The Assembly of First Nations鈥� Manitoba regional chief is thanking Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu for the $40 billion that will be set aside for First Nations child welfare in the upcoming economic and fiscal update, but says there鈥檚 still a long way to go.
鈥淚 want to thank the minister for her words and for her commitment to try and end all of this,鈥� Chief Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly of First Nations鈥� lead negotiator, told CTV鈥檚 Power Play on Monday. 鈥淚 think we have a long way to go.鈥�
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in 2016 that the federal government discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding the child welfare systems on reserves. The federal government was ordered to pay up to $40,000 to each First Nations child unnecessarily put in foster care.
The government, the Assembly of First Nations and other parties have been negotiating since November after the federal government filed a notice of appeal on the compensation order.
鈥淲e want to work with everybody to make sure that we鈥檙e working to get the best results for our kids,鈥� Chief Woodhouse said.
Chief Woodhouse talks about the $40 billion set aside for First Nations child welfare in the video at the top of this article.
