'This is direct discrimination': Lawsuit between Manitoba and Indigenous CFS agencies continues
Lawyers representing more than a dozen CFS agencies are accusing the province of discrimination, saying Indigenous children paid the price when the province clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars meant for children in care.
A four-day civil trial continued in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday. Justice James Edmond heard submissions from multiple Indigenous CFS agencies regarding the Children's Special Allowance (CSA)—a monthly federal benefit meant for children in care.
"It was supposed to help lift children in care up," said Byron Williams, the lawyer representing Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) in the challenge.
Court heard during a 13-year period between 2006 and 2019, the province took back more than $335 million of the benefits through what lawyers called forced remittance and claw backs.
The court heard not all children in care were impacted.
Shawn Scarcello, a lawyer representing the CFS agencies, said in Manitoba, Indigenous children in care fall under two groups—federally and provincially funded.
He said children with a parent living on reserve at the time of apprehension are federally funded and received the CSA benefit. Children whose parents lived off reserve at the time of apprehension are funded by the province, and from 2006 to 2019, didn't get the benefit.
"This is direct discrimination," Scarcello said. "Obviously, this is absurd and this just goes to show the arbitrariness of Manitoba's CSA policy."
The practice was ended in 2019, but lawyers argued the province then used Section 231 of the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act (BITSA) to retroactively legalize the claw back, and block any legal challenges.
"What BITSA is achieving is to take away any claims that Indigenous agencies or Indigenous children may make on this CSA benefit and ask for the return of those benefits," Jeremy McKay, a lawyer representing Elsie Flette, a plaintiff in the case.
"This is an attempt to keep money that they were never entitled to in the first place," said William Klym, who is also representing Flette. "The truth is they want to keep the money and they want to prevent the children and the agencies from accessing it."
Byron Williams said Indigenous children—in particular First Nations children—are grossly overrepresented in the child welfare system and are at a higher risk of unemployment, homelessness and incarceration.
He said the claw backs took a vital resource away from them, and called the court to strike down the legislation.
"AMC argues that BITSA at its core is discrimination enshrined in law," he said.
"Manitoba is not above the law and it can and should be held accountable for taking hundreds of millions of CSA dollars from First Nation children in care."
The province is set to make its submissions on Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.