narrative and POI reports be enforced for the 166 IAP claimants whose hearings were held before the new evidence had been disclosed. He cites the 2019 Supreme Court decision in this RFD. He also asks to delay the destruction of IAP documents until all legal proceedings concerning the fresh evidence have been resolved. 

May 29, 2020: The sunset order is approved by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown, who oversaw the IAP process in Western Canada. The order directs Canada “to destroy the IAP Documents in its possession by March 31, 2021,” according to Brown. 

June 5, 2020: Perell recuses himself from the St. Anne’s litigation following a conflict with Brunning. Due to the recusal, Metatawabin’s May 2020 RFD is sent to Brown, for the sake of “judicial economy and efficiency.” Survivors appeal the decision to move the case to B.C. 

November 2 to 5, 2020: St. Anne’s survivors successfully appeal the decision for Metatawabin’s 2020 RFD to be heard in B.C. on November 2. The case returns to the Ontario Superior Court and is assigned to Justice Benjamin Glustein on November 5. 

February 3, 2021: Brown rules to suspend Canada from destroying IAP documents — including the narrative and POI reports and the IAP-decision database — pertaining to St. Anne’s. 

March 18, 2021: Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett announces that counsel has requested a third-party independent review of the St. Anne’s litigation. Survivors are initially optimistic about the request, but “on further evaluation,” a statement from the PKKA says, “we found that it focused only on a handful of St. Anne’s survivors.” PKKA also notes that the matter is already being reviewed by Glustein. 

April 20, 2021: Perell rules on the government’s request for an independent review. He says the government’s proposal “contains unnecessary restrictions and conditions on the [independent special advisor’s] review.” Perell orders the review and says the advisor “has the discretion to make such recommendations on any St. Anne’s Claim with reasoning.” He also limits Canada’s involvement in the review — it is only to provide documents to the reviewer — and appoints an amicus to speak on behalf of the claimants.

June 3, 2021: In light of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at Kamloops residential school, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh orders a motion calling for the government to end its litigation with survivors, including those of St. Anne’s. “What has become very clear is that symbolic gestures are not good enough,” Singh says. “We need concrete action.” 

June 7, 2021: The vote on Singh’s motion is carried unanimously, 271 to zero. Liberal cabinet ministers — including Justice Minister David Lametti, Indigenous Services Canada Minister Marc Miller, and Bennett — and Trudeau abstain. The legally non-binding vote asks the government to create a progress report in 10 days and to sit down with the PKKA to find a resolution for the litigation. 

June 17, 2021: As of publication time, 5:40 p.m., the federal government has not produced the progress report requested in the NDP motion. The litigation continues in the Ontario Superior Court under the supervision of Glustein. 

https://www.tvo.org/article/so-they-can-be-at-peace-st-annes-residential...

When any government makes an announcement late on Friday, as the Trudeau Liberal government did today, you know it's because it is going to be harshly criticized for it and that is exactly what happened immediately upon the federal government's announcement it was making a literally last-minute appeal of a human rights tribunal decision ordering it to pay $40,000 to each of the indigenous children who suffered discrimination in the child welfare system. Of course, Trudeau was out of town, leaving his ministers to handle any questions, just like he has done when he broke his 2015 election promise to implement electoral reform, and the promise to end indigenous water advisories by 2021 and on so many other issues. A man with no interest in taking responsibility for any troublesome issue. A man of many promises and touching feelings but little action.
The estimated cost of complying with the decision is $8 billion. There have been 30 human rights tribunal and court rulings, with the government losing 29 of them and the government's single solitary victory was overturned on appeal. Even after 14 years of human rights tribunal and court battles, the Trudeau Liberal government does not appear to think that the indigenous children are worth that much. During the election debate, Trudeau even had the gall to say that Jagmeet Singh even bringing up the issue made it harder to reach a settlement.

Justin Trudeau’s government has launched a last-minute court appeal against a ruling that would require it pay billions of dollars to First Nations children who suffered discrimination in the welfare system.

