Canada committed to delivering compensation through final settlement agreement, responds to summary decision by CHRT

Ottawa, Ontario (November 23, 2022) – The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; and the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, issued the following statement:

“Canada will ensure fair and equitable compensation to First Nations children and families harmed by the discriminatory underfunding of the First Nations Child and Family Services program and those impacted by the federal government's narrow definition of Jordan's Principle.

To that end, we will work with the Parties under the existing final settlement agreement, so that compensation can flow to children and families.

On October 24th, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) found that the final settlement agreement on compensation substantially satisfied their orders, and indicated the agreement is principled and carefully thought out. However the Tribunal did not accept the negotiated agreement, despite being the largest settlement agreement in Canada’s history, one that was First Nations led and First Nations designed.

To comply with the legal requirement to respond to the CHRT within 30 days, Canada has filed an application for judicial review.

The judicial review Canada is seeking will not impede the work with the Parties to determine how to distribute compensation to children and families in areas of agreement.

Lastly, the federal government will also continue our joint work on the settlement agreement for long-term reform of First Nations child and family services, and Jordan’s Principle.”