By Cheryl Jahn

Our Children Our Way rejects settlement offer

Oct 31, 2024 | 3:35 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Carrier Sekani Family Services provides more than 40 services. Everything from early childcare services to the Highway of Tears Violence Prevention, Support and Awareness Program. It is also one of 25 Indigenous Child & Family Service Agencies that are part of an umbrella organization called Our Children, Our Way.

“So in 2006, we launched a court case against Canada for discriminating against First Nations children on reserve by failing to provide the funding to provide the full wraparound prevention services,” explains Mary Teegee with the Carrier Sekani Family Services.”

The CSFS is one of the agencies that has rejected the final agreement in the Long-term Reform of the First Nations Child Program.

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“There are so many flaws in the agreement, plus it’s not protected under the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders. We’re already going to be receiving $45 billion over ten years, and that’s protected by the orders. So whatever government is in power, they have to follow the orders. This agreement is going to take away the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal oversight.”

She says this agreement, as presented, doesn’t make that guarantee. Instead, the ten-year agreement will be subject to annual Parliamentary appropriation.

“So this means that any government that comes into force will be able to either not follow the agreement, overturn the agreement, or just ignore the agreement altogether. So I think that leaves us in a precarious position where everything all that we won through the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, all of the money that we receive for prevention is in jeopardy.”

Mary Teegee represents BC on the First Nations Caring Society. She says attention to BC is sorely lacking.

“We’ve only been receiving prevention dollars for 2018 and 2019, and we’re still building capacity. But this agreement is a one-size-fits-all approach and would leave British Columbia really receiving less and also not having the decision-making abilities.”

She says if the Chiefs within the Assembly of First Nations really read the agreement, they have no choice but to reject it, too.