Minutes before a court deadline on Friday afternoon, the government filed papers indicating it planned once again to fight a human rights tribunal decision ordering the compensation payment.

Soon after, however, the government released a statement saying it would pause litigation as it negotiated with First Nations groups to determine how compensation should be paid out.

The decision to fight the tribunal ruling – and the subsequent pause in litigation – was swiftly condemned by prominent Indigenous voices.

“Feds had years to sit and negotiate. Courts have told them to negotiate. Instead feds refused to abide by tribunal orders. Discrimination and harm continued to our kids. Now, before feds agree to negotiate, they wait till Friday 4.30pm and get their appeal in first. Wow,” tweeted Pam Palmater, Mi’kmaw lawyer and chair in Indigenous governance at Ryerson University.

In 2019, the Canadian human rights tribunal argued the federal government had “willfully and recklessly” discriminated against First Nations children living on reserve by underfunding child and family services. Children were taken from their communities and put into government-run programs.

The tribunal had ordered Ottawa to pay C$40,000, the maximum the tribunal can award, to each child as well as their parents and grandparents, but the federal government appealed the ruling.

That appeal was dismissed by a federal court judge who found that the government had failed to demonstrate the tribunal’s decision was unreasonable.

The battle for compensation dates back 14 years, when Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations, argued that by underfunding child welfare on reserve, Ottawa’s conduct amounted to racial discrimination.

Indigenous leaders have long criticized the prime minister’s decision to fight both of these rulings. ...

In its submission, the government says it “acknowledges the finding of systemic discrimination and does not oppose the general principle that compensation to First Nations individuals who experienced pain and suffering” – but said it found the way compensation was determined was problematic.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/29/trudeau-gover...

Cindy Blackstock, who has been involved in the indigenous children who suffered discrimination in the child welfare system case since it began in 2007, also outlined on Power and Politics what needs to happen to reach an agreement with the federal government:

• Stop the discrimination in child and family services. We have proposed a solution to end that
• Implement the court orders concerning Jordan's Principle (which  "ensures that First Nations children can access all public services when they need them. The government of first contact pays for the service and resolves jurisdictional/payment disputes later.")
• The government needs to withdraw its appeal on capital decision on buildings so families can get the housing they need
• The government needs to pay $40,000 in human rights damages to each of these victims of discrimination for what these children went through. These children were in families experiencing  the multi-generational effects from trauma from residential schools that the feds put these families in and then they received unequal services so they couldn't really recover because of that discrimination as they grew up. The government didn't think they were worth the money. Other kids even died because of this.

Cindy Blackstock, who has fought this indigenous child welfare case in court for 14 years, "believes Trudeau is trying to cut her out the picture by seeking to have the Federal court dismiss the tribunal’s compensation order."

Cindy Blackstock recalls when a justice department lawyer reached out to her last April to see if she’d consider joining her human rights case with a new pending class action lawsuit against Canada, also involving First Nations children in care, on the matter of providing victims compensation.

Blackstock said she’d agree on the condition the Trudeau government did one thing: Don’t fight certification of the class-action case as a sign of good faith.

That meeting between Blackstock and Travis Henderson, general counsel in the civil litigation section, happened April 25, about two months after Xavier Moushoom filed a $3 billion class-action lawsuit March 5 in Federal court after having lived in 14 different foster homes in Quebec.

Blackstock never heard from Henderson again. “When that Travis Henderson came over he had about a half an hour discussion with us and he said he would get back to us and he never did. That class action is still making its way through the process. Canada still hasn’t consented to certify it,” Blackstock told APTN News.

Had Trudeau agreed, Blackstock said he likely wouldn’t be in the situation he finds himself today, in another fight against the First Nations woman where he hasn’t won a single round since the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal first made its historic ruling on Jan. 26, 2016 ordering Canada to cease purposely underfunding on-reserve child welfare. The tribunal has had to make seven non-compliance orders since to force Canada to act.

