Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says he won’t engage in finger pointing with provinces over child-welfare bill GlobePolitics
while the legislation also sets cross-Canada standards, such as the best interests of the child, to guide child and family services.It has also been working on system reforms amid a legal process with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that found Ottawa has discriminated against Indigenous children living on reserve by failing to provide appropriate funding for child and family services.
In a recent interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Miller said he is not going to engage in legal battles with Quebec, adding he does not want a discussion over Indigenous children to descend into a jurisdictional squabble between governments. “I’ve made sure to underscore the fact that I will not be engaging in jurisdictional finger pointing," he said.The law is designed to address how the current system is broken, Mr. Miller said, while he pointed to statistics from the 2016 census indicating Indigenous children represent more than 50 per cent of children in foster care homes while they only account for a little more than 7 per cent of the overall population.
In response to Quebec’s constitutional questions, the AFN’s Regional Chief for Quebec and Labrador Ghislain Picard also issued a blunt statement, saying he is “extremely disappointed but not surprised” by the “shameful” decision from François Legault’s government.“The Legault government is well aware that the current child-welfare system does not work for First Nations children," he said.
“Given the legislation will come into force in less than six weeks, I am concerned that we have received little additional detail on Canada’s plans regarding the act,” she wrote.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Eight people in Ontario and B.C. charged in online child-exploitation investigationPolice say officers went undercover in online chatrooms and on social media applications to identify, locate and arrest people seeking to sexually exploit children in Peterborough, Ont.
Read more »
Avalanche in northwestern B.C. kills two Alaskan snowboardersThe BC Coroners Service says the men, who were in their early 20s, were with a third man snowboarding in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park when the avalanche hit Monday afternoon
Read more »
Avalanche in northwestern B.C. kills two snowboarders in provincial parkThe B.C. Coroners Service says the men, who were in their early 20s, were with a third man snowboarding in the area when the avalanche hit Monday afternoon.
Read more »
Service Canada told key to improving use, ease of online services is human touchAs is, the report found, many trek to a Service Canada office because they had more confidence that their application or issue would be resolved quickly and easily.
Read more »