JANUARY 26, 2016

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL RULES CANADA UNDERFUNDS FIRST NATIONS WELFARE SERVICES

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the federal government of Canada discriminated against aboriginal children by underfunding welfare services on reserves compared to what is spent on non-native children or on aboriginals living off the reserve.  Canada’s 1.4 million indigenous people make up 5 percent of the population, but represent about half of Canadian children aged 14 and under who live in foster care.  “The panel acknowledges the suffering of those First Nations children and families who are or have been denied an equitable opportunity to remain together or to be reunited in a timely manner,” the decision said.  The Liberal government said it accepted the ruling and would make changes as soon as possible.  While the federal government provides services for aboriginal children on reserves, individual provinces fund child welfare services for non-native children and native children who do not live on reserves, creating a two-tiered funding system. 

Source:  Andrea Hopkins and Leah Schnurr, “Canada government discriminated against aboriginal children: tribunal,” Reuters, 1/26/2016.  Retrieved 7/15/2019,  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-aboriginals/canada-government-discriminated-against-aboriginal-children-tribunal-idUSKCN0V41QK
Photo:  Arctic Gnome, 7/30/2005.  Permissive use under: (1) GNU Free Documentation License; or (2) Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/