That includes orders to properly fund Jordan’s Principle, a program that provides medical care funding for on-reserve children and an order to increase financial support for prevention-based services for on-reserve child welfare.

In each of the those cases, Canada has responded to a degree, but not without the tribunal issuing non-compliance orders.

It’s latest order, the tribunal said on Sept. 6 that every past, current and future First Nations child, or guardian, is entitled to $40,000 from Canada for being removed from their families and put in the child welfare system, with the exception of guardians who “were found responsible for sexual abuse, physical abuse or psychological abuse.” ...

Now Blackstock believes Trudeau is trying to cut her out of the picture by seeking to have the Federal court dismiss the tribunal’s compensation order. “That’s been the pattern in this,” she said. “They retaliated against me in the past and everything else. I don’t think they like dealing with me because I hold them accountable.

“I don’t think they get yet what they have done to these kids. They are still very much in denial.” Former prime minister Stephen Harper deployed similar tactics, and failed, to get rid of Blackstock in Federal court after she first filed her complaint at the human rights tribunal in 2007 through her organization, the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society, as long with the Assembly of First Nations.

NDP MP Charlie Angus also believes appealing to the Federal court is a clear attempt by Trudeau to get rid of Blackstock. “The government is going out of their way to try and marginalize Cindy Blackstock,” said Angus. “I think they are trying to shut down the tribunal… They are going make a big mistake and it’s going to blow up in their face.”

Court records filed by Canada suggest if it were to comply with the order as it stands Canada would have to pay out at least $5 billion by next year, with the number rising to approximately $8 billion by 2026 because of the rising number of apprehensions.

Instead, the Trudeau government is trying to shepherd in a settlement package like it negotiated with ’60s Scoop and residential Day School survivors during its first term. They mirror the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement that provided survivors with common experience payments and, depending on the severity of the abuse suffered, survivors could qualify for more money.

This means dealing directly with survivors and cutting out organizations says Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett according to a recorded conversation filed in Federal court last Friday by Blackstock as part of her affidavit opposing Canada’s request to have the compensation order dismissed.

The recording, in many ways, outlines Trudeau’s working theory on how it intends to try to eliminate Blackstock. Bennett was questioned by Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod on Oct. 11 about the Liberal government’s efforts to quash the tribunal’s order.

A letter from McLeod to Blackstock dated Oct. 15, 2019 says the meeting also included Liberal federal election candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka Trisha Cowie, who is a lawyer from Hiawatha First Nation, and other chiefs from the area. McLeod didn’t have writing materials so he says he recorded the conversation, which Bennett was unaware.

Early on in the conversation, McLeod asks Bennett why she isn’t working with Blackstock’s organization and the AFN to meet the tribunal’s Dec. 10 deadline to come up with a plan to how children would get the $40,000.

“I think that the concern has been we, our responsibility is to all of the survivors. I, we are not,  I think, comfortable letting them design a plan without the survivors and the people harmed at the table. This isn’t about a, organizations, this is actually about people,” Bennett says according to the transcript.

Bennett goes on to say she can’t accept a plan from Blackstock and that the tribunal is out of its depth with the compensation order. ...

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/morally-inappropriate-how-the-trud...

Even with the appointment of the highly respected former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Murray Sinclair, to assist in "talks between the federal government and child welfare advocates in hopes of securing an agreement to compensate First Nations children", I am suspicious that having failed to win 29 times with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) and the courts, the Trudeau government has an agenda other than what appears on the surface. If Sinclair can help produce a settlement that does not involve the courts even at a very high payout to indigenous children and families, it avoids setting a court-ruled precedent that the CHRT and/or courts in other cases can be used to say this or a future government must follow the precedent setting ruling. Such a precedent could allow the CHRT and courts to deal more quickly than the 14 years the government has blocked settlement of this case, whether it involved rulings involving housing on indigenous lands or other indigenous issues or even on non-indigenous equity issues.

