(Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
Indigenous child welfare has been a recurring topic on this blog as one of the areas of colonial law that most negatively impacts Indigenous people. For those of you reading for the first time, or just wishing to do a deep dive, links to our previous posts on Indigenous child welfare have been included at the end of today’s post.
To quickly recap, the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families ( the “Act”) came into force this year. You may have heard the Act referred to as Bill C-92 as it was known prior to its enactment. With more Indigenous children in care now than at the height of residential schools, this law was a groundbreaking step forward.[1] It finally acknowledges the right of Indigenous groups to exercise jurisdiction over child welfare laws and operations.
A big criticism of this Act is the glaring omission of any funding provision to support the development of Indigenous-run child welfare systems. This is a surprising omission given the TRC’s call for adequate and sustainable funding, as well as the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s repeated finding of systemic discrimination against Indigenous children through inequitable funding as compared to all other children in Canada.
New funding announced
On November 27th, Prime Minister Trudeau announced $542 million in new funding for Indigenous child welfare.[2] This funding is intended to propel the co-implementation of the Act with Indigenous governing bodies, and assist in building capacity to establish Indigenous-run child welfare systems.[3] The news release indicates that this funding is in addition to $3 billion already invested in funding support since 2019, however we have not found any publicly announced funding totalling $3 billion.[4] The proposals related to Indigenous child welfare in the 2019 budget included:
- $1.2 billion over three years, beginning in 2019–20 to provide access to services for First Nation children.
- $220 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20, to provide services to Inuit children as work continues with Inuit and other government partners to improve local capacity to deliver services.[5]
Obviously this $542 million is welcome news, especially since it appears to be new funding (as opposed to re-allocated funding). However, as with all funding, ascertaining the benefits conferred requires understanding who and what is eligible, and how to access that money.
Breakdown of the new funding
The federal government’s commitment will provide $542 million in funding over five years, broken down as follows:
- $425 million over five years for capacity-building funding for Indigenous jurisdictions.
- Nearly $73 million over five years for coordination agreement discussions.
- Over $35 million for internal services.
- Nearly $10 million over two years for governance engagement mechanisms.[6]
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has projected a funding requirement of $3.5 billion over 5 years in order for First Nations to effectively assume jurisdiction and operations of child welfare services.[7] This funding estimate does not take into account the funding requirements of Inuit and Métis communities. Existing funding to Indigenous governing bodies, as we have repeatedly highlighted on this blog, is chronically deficient and could not support the transition.
What do we think?
Our first concern with funding for improved Indigenous delivered services, is that an organization must first be provincially delegated in order to receive funding.[8] The concept of self governing bodies being required to seek permission from the colonial government is odd, but nevertheless common in funding models.
Our second concern is the funding amount. If Prime Minister Trudeau’s representation of an existing $3 billion in funding is correct, then this new funding adds enough to meet the AFN projected funding requirement, though again, this does not factor in funding needs of Inuit and Métis governing bodies. The actual funding amount allocated is difficult to ascertain as Canada has not released an official budget in the past two years, so we are forced to accept these announcements at face value for now.
The third concern Team ReconciliAction has with this funding announcement, is that there is no mechanism for distribution of the funds. The AFN entered into a protocol agreement earlier this year that included bi-lateral meetings and a joint finance table. However Inuit and Métis governing bodies have not yet made any such agreement.[9] There are also many First Nations that are not represented by AFN, who would require funding for the implementation of the Act. This highlights an ongoing problem with the way that Canada provides pan-Indigenous funding. Canada ignores the known fact that these are distinct nations with distinct laws and distinct needs, and uses distribution models that create conflict between Indigenous groups who are then forced to fight for the funds they require.
Overall, it is a positive that there is funding for the implementation of this Act, though it remains disappointing that it was omitted from the legislation. Indigenous people are tired of being told to wait for things that Canada stripped away over 150 years ago, but the roll-out of this funding is just another “wait-and-see” at this time.
Links to previous posts on Indigenous Child Welfare
Intergenerational Injustice & Indigenous Child Welfare
Ohpikihawasowin (the raising of children)
Moving Forward and Looking Back: Indigenous Children
In the Media: Spirit Bear Teddy Bear Tea Party & Book Launch
ILSA Speaker Series: Panel Discussion and the Aboriginal Justice Award
Systemic Barriers and Indigenous Children: Bill C-92
Systemic Barriers and Indigenous Children: Bill 22
Influential Indigenous Women: Dr. Cindy Blackstock
In the Media: The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Orders Compensation for First Nations Children
The Role of the Indigenous Community in Child Development
Indigenous Mothering and the Impacts of the Child Welfare System
Misconceptions of 'Bad Parenting' and the Impacts on Child Apprehension
In the Media: Dr. Cindy Blackstock & Dr. Hadley Friedland on Bill C-92
"Decolonization" and Why it Matters in the Context of Child Welfare
5 Years After TRC: Reducing Children in Care
5 Years After TRC: Reducing Children in Care Part 2
5 Years After TRC: A National Standard
5 Years after TRC: A National Standard (Part 2)
Maarsii to everyone who participated in our polls on social media telling us to write this post, stay tuned tomorrow for more TRC response evaluations!
Until Next Time,
Team ReconciliAction
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1 Olivia Stefanovich & John Paul Tasker, “Ottawa, AFN pen agreement to map out funding for First Nations child welfare overhaul”, (7 July 2020), online: CBC News <https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-child-welfare-c92-funding-1.5639885>.
2 “More support to advance reform of services for Indigenous children and families”, (27 November 2020), online: Prime Minister of Canada <https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/11/27/more-support-advance-reform-services-indigenous-children-and-families>.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Department of Finance Government of Canada, “Budget 2019: Chapter 3”, (19 March 2019), online: <https://www.budget.gc.ca/2019/docs/plan/chap-03-en.html#Chapter-3---Advancing-Reconciliation>.
6 supra note 2.
7 Jorge Barrera & 2019, “First Nations need billions in funding to take over child welfare services, says AFN regional chief”, (3 December 2019), online: CBC News <https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/afn-special-chiefs-assembly-1.5381566>.
8 Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications Branch, “First Nations Child and Family Services”, (3 November 2008), online: <https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1100100035204/1533307858805>.
9 Indigenous Services Canada, “The Assembly Of First Nations and Canada Sign a Historic Protocol Agreement to Advance the Transfer Of Child And Family Services To First Nations”, (7 July 2020), online: gcnws <https://www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-services-canada/news/2020/07/the-assembly-of-first-nations-and-canada-sign-a-historic-protocol-agreement-to-advance-the-transfer-of-child-and-family-services-to-first-nations.html>.
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