This article was first published on APTN News in Canada.
As the Carney government submitted its new $35.5-billion plan to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services program, the National Children’s Chiefs Commission (NCCC) and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (Caring Society) tabled their own plan on Dec. 22.
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak signalled her support for the plan in a press release.
“Nothing is more important than our children,” said Nepinak. “And we want the government to place the same priority on First Nations children as we do. Today is the latest step in a long, too long, drawn out process. It’s time to take real action on comprehensive reform to ensure justice, fairness, safety and security for First Nations children.”
The AFN’s First Nations-in-Assembly selected the NCCC to carry out the necessary consultations and negotiations to create a plan for reforming First Nations Child and Family Services. Like the plan submitted by the federal government, the national plan submitted by the NCCC and Caring Society sees long-term reform as a project requiring specific focus on the needs of individual regions.
In August, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued an order demanding the federal government, the AFN and other interested parties consult with First Nations leadership to develop a national plan that will guide the CHRT’s reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program.
“Now that the plans are submitted, AFN will review them and assess next steps,” said Nepinak in the AFN press release. “We hope there are strong commonalities that value our children because our preference is to work collaboratively with the government. But make no mistake – we will continue to fight for our children if we have to. I thank the National Children’s Chiefs Commission and the Caring Society for their work to develop a national plan under challenging timelines.”
