‘Yes and’: Assembly of First Nations votes to release money for child welfare survivors, return to negotiating table with feds – National Observer
December 8th 2022
Karen Osachoff and Melissa Walterson would’ve grown up together as sisters if not for the foster care system. They were separated and grew up “alone” with their respective foster families, Osachoff told attendees of the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly on Wednesday.
The separation of First Nations siblings by today’s foster care system has drawn parallels to the residential school system and the ‘60s Scoop, both of which split apart families at great emotional cost.
Osachoff and Walterson are plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, launched by the sisters and other survivors, for compensation over a discriminatory child-welfare system that sees thousands of First Nations youth taken from their communities. Osachoff is also a trained lawyer and worked on the case.
