17 May 2007
The federal government has estimated that Indigenous children are three to
five times more likely than any other children in Canada to be taken from their
families and placed with foster parents or in state institutions. Indigenous
child welfare advocates say the numbers are actually much higher.
The
government has also acknowledged that one of the main reasons so many Indigenous
children on reserve are taken from their families is that there is less
funding provided by government to keep Indigenous children safely in their homes
as compared to non-Indigenous children.
In fact a report commissioned by
the government found that the funding it provides for Indigenous child and
family services is on average at least 22% lower per child than what is provided
for non-Indigenous children.
This is despite the higher costs of
providing services in small and remote communities and the ongoing impacts of
the residential school experience and other federal policies on the social life
and economy of Indigenous communities.
Seven years ago, a joint
study by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the
Assembly of First Nations called for urgent action to close the discriminatory
funding gap for Indigenous child welfare. In 2005 a second study was
commissioned which found that the shortfall in federal child welfare funding
amounted to $109 million per year.
The recommendations made in these
reports have never been acted on and the numbers of Indigenous children being
taken from their families continue to climb .
In response, the Assembly
of First Nations has just launched a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights
Commission. But it would be better if the government took action right away.
The federal government shouldn't wait for the Commission to tell it do
the right thing. It should act immediately to end discrimination against
Indigenous
children