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Results: 1 - 5 of 5
View Gary Vidal Profile
CPC (SK)
I'm sorry. I have so much that I want to do here quickly.
You spoke about child and family services. I think you referenced a couple of first nations that have completed that journey or are moving down that journey of taking over their responsibilities. I've asked you this question before, and maybe that is a simple answer.
Are there so far just two first nations that have indicated their desire to do that? Just where are we at in that process? Based on some of the events of the last few weeks here, I think it's so very important that we deal with some of the current issues as well, and having first nations control of some of their child and family services is important. I'm just wondering how fast that is happening.
If you could briefly respond, I want to get into one more detailed question, if I could.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Yes, and I'll be quite frank: It's slow. Certainly, the pandemic, where people have focused on their health and safety of the communities has resulted in a slowdown. This is a revolutionary piece of legislation that lifts up inherent rights of indigenous peoples. We have dozens and dozens of communities across Canada that have expressed interest. There was about $500 million or more in the fall economic statement that was dedicated to working on capacity, to putting those laws forward and entrenching them.
We want to make sure that we have proper coordination agreements in place with provinces that hold the bulk of that responsibility. There's a relationship aspect there with the provinces, including your home province, that we can't discount in all of this, but there are many more.... There are some that have lifted up their own legislation and have said, “We're not necessarily interested in Bill C-92, but this is how we're going to protect our children.” That has some validity as well.
We're very cautious in those estimates, but I would say for the benefit of this committee that there are dozens and dozens that have done good work along the way. There are some difficult challenges ahead in and around capacity, so I won't hide that from you, but it is a long road, and it is part and parcel of everything we've seen in the last week.
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View Adam van Koeverden Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Adam van Koeverden Profile
2021-06-10 12:41
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Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will have two questions for the minister. I would start by asking him to answer the first one, and to leave enough time to answer the second.
First, in January 2020, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families came into effect to affirm the jurisdiction of indigenous communities over child and family services. How will this act support the well-being of indigenous children and families and provide culturally relevant care to children? Could you please provide an update on the implementation of this act?
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
What we've seen throughout, and particularly what has become quite poignant and top of mind over the last week, is that Canada and the provinces have been administering a broken system for some time. We can talk about compensation, which is very important. When we talk about transformation, that's when we have to talk about the legislation that was passed just before the prior election. It's shifting, in the spirit of self-determination, a system that was focused on prevention, and not culturally appropriate, to one that is...or rather, from intervention to prevention. When it's embodied and ensconced in the language of self-determination, it is an effort to lift up communities in how they protect their own—again, something we've taken for granted.
It is long work. It requires an intense amount of consultation. There was about $500 million in the fall economic statement dedicated to building capacity. That's something that will be deployed over five years. Additional investments will be required as communities bring home their children and pass their legislation to lift it up.
When I said to Gary that it was slow, an important principle was embodied when the law came into force—the minimum standard of the child. It is a signal to all of Canada and to courts that they can no longer sanction practices that removed disproportionately indigenous children from their families based on such issues as poverty. That is still the challenge for every single government in the future, to keep combatting a poverty discrimination that is the legacy of our colonial past.
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Nathalie Nepton
View Nathalie Nepton Profile
Nathalie Nepton
2021-06-01 12:36
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Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for inviting us to be here today.
My name is Nathalie Nepton. My comments will focus on the work we are doing within Indigenous Services Canada that has to do with child and family service reform for first nations children and families.
Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7% of all Canadian children, they represent 52.2% of the children in care. We also know that studies have highlighted that having been in a child welfare system was the most common feature among women and girls who entered into prostitution.
We recognize the relationship between investing in the safety and well-being of children and achieving improved outcomes for these children, their families and their communities. For this reason, Indigenous Services Canada is committed to ensuring that families at risk receive support and prevention services designed to maintain familial support systems and to keep children in their communities and connected to their language and culture.
The first nations child and family services program has received significant investments over the past years to support the program and to make it truly child-centred, community-directed, and focused on prevention and early intervention. Recently we have brought significant changes to the program. Most notably, upon reaching the age of majority, youth in care can continue to benefit from the program for an additional two years. This ensures that they have the support they need to transition into adulthood on a healthy path.
Other recent progress toward achieving the goal of reducing the number of indigenous children in care includes the federal indigenous child and family services legislation, “An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families”, which came into force on January 1, 2020. The act establishes such national principles as the best interests of the child, cultural continuity and substantive equality to help guide the provision of child and family services in relation to indigenous children.
Simply put, the act provides a path for indigenous peoples to choose their own solutions for their children and families and to create a better future for the generations to come.
All told, the child and family services reform sector of Indigenous Services Canada is focused on ensuring healthy, strong and prosperous indigenous families and children, thus reducing their vulnerability to negative outcomes, such as being victims of the sex trafficking trade.
Thank you.
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