The federal government has been ordered to reimburse tens of thousands of First Nations children who were harmed by or denied of essential family services 鈥� after a landmark ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) on Friday morning.
"Canada鈥檚 conduct was willful and reckless resulting in what we have referred to as a worst-case scenario under our Act," the CHRT stated.
The tribunal ruled that Canada must reimburse each of the more than 50,000 children apprehended or denied welfare services with $40,000 鈥� the maximum amount allowable under the CHRT.
Compensation also applies to the parents or grandparents of the children apprehended on or after January 1, 2006, following Canada鈥檚 implementation of Jordan鈥檚 Principle.
"This is about our children, their safety, their right to be with their families, kin and communities and their right to quality of care. No government should be fighting these fundamental values," Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde said in a follow-up press release.
Jordan鈥檚 Principle was first implemented in 2007 by the federal government to ensure First Nations children had access to public services on and off-reserve, at the same rate as other Canadian youth.
However, many human rights organizations such as the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society and Amnesty International have criticized Ottawa鈥檚 interpretation of the policy, calling it "unlawful" and "restrictive."
In 2016, the Tribunal agreed with this assessment, stating that the federal government鈥檚 application of Jordan鈥檚 Principle was in fact discriminatory.
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca, the office of Seamus O鈥橰egan, Minister of Indigenous Services, said they鈥檒l need time to review the order before determining immediate next steps but reaffirmed their party鈥檚 position on Indigenous issues.
"Our government has prioritized systemic reform that is focused on putting the interests of Indigenous children first. This is exactly why we co-developed transformative legislation to change the child and family services system in this country - and to enable Indigenous partners to determine what鈥檚 right for their children. We understand that there鈥檚 more work to be done, and we鈥檙e committed to it," wrote Kevin Deagle, the Minister鈥檚 press secretary.
That commitment will be tested based on how the government responds to this new ruling, Bellegarde told CTV News.
"No government should go against children, and the fundamental human rights of children,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would send the wrong message about reconciliation and building respectful relationships if there is an appeal."
