The government of Canada announced it had reached agreements-in-principle this week to compensate First Nations victims of its discriminatory child welfare system and to fund long-term reform of both the First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan’s Principle.

The agreements-in-principle were reached following nearly two months of negotiations between the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and counsels for two class action cases — Xavier Moushoom and Zach Trout.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Anne Levesque from the University of Ottawa explains what you need to know about the agreements.

She was one of the lawyers who represented the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society in its human rights case, which led to a historic victory in 2016 before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and affirmed the right to equality for more than 165,000 First Nations children. She also assisted the Caring Society’s lawyers with this agreement. Levesque says there’s still work to be done.

Also today:

Nyà:wen (thanks),

Haley Lewis

Culture + Society Editor
AFN Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse and Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu listen to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller as he responds to a question during a news conference on Jan. 4, 2022, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

As a lawyer who’s helped fight for the rights of First Nations children, here’s what you need to know about the $40B child welfare agreements

Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

In the next year, public support will be needed more than ever to ensure that the spirit of the agreement is respected and translated into meaningful change for First Nations children.
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Plus de la moitié des personnes qui ont l’intention de modifier leur mode de vie ne le font pas. Des automatismes les empêchent d’adopter et de conserver de nouvelles habitudes de santé.

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