AFN head urges support for child welfare deal, says they won't get better from Tories

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak speaks in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

OTTAWA -

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is urging chiefs to vote in favour of a landmark child welfare deal, saying she doesn't think a better agreement would be possible under a different federal government.

First Nations chiefs are gathering in Calgary today as they prepare to vote on a $47.8-billion child welfare reform agreement with Ottawa.

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The deal was struck in July between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over Canada's underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory and tasked Canada with coming to an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, along with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in foster care.

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says there are some shortfalls in the agreement, but she is urging chiefs to vote in favour of the deal so it is in place before the next federal election.

Woodhouse Nepinak says she's tried to build bridges with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, but she can't guarantee a better deal could be reached with him based on that party's record on Indigenous issues and its promise to cut spending.

Chiefs in Ontario voted in support of the agreement last week, but the AFN is set to discuss three resolutions this week calling for the deal to be struck down or renegotiated.

Chiefs have raised concerns since before July that the agreement was being negotiated in secret, while experts have said the deal doesn't go far enough to ensure Canada's discrimination never happens again.

The AFN's special assembly continues until Friday, with chiefs expected to vote on the deal Thursday.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.