Remember also that the Trudeau government still filed an appeal of the latest and 29th ruling in this case, so it can still drag this out in the courts if they don't like any proposed settlement. 

The former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will aid talks between the federal government and child welfare advocates in hopes of securing an agreement to compensate First Nations children.

“While I cannot talk about the discussions – I believe Murray Sinclair brings the experience, wisdom and spirit to guide us through this process to achieve the best outcomes for children, youth and families,” says Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFC), one of the plaintiffs in the case.

The Liberal government says Murray Sinclair will chair discussions between the sides including lawyers representing plaintiffs in a related class-action lawsuit as they try to settle the matter outside of court by the end of December.

Sinclair, a former senator, led the TRC that spent from 2008 to 2015 investigating the experiences of thousands of Indigenous Peoples sent to residential schools as children. He is a highly respected voice on matters of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. ...

Sinclair’s role in the talks comes after the Liberal government appealed a Federal Court ruling last month upholding orders for it to pay $40,000 each to thousands of individual First Nations children removed from their homes, as well as to some of their relatives.

The compensation stemmed from an earlier finding by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that Ottawa discriminated against First Nations kids by knowingly and willfully underfunding child and family services on reserves.

Advocates say this lack of funding led to families being needlessly separated, which caused suffering. The issue has gone on for years, with the original complaint of discrimination brought forward in 2007 by the FNCFCS and the Assembly of First Nations.

The tribunal also ruled the federal government needed to expand its criteria of Jordan’s Principle, a measure stipulating that jurisdictional disputes should not get in the way of providing services to First Nations children.

Details of what Ottawa has offered remain confidential. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, who is also shepherding the file, said last month when negotiations were announced that proper compensation would amount to “billions of dollars,” adding some children are entitled to more than the $40,000 awarded by the tribunal.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/murray-sinclair-to-chair-negotiati...

The Trudeau government has reached a settlement on the a long-standing dispute over the First Nations child welfare system that dates back 15 years. The details will be announced Tuesday. Hopefully, it will not be a case of wearing down the abused to get a smaller settlement. 

The federal government has reached an agreement to settle a long-standing dispute over the First Nations child welfare system, CTV News confirmed Saturday.

Ottawa and child welfare advocates reached an agreement on compensation the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) has ordered the federal government to pay First Nations children and their parents or grandparents.

Further details of the agreement will be announced Tuesday.

The legal saga began in 2007 when the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society filed a complaint with the CHRT alleging the child welfare system was flawed and discriminated against First Nations children.

The CHRT ruled in 2016 that the federal government had underfunded the child welfare systems on reserves. The federal government was ordered to pay up to $40,000 to each First Nations child unnecessarily put in foster care.

The government and Indigenous groups have been negotiating since November after the federal government filed a notice of appeal on the compensation order. The two sides originally set a deadline of the end of 2021 to reach a deal.

The decision to appeal was panned by some Indigenous leaders at the time, who called the move unproductive toward the goal of reconciliation.

On Dec. 13, the government announced it would set aside $40 billion to both compensate First Nations members harmed by the child welfare system and also reform the current system in place.

The Assembly of First Nations estimates about 54,000 children and their families may qualify for compensation.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/ottawa-reaches-agreement-on-first-nation...

The details of two agreements in principle "over the racist underfunding of child welfare services on reserves and in the Yukon" were released today. However, Cindy Blackstock, over the racist underfunding of child welfare services on reserves and in the Yukon who fought the Harper and Trudeau governments, over this issue warned "Nothing changes in the lives of children today. These are simply words on paper. It is not time to look away, and it is not time for any of us to exhale.” The history of Canadian governments living up to their word on indigenous issues is a very short one. 

The deals, worth $40 billion and reached New Year’s Eve, would respectively spend $20 billion compensating tens of thousands of families victimized over the last three decades and another roughly $20 billion over five years on program reform. It’s the largest settlement in Canadian history, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told reporters. ...

