A Manitoba advocate for First Nations kids in care hopes a compensation agreement for those hurt by the child welfare system will benefit thousands of children in the province and lead to long-term reform.
The compensation agreement relates to a landmark Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision.
In 2019, the tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 — the maximum allowed under the Canadian Human Rights Act — to each child, along with their primary guardian, who was part of the on-reserve child welfare system from at least Jan. 1, 2006, to a date to be determined by the tribunal.
The Federal Court upheld that decision this year. The government appealed, but that appeal was put on pause while the parties tried to strike an agreement outside of court.