麻豆社

Canada has announced the largest class-action settlement in its history, worth $31 billion, to compensate indigenous children and families harmed by the welfare system. This will cover historic wrongs dating back decades and the need for current, structural reforms.聽In 2016, a tribunal ruled that Canada had continued to underfund indigenous children's services compared with those for the non-indigenous population.聽

Professor Cindy Blackstock from McGill University, director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, has campaigned for compensation against the federal authorities for over 20 years. She warns this settlement is non-binding, and the campaign will continue to ensure the payments are made and that other "gaps in public services" are addressed. She believes that there is still discrimination against indigenous children and their families, and this amounts to an "apartheid public service system". She describes the effect the unfair distribution of care has had on individuals and families, and why a disproportionate number of indigenous children are in foster care.

Photo: A candlelight vigil at Calgary City Hall, Canada, to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools September 2021 Credit: Getty Images