Sotos Class Actions lawyer David Sterns said the deal may be the largest settlement in the world. “The enormity of this settlement is due to one reason and one reason only,” Sterns said, “and that is the sheer size and scope of the harm that was inflicted on the class members as a result of a cruel and discriminatory First Nations family and child welfare system.” ...

By deciding to settle out of court, the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau could resolve the long and occasionally bitter legal fight.

The AFN and Blackstock filed the original human rights complaint in 2007 alleging Indian Affairs’ funding formula for First Nations child welfare — that was known as Directive 20-1 and came into effect in 1991 — was racially discriminatory.

Cindy Woodhouse, AFN regional chief for Manitoba, reflected on the long fight and thanked the numerous AFN leaders who pressed the issue for the last 30 years.

“First Nations across Canada have had to work very hard for this day to provide redress for monumental wrongs for First Nations children, wrongs fuelled by an inherently biased system,” she said at the press conference with the ministers.

“More than 200,000 children and families are impacted by this compensation agreement. This wasn’t and isn’t about parenting; it’s, in fact, about poverty.” The complaint also alleged Canada failed to implement Jordan’s Principle, a child-first principle supported by the House of Commons in 2007 to ensure First Nations children have access to essential health care unhindered by jurisdictional bickering between governments over who should pay. ...

The Canadian government under then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper responded with what the AFN last year called an obstructionist campaign of administrative and legal delay tactics, deflection and non-compliance. Between 2008 and 2013, Canada motioned to have the complaint dismissed and tried to derail the process by retaliating against Blackstock, ejecting her from a meeting and spying on her. ...

A two-person panel ruled Canada was violating basic human rights by underfunding the racist program, which it ordered Canada immediately reform while properly implementing Jordan’s Principle. ...

The Liberals in 2016 — then early into their first mandate — welcomed the orders, did not appeal and promised to obey. But the hearing of the complaint wasn’t finished. On the question of compensation, the tribunal ruled in 2019 that Canada was “devoid of caution with little to no regard to the consequences of its behavior towards First Nations children and their families.” It was a “worst case scenario” under the Canadian Human Rights Act, the panel said. ...

Ottawa failed to immediately comply after the 2016 ruling, so the tribunal issued numerous subsequent orders [29 in total]. Among them, the tribunal ordered Canada to extend Jordan’s Principle eligibility to certain non-status kids and pay for infrastructure the agencies need to deliver services. Here the Liberals picked up the fight once again. The Trudeau regime applied for three judicial reviews in three years starting in 2019.

The Federal Court heard two separate reviews on the compensation and eligibility orders consecutively in spring 2021. The government was already under consistent attack from opposition political parties and continued to take heavy fire in the courtroom. ...

Blackstock said the Federal Court loss coupled with the findings of unmarked graves at residentials schools presented government with a historic opportunity: Continue with an unpopular and losing litigation strategy or finally end the injustice. “That was the choice for them,” she said. Blackstock said the human rights complaint would be closed when the tribunal is satisfied the discrimination has ceased, and caring society counsel Sarah Clarke added the next 12 months offer ample time to get it done.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/canada-first-nations-reveal-detail...

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has rejected the $40 billion dollar indigenous child welfare agreement with the Trudeau government because "the deal did not meet its criteria because it left some children out and did not guarantee the $40,000 in compensation for each child and caregiver ordered by the human rights body in a landmark ruling."  Cindy Blackstock, who fought the federal government in the courts for fifteen years over this issue and is the executive director of the Caring Society, asked the tribunal to send the deal back to the negotiating table "because it short-changed compensation for some and gave nothing at all to others covered by the tribunal's ruling." She noted that nothing in the tribunal's ruling prevents paying those already designated for benefits, while those not included have their cases reviewed. Blackstock was deliberately kept out of the negotiations with the Assembly of First Nations to reach a settlement, no doubt not wanting to have to deal with such a strong advocate for these children whose rights were violated by the federal government. It's a shame that after 15 years the federal government is still following a divide and conquer strategy. 

