Child sex abuse allegations highlight need for immediate help on reserves: NDP

OTTAWA — The issue of sexual abuse in indigenous communities, documented during an investigation by The Canadian Press, has been raised in the House of Commons, where the federal government faces pressure to commit $155 million to improve child and family services for children on reserve.

A number of leading experts, including researchers, the former Truth and Reconciliation chairman Murray Sinclair and the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, have flagged the issue of sexual abuse and incest in some indigenous communities.

NDP indigenous affairs critic Charlie Angus says there is no way to protect vulnerable children without appropriate resources — discrimination affirmed last January by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

A motion Angus put forward in late October on child welfare services for reserve children called for an immediate injection of $155 million and a long-term fiscal plan.