(Ottawa) The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) says there are 47.8 billion reasons why chiefs should accept a child welfare reform deal with Canada, but a leading child welfare expert is warning them to read the fine print.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is promoting an agreement that would see the federal government set aside $47.8 billion over 10 years to reform the First Nations child welfare system.
The agreement came after decades of advocacy and litigation by First Nations and experts on the grounds that Canada discriminated against children living on reserves.
Child protection advocate Cindy Blackstock says she questions how the AFN is supposed to present nuanced information to chiefs, since a clause in the agreement requires them to publicly promote and defend the deal.
Mme Woodhouse Nepinak says it is important for regional leaders to speak in their assemblies and that promoting the agreement allows more people to learn about it.
Mme Blackstock is also concerned that service providers are being excluded from the deal, as are young people in care with lived experience, who are key to ensuring the deal actually works on the ground.