 

A key part of a $40 billion dollar First Nations child welfare agreement described as "historic" by the federal government could unravel following a ruling Tuesday by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. The tribunal rejected Ottawa's $20 billion offer to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by the discriminatory on-reserve child welfare system. It said the deal did not meet its criteria because it left some children out and did not guarantee the $40,000 in compensation for each child and caregiver ordered by the human rights body in a landmark ruling.

"The Tribunal never envisioned disentitling the victims who have already been recognized before the Tribunal through evidence-based findings in previous rulings," the decision said. The tribunal said the federal government's cap of $20 billion for compensation would leave out some victims covered by the ruling. 

The tribunal said First Nations children removed from their homes and placed in non-federally funded placements are excluded from the final settlement agreement, along with the estates of deceased caregiving parents and grandparents. 

It also said that some parents and grandparents would get less than the $40,000 it ordered, along with some children and caregivers denied essential services under a policy known as Jordan's Principle.

The tribunal also took issue with the short time frame for victims to opt out of the final settlement agreement. 

Under the agreement, claimants have until February 2023 to opt out of compensation and litigate on their own. If they don't, they won't be able to take their own legal action.

"Such an opt-out scheme would place victims who are receiving less than their CHRT (Canadian Human Rights Tribunal) entitlement of $40,000 in an untenable situation whereby they either accept reduced entitlements under the FSA [final settlement agreement] or opt-out of the FSA to be left to litigate against Canada from scratch," the decision said.

For Ashley Bach, who was apprehended shortly after birth, the decision left her grappling with worry. "I'm quite worried about all the youth who were expecting to receive compensation," said Bach, who is a representative plaintiff for the removed child class in the Assembly of First Nations' (AFN) lawsuit against Ottawa "It is a lot emotionally."

The federal government announced in January it had reached a $40 billion agreement with the AFN to settle two class action lawsuits. The government said it met the terms of the human rights tribunal's ruling. The agreement set aside $20 billion for individual compensation and $20 billion for long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system.

Now, the federal government's plan to finalize the $40 billion deal by the end of the year could be derailed unless it can address the tribunal's concerns.

At a press conference in Winnipeg on Thursday, the AFN's lead negotiator said she was "deeply frustrated. It's a sad day for the many First Nations families learning today that their long wait for compensation and acknowledgement is going to continue," said AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse. "I don't know when or if compensation will flow to these kids and families at this stage."

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said the government wants to make the $40 billion agreement work. "It is, I think, disappointing to many First Nations people that a First Nations-led, Indigenous designed approach hasn't been accepted as complete by the CHRT," Hajdu said. "There's a continued commitment to First Nations to make sure that we satisfy both aspects of these historic agreements."

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the federal government must comply with the tribunal's orders. "This government must respect their obligation to pay compensation to the children who have been put at risk through the wilful and deliberate negligence of this government," Angus said.

The agreement needed the approval of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled Ottawa's on-reserve child-welfare system and its health care delivery discriminated against First Nations children. The tribunal ordered $40,000 in compensation to affected children and caregivers. ....

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the Caring Society, asked the tribunal to send the deal back to the negotiating table because it short-changed compensation for some and gave nothing at all to others covered by the tribunal's ruling. She told CBC News that nothing in the tribunal's ruling stops the government from continuing its $20 billion overhaul of the on-reserve child welfare system.  "We support the final settlement agreement, but we don't want any kid or any family member who was hurt so badly by Canada left behind," Blackstock said. "It might cost Canada more … But what Canadians need to know [is] that's only there because Canada hurt so many children." ...

Blackstock, who was not part of the compensation negotiations between the AFN and Ottawa, said the agreement leaves out children who were not in federally-funded child welfare placements. But the federal government and the AFN disagreed and argued that only children placed in federally-funded placements are eligible for compensation under the tribunal's orders.

