Indigenous children in Canada are set to receive billions in compensation after overcoming the challenges put forth by the Trudeau government.
A federal court judge in Canada finally dismissed a pair of legal challenges made by the Canadian government thus ending the years of discrimination faced by the First Nations indigenous children in the hands of the Canadian government according to The Guardian report.
Two years ago, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in a court ruling had accused the Canadian government of “willfully and recklessly” discriminating against the indigenous children living on reserves by depriving them of child and family services. However, the Trudeau government had legally challenged the order to compensate the First Nation children for the discrimination.
"This is a complete win for kids," says @cblackst, who co-launched the human rights complaint that led to the initial ruling. "Now the question becomes, will the federal government finally put down its sword and stop fighting First Nations children?" https://t.co/u0tsHtu4G5 pic.twitter.com/9LjyNVKWIK
— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) September 30, 2021
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, who had launched the initial human rights complaint, said to media, “We had evidence-based solutions, in 2000 and 2005. If the government had acted on them and if they had even acted on them after we filed the case, there would not be victims to compensate.”
Assembly of First Nations national chief Rose Ann Archibald said on the court ruling that she hopes the government sees the federal court ruling as a fair decision and will move forward with compensation. “You can’t talk about truth and reconciliation and then turn around and fight our children in court,” she added.
"This is a complete win for kids," says @cblackst, who co-launched the human rights complaint that led to the initial ruling. "Now the question becomes, will the federal government finally put down its sword and stop fighting First Nations children?" https://t.co/u0tsHtu4G5 pic.twitter.com/9LjyNVKWIK
— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) September 30, 2021
The court had then ruled that the Canadian government was supposed to pay compensation of C$40,000 to each child who was removed from his or her home. But, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government would appeal against the ruling to “make sure we’re getting compensation right”.
A federal judge however decided on Wednesday that the tribunal’s compensation ruling was not unreasonable. Justice Paul Favel wrote in his decision that “No one can seriously doubt that First Nations people are among the most disadvantaged and marginalized members of Canadian society,” also adding, “The tribunal was aware of this and reasonably attempted to remedy the discrimination while being attentive to the very different positions of the parties.”
The court also mentioned the “Jordan’s principle” which was named after Jordan River Anderson, a five-year-old child who died due to a medical condition while governments fought over who should pay for his care. The judge concluded that the government failed to establish that the tribunal’s decisions were unreasonable in both cases.
Justin Trudeau’s decision to fight both of these rulings have been criticized by the indigenous leaders while critics argue that Trudeau’s denying compensation to children is an indication of a government not committed to reconciliation.
This fight against the Canadian government for compensation is 14 years old. In the past, Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society equated underfunding of the child welfare on reserve to racial discrimination.
Trudeau administration spent millions fighting a court case against rights of indigenous children
Indigenous leaders and lawmakers celebrated Wednesday’s landmark ruling after a long battle against the Canadian government. Guardian cited Lawmaker Charlie Angus as saying, “Today was an absolute victory for First Nation children. For six years Justin Trudeau spent millions fighting the rights of Indigenous children and trying to overturn a ruling that found his government guilty of ‘wilful and reckless’ discrimination against vulnerable Indigenous kids. The court has thrown his case out,”
First Nations Caring Society claimed the decision was a “huge win” for indigenous children and families, as per the report in the Guardian.
The Assembly of First Nations said in a tweet, “Today’s decision acknowledges the personal harm caused by Canada’s discrimination and affirms that First Nations deserve justice,”. It further added, “We hope that Canadians stand with us in recognizing that #EveryChildMatters.”
Canada’s government and Church had been discriminating against First Nation people for decades
For several decades, the Church and the Canadian government had forcibly taken indigenous children away from their families and put them in the infamous residential school system to “educate” them. The so-called “education” was the systematic wiping out of indigenous culture, languages and rituals. The children were forcefully ‘Christianized’ to fit in a White Christian society.
The First Nation people of Canada have been struggling for years to stop the discrimination and demand reconciliation for the injustice meted out to them.
Indigenous Canadians are marking September 30 as the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and celebrating it as #OrangeShirtDay to create awareness about the systemic racial discrimination and suffering endured by First Nation people.
