The president of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has informed chiefs that a proposed agreement with Ottawa on child welfare reforms would be worth $47.8 billion, according to a source in the room, more than double what was initially promised.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak revealed the figure to chiefs and their proxies Tuesday afternoon, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to release the details publicly.
She also raised the political risks of rejecting the proposed deal and said she wanted leaders to be able to discuss the offer before voting on it at a special meeting this fall.
The closed-door session, which the media were not allowed to attend, took place as part of the AFN’s annual general meeting, which is being held in Montreal this week.
A spokesman for Ms Woodhouse Nepinak declined to comment when asked to confirm the source’s account and the $47.8 billion figure.
Anispiragas Piragasanathar, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, suggested in a statement that negotiations are still ongoing.
“Should an agreement be reached, the First Nations parties would work with their members across the country. Reaching an agreement with the First Nations parties would represent an important step in long-term reform of the program and advance our ongoing commitment to ending discrimination,” the statement said.
The federal government had initially pledged $20 billion for long-term reforms to the child welfare system, but Woodhouse Nepinak recently told The Canadian Press that the deal reached with Ottawa would likely exceed that amount.
The money was part of a $43-billion settlement offer resulting from a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that Ottawa discriminated against Indigenous children by chronically underfunding child welfare services on First Nations.
The remaining $23 billion was set aside to compensate about 300,000 people harmed by a system that often placed children in foster care instead of providing support to help families stay together.
In her opening address to the chiefs on Tuesday morning, which was broadcast publicly, Woodhouse Nepinak said she could not say openly how much money was on the table. However, she said she was “very pleased” with the compensation.
The AFN filed the human rights complaint alongside the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. The organization’s executive director, Cindy Blackstock, had called on Ottawa to commit to a much larger sum as part of the reform.
She said Tuesday that expert calculations suggested $57 billion would be needed to fully repair the system over the next 10 years, not including capital investments. She also criticized Mr. Woodhouse Nepinak for keeping the most recent offer secret.
Ahead of the three-day meeting, the AFN’s negotiations with Ottawa had been criticized by four regional chiefs representing more than half of Canada’s First Nations.
Last month they wrote to Ms Woodhouse Nepinak to express concerns that the deal had been done in secret.
Mr Woodhouse Nepinak responded that this was not the case and that all chiefs would be able to see the draft agreement before a vote scheduled for later in the year.
On Wednesday, the chiefs are expected to hear from the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are expected to speak Thursday.