Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, said the settlement negotiated by the federal government and the Assembly of First Nations does not meet the compensation standard set by the court ruling on which the settlement is based. “It denies or provides a lesser value of compensation to some victims who have experienced the worst-case scenario of discrimination and creates significant uncertainty for other victims,” Blackstock wrote in an affidavit filed in court on Aug. 30. The settlement provides $20 billion for reparations and $20 billion for long-term reforms. The court is holding two days of mock hearings Thursday and Friday to decide whether the $20 billion package satisfies its order that Canada compensate First Nations children and their families for discrimination before the matter goes to the Federal Court for final approval . In 2007, the House of Commons adopted a policy named after Jordan River Anderson, Jordan’s Principle, to guarantee that First Nations children receive basic services, such as health care, before litigation over payments is settled. (Submitted by TIFF) Blackstock told CBC News that the Caring Society, which was not part of the AFN and Ottawa compensation negotiations, recognizes that $20 billion is a lot of money. But because the amount is fixed, it is not certain that each complainant will receive at least $40,000, as ordered by the court. This, Blackstock said, undermines the human rights order. “My concern is that the prime minister said no one is entitled to it [$40,000] would get less and that’s not the case,” he told CBC News. “It makes me feel down.”
Estates of deceased parents left out
In a joint statement, the offices of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said each First Nations child forcibly removed from their homes and entered the child welfare system in custody will receive at least 40,000 $ — or more, depending on the severity of the injuries sustained. However, the details of the deal are still being worked out, the statement said. “While no amount of compensation can make up for the grief and trauma that the Government of Canada’s actions have caused First Nations children and families, this final settlement agreement is an important step forward in recognizing the harm that an important step forward in healing has also been caused,” the announcement states. Jeremy Meawasige sits with his mother Maurina Beadle at their home in Pictou Landing First Nation in Nova Scotia in July 2011. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press) The settlement leaves out the estate of Jordan River Anderson’s mother, Virginia Ballantyne, whose son died in 2005 at age five during a bureaucratic battle between Manitoba and Ottawa over who should pay for his care. This is because it cuts off the estates of parents who died before making a compensation claim. “This is really heartbreaking because this family was so generous and Jordan’s mom died just six months after Jordan,” Blackstock said. “It’s sad to see her being left out and people like her… That seems to me to be a graphic injustice.” The estate of the late Maurina Beadle — a mother from Pictou Landing First Nation in Nova Scotia who won a court case against Ottawa to get her son Jeremy Meawasige treatment under the Jordan Principle — would also receive no money. The Meawasige and Anderson estates, however, would be compensated.
$40,000 is not guaranteed for each claimant
In 2007, the House of Commons adopted a policy named after Anderson — the Jordan Principle — to guarantee First Nations children receive basic services, such as health care, before litigation over payments is settled. The court ordered Canada to pay $40,000 to each First Nations child — along with their parents or grandparents — who were forced to leave their homes to access services or were denied services according to the Jordanian Authority. But because it’s unclear how many Jordan’s Principle claimants will come forward, the settlement cannot guarantee $40,000 to everyone in that class, according to an analysis included as an exhibit with Blackstock’s affidavit. The agreement makes a compromise for the parents of the children who were removed. In cases where more than one child was removed, they would receive a maximum of $60,000 — not $40,000 per child, as ordered by the court. It also excludes a class of children removed from compensation — those placed in foster care — Blackstock said. Assembly of First Nations Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, left, and Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, center, listen to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller during a news conference in Ottawa where the federal government shared details on the $40 billion First Nations child welfare agreement. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Under the settlement, the plaintiffs have until February 2023 to opt out of compensation and file lawsuits on their own. If they don’t, they won’t be able to take their own legal action. Timmins–James Bay NDP MP Charlie Angus is calling on the government to renegotiate the deal so everyone gets the full amount of court-ordered compensation. “They are not respecting the decision of the human rights court,” Angus said. “You can’t just ignore laws and legal decisions that are against you.” In a statement to CBC News, AFN defended the deal. “AFN is working hard to ensure that the process is in place so that all eligible victims are compensated as quickly as possible,” said Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse. “We will walk hand-in-hand with First Nations throughout this process.”
Ottawa will drop the appeal — if the settlement is approved
In January 2022, the AFN and the federal government announced a $40 billion settlement agreement to cover the costs of settling a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling, two class-action lawsuits and long-term reform of the aboriginal welfare system over a five-year period. The agreement came after a heated legal battle that began in 2007 when Blackstock filed a human rights complaint with the Assembly of First Nations against Canada. In 2016, the court found that Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children and said Canada’s actions resulted in “trauma and harm of the highest degree, causing pain and suffering.” In 2019, he ordered the federal government to pay $40,000 — the maximum allowed under the Canadian Human Rights Act — to each child affected by the child welfare system in detention, along with their primary guardians, as long as the children are not taken in foster care due to abuse. NDP MP Charlie Angus is urging the federal government to renegotiate the $20 billion compensation package. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) He also called on the government to pay the same amount for violations by the Jordanian Authority. Ottawa appealed the Federal Court decision upholding that order. Now, Hajdu and Miller’s offices say the government will withdraw its appeal — if the settlement is approved. “Canada will not continue to appeal (the Federal Court’s decision on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s compensation award) once the CHRT declares that its compensation order has been satisfied and the Federal Court approves the final settlement agreement,” the statement said.
