By Canadian Press

Ontario First Nations to negotiate child welfare reforms with Ottawa

Jan 7, 2025 | 10:48 AM

OTTAWA — First Nations in Ontario are charting their own path with the federal government to reform the child welfare system weeks after critics said the deal reached last July was too weak to accept.

The Chiefs of Ontario, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the federal government say the reforms outlined in a draft child welfare agreement are “historic and transformative.”

They say they’ll work together to reach a final agreement within the existing provisions.

That agreement, worth $47.8 billion over 10 years, was ordered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

It was struck down by the Assembly of First Nations in October when chiefs voted for a new negotiating team and what they called a more inclusive agreement with Ottawa.

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First Nations leaders in Ontario, who helped to negotiate the deal and have status in the human rights case, maintained the agreement is the best solution to a decades-long child welfare crisis.

It would see First Nations take back control of a system the tribunal called discriminatory, provide money for prevention services to keep kids out of the system and allow for higher funding for more remote communities.

Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict says the Ontario chiefs’ priority continues to be reducing the number of First Nations children in the provincial system. He says communities will be able to exercise control over how the programs are administered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press