(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse is pleased to share with First Nations that AFN, the Government of Canada and class action parties have reached a final settlement agreement worth $20 billion to compensate First Nations children and families who experienced discrimination under the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNSFS) program and Jordan’s Principle. This final settlement agreement is subject to approval by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and Federal Court of Canada.
“First Nations children deserve to be surrounded by love and live free of discriminatory government policy, and after three decades of advocacy and months of negotiations, I’m proud to say on behalf the AFN that we have reached another historic milestone for our children and their and families” said AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse. “We’ve held our children in our hearts and prayers throughout negotiations, reaching an agreement that we believe fairly upholds the 2019 orders of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and broadens the scope of First Nations children and families eligible to seek compensation where they experienced discrimination in the federal First Nations Child and Family Services program and the narrow implementation of Jordan’s Principle. The next steps are procedural and pending court approvals, we expect compensation will begin to reach First Nations next year.”
The final settlement agreement will be filed with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for approval in the coming weeks. A motion to approve the settlement is scheduled to be heard for at the Federal Court of Canada in September 2022. The agreement will include a distribution protocol, which will outline specifics on who will be eligible for compensation and how they can apply, among other details.
The AFN, the Government of Canada and other parties signed a historic Agreement-in-Principle in December 2021 and announced in January 2022, that outlined $20 billion in compensation for First Nations children and families impacted by the discriminatory funding practices of the federal FNCFS program and its improper implementation of Jordan’s Principle. At the same time, the parties signed an Agreement-in-Principle to reform the program, outlining an additional $19.807 billion. Efforts toward a final agreement on long-term reform continue.
Additional details, resources and support are available at www.fnchildcompensation.ca.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
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Contact information:
Kelly Reid
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
613-292-0857 (mobile)
kreid@afn.ca
