Federal Court approves $23B First Nations child-welfare settlement

Federal Court verbally approved $23B First Nations child-welfare settlement.

The funding will help offset chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services by the federal government to more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families.

The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society first filed this complaint with Human Rights in 2007.

In September 2019, the Canada Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the federal government did not adequately fund Child and Family Services, which inadvertently and negligently discriminated against First Nations children living on reserve.

Ottawa last year offered to spend $20 billion and another $20 billion to reform the child-welfare system, but the tribunal expressed concern that not all eligible claimants would receive compensation.

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu says she is pleased the agreement has been approved.