"Any compromises that were made by the AFN were carefully considered, negotiated and discussed," wrote AFN general counsel Stuart Wuttke in an Oct. 21 letter sent to the tribunal. "To subject these victims to ongoing delays, and the outright risk to the payment of compensation more generally due to appellate intervention, would be an injustice."

In 2016, the tribunal found Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children and said Canada's actions led to "trauma and harm to the highest." In 2019, the tribunal ordered Canada to pay the maximum penalty under the Canadian Human Rights Act — $40,000 to each First Nations child and caregiver affected by the on-reserve foster care system and their parents or grandparents, as long as the children weren't taken into care because of abuse.

It also ordered Canada to pay $40,000 to each child and caregiver denied essential services under a policy known as Jordan's Principle.

Instead of paying compensation in the way the orders are worded, the government negotiated a deal with the Assembly of First Nations, which was suing Ottawa for $10 billion to compensate a group of children and families not covered by the tribunal's orders.

In January 2022, the AFN and the federal government announced a $40 billion settlement agreement to cover the cost of settling a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order, two class action lawsuits and long-term reform of the Indigenous child welfare system over a five-year period.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chrt-decision-20-billion-child-welfare-...

Paladin1 wrote:

Sneaky lol

You seem to be laughing at the many destroyed lives of these indigenous children, who were taken from their families.

Here's is more on why Canadian Human Rights Council reached it decision and agreed with Cindy Blackstock, the indigenous woman who has fought the federal government for 15 years in court and appealed the $40 billion decision because it did not include all indigenous children.

Quote:

In 2019, the tribunal ordered Canada to pay victims, and some extended family members, $40,000 each in compensation.

But while the deal the AFN and Canada reached would, in some cases, increase compensation to some victims, it may leave others out.

“Denying entitlements once recognized in orders is an unfair and unjust outcome that the Tribunal cannot endorse,” said Marchildon and Lustig in the ruling.

“The Tribunal decisions provide compensation for children removed from their homes, families and communities as a result of the FNCFS (First Nations Child and Family Services) Program’s discrimination. The FSA narrows it into removed children who were also placed in ISC (Indigenous Services Canada) funded care.”
According to Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, one of the original complainants in the discrimination case against Canada, the fixed amount of $20 billion may not be enough to compensate everyone who is entitled to the money.

She said the FSA exempts children who weren’t in federally funded child welfare placements.

“The Caring Society recognizes that the FSA is an important agreement that provides additional compensation to some victims,” said Blackstock in a statement on Tuesday. “We fully support this very important goal.

“We call on Canada to adopt the Tribunal’s ruling and take up its clear suggestions to fix the FSA to ensure all victims get the human rights compensation and supports they are legally entitled to as soon as possible.”
The AFN and Canada are, not surprisingly, disappointed with the ruling from the tribunal. The AFN was one of the original parties that filed a discrimination complaint against the federal government alongside Blackstock in 2007. It took another nine years of hearings and delays by the government to get a ruling and longer to get the compensation order.

Now, the AFN said, victims of the system will have to wait longer.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/20b-child-welfare-deal-on-hold-aft...

Paladin1 wrote:

jerrym wrote:

You seem to be laughing at the many destroyed lives of these indigenous children, who were taken from their families.

That's quite the stretch.

The government fights to compensate these children and families then all of a sudden they agree. Only surprise another bureaucracy torpedos it. Typical government sneakyness.

Sure it sounds like a plausible reason, they missed children. So how long will it take for the next settlement tocome to pass. 15 years? 20?

When you "lol" the situation, and never express any support for the children it suggests where you come from. As to the "bureaucracy", the Canadian Human Rights Council, it agreed with Cindy Blackstock based on the principle that all children should be funded, not just the ones that Trudeau tried to carve out so he could say he was right to block earlier legal rulings of a settlement while saying he had done more than Harper had done on rectifying this wrong, which was nothing.