The Assembly of First Nations has filed a federal class action lawsuit to seek damages and justice for First Nations children who it says have been discriminated against by the government’s child welfare system.
The suit alleges that Canada’s funding was “discriminatory” because the federal system created an incentive to remove First Nations children from their families and put them in out-of-home care.
It states the government failed to account for different needs among First Nations in different locations and funding for First Nations children on-reserve fell far short of what was allotted to children off-reserve.
AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde says “year after year, generation after generation, Canada systemically discriminated against First Nations children and families simply because they were First Nations.”
Bellegarde adds “Canada breached its responsibility to our children and families, infringed on their Charter rights, and caused them real harm and suffering.”
