(Vancouver) British Columbia’s largest First Nation has voted to assume authority over child and family services for its members.
The results of a vote organized by the province’s Cowichan tribes show that 83 per cent of the 416 citizens who voted were in favor of the new law which would prioritize supports to keep children with their family or place them with relatives or in other indigenous homes.
Negotiator Robert Morales, who helped craft the new law, said the Canadian government has decided for more than 150 years what was best for Indigenous children and chose to remove them from their families and their culture when he placed them in the child welfare system.
“ [La nouvelle loi] represents an important step towards self-determination for the Cowichan people,” he said.
“The ability to make decisions about what is in the best interests of your children is a very fundamental right, and one that the community should have a say in and not let outside governments make those decisions.” , he continued in a telephone interview.
Federal legislation that took effect in 2020 allows Indigenous communities to create and manage their own child welfare systems.
The Cowichan tribes, which have about 5,300 members and are based on Vancouver Island, have been negotiating for years with the federal and provincial governments over what this transition will look like.
Mr. Morales said those negotiations should be completed by January and the Cowichan tribes hope to take over by April 2024.
For now, he said the new law would apply to members living anywhere on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, but could eventually be applied to all members of the First Nation benefiting from the child welfare system across Canada.
“Under federal law, no geographic limits are set. Indigenous laws therefore apply to the extent that indigenous nations declare that they want their laws to apply, Mr. Morales clarified. But the federal government has also said its position is that each nation should negotiate a coordination agreement with the province. »
He said approximately 100 Cowichan tribal children are currently covered by B.C. law, adding that the goal, once the First Nation takes over, will be reunification of families to the extent possible. possible.
Cowichan Tribes Chief Lydia Hwitsum said in a statement before the vote that ratifying the law means keeping families together in a way that reflects the community’s teachings and ways of being.
“We are at a defining moment in our history, with the opportunity within our grasp to chart a happy, healthy and culturally rich future for our smun’eem, our children,” she said.