FNCFS – 2024 CHRT 95
Press Release
I. Context
[1] In 2016, the Tribunal released its First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al. v. Attorney General of Canada (for the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada), 2016 CHRT 2 [Merit Decision] and found that this case is about children and how the past and current child welfare practices in First Nations communities on reserves, across Canada, have impacted and continue to impact First Nations children, their families and their communities. The Tribunal found that Canada racially discriminated against First Nations children on reserve and in the Yukon in a systemic way not only by underfunding the FNCFS Program but also in the manner that it designed, managed and controlled it. One of the worst harms found by the Tribunal was the FNCFS Program creating incentives to remove First Nations from their homes, families and communities. Another major harm to First Nations children was that zero cases were approved under Jordan’s Principle given the narrow interpretation and restrictive eligibility criteria developed by Canada. The Tribunal found that more than just funding, there is a need to refocus the policy of the program to respect human rights principles and sound social work practice in the best interest of children. The Tribunal ordered Canada to cease the discriminatory practice, take measures to redress and prevent it from reoccurring, and reform the FNCFS Program and the 1965 Agreement in Ontario to reflect the findings in the Merit Decision. The Tribunal determined it would proceed in phases for immediate, mid-term and long-term relief so as to allow immediate change followed by adjustments and finally, sustainable long-term relief informed by data collection, new studies and best practices as identified by First Nations experts, the specific needs of First Nations communities and of First Nations Agencies, the National Advisory Committee on child and family services reform and the parties.
[2] The Tribunal also ordered Canada to cease applying its narrow definition of Jordan’s
Principle and to take measures to immediately implement the full meaning and scope of
Jordan’s principle. Jordan’s Principle orders and the substantive equality goal were further detailed in subsequent rulings. In 2020 CHRT 20, a decision upheld by the Federal Court in Canada (Attorney General) v. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada,
2021 FC 969 (CanLII), [2022] 2 FCR 614, this Tribunal stated that:
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