Foster care jurisdictional changes coming

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This article was published 26/04/2022 (974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A major shift in the delivery of foster care could result in hundreds of children repatriated to their Manitoba communities as more Indigenous governments are expected to take jurisdiction over child welfare from the province.

“The time has come as far as First Nations taking control over our families and children,” Peguis First Nation Chief Glenn Hudson said. “We never relinquished that authority.”

Peguis became the first Indigenous governing body in Manitoba to take legislative authority over child and family services from the province when its Honouring our Children, Families and Nation Act came into force in January.

A ceremony at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg earlier this year marked the historic occasion that brought Peguis Child and Family Services under band law, which supersedes federal, provincial and territorial laws.

“It was time that we stood up. It was time that we took control… and jurisdiction and authority over our children and families,” Hudson said. “For too long has there been somebody else that wanted to control it, as far as governments were concerned.”

In early 2020, the Trudeau government passed an Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis, also known as Bill C-92, which established the framework for Indigenous governments to draw down jurisdiction of child welfare for their members.

To date 17 Indigenous communities — including the Manitoba Métis Federation, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Island Lake Tribal Council, and a consortium of Treaty 2 First Nations — have requested co-ordination agreements with the provincial and federal governments for jurisdiction.

Within 12 months, regardless of whether agreement is finalized, the laws of the Indigenous community will come into force as federal law.

Four other First Nations have also signalled their intent to exercise authority over child welfare.

Manitoba Families Minister Rochelle Squires said she expects at least 10 more First Nations will apply for jurisdiction within the next year, while Indigenous communities with outstanding requests for co-ordination agreements could see their laws come into force within 18 months.

“For them to have jurisdiction over child welfare laws is transformative, to say the least,” Squires said.

Government officials estimate more than 90 per cent of children in care are Indigenous and, should their communities take full jurisdiction, the province would be left with a significantly smaller child welfare system.

Squires said the timeline on such a transition is still unknown. However, her department is adding capacity to respond to applications and will work with the federal government and Indigenous groups to ensure children do not fall through the cracks.

“One of the things that’s really important for myself and for the department of families and everyone involved in child welfare to understand is that we are not in the driver’s seat. We’re in the passenger’s seat,” Squires said.

“It is the Indigenous governing bodies who are taking jurisdiction, and taking jurisdiction over their children and their CFS laws, and so we’re going to be acting in concert with their timelines.”

The department is currently reviewing funding models to support the transition of child welfare services to Indigenous governments operating outside of provincial law.

Squires said new legislation is in development and it is expected the $420-million child welfare budget will shift as the province works with Ottawa and Indigenous governments to ensure there is capacity to deliver services, Squires said.

She noted it is possible to have up to 65 child welfare authorities operating in Manitoba with independent legislative frameworks under Bill C-92, including the Winnipeg-based General Child and Family Services Authority.

“We see the environment being very fluid right now, but the one thing that we’re all very consistent on is our support for the implementation of (Bill) C-92 and most importantly the repatriation of Indigenous children to their Indigenous communities,” Squires said.

“We will be doing major consultation and making sure that we are facilitating this new era of child welfare.”

Southern Chiefs’ Organization child welfare director Margaret Swan said legislation and capacity could be in place to transition services to member communities within two years.

About 40 per cent of children in care in Manitoba are southern First Nations members, Swan said. SCO represents 34 communities and appoints the directors of the Southern First Nations Network of Care, which has 10 child welfare agencies.

“We’re all at different stages in this process, but we’re all helping each other in one way or another in keeping each other in the loop to ensure this process is moving forward,” Swan said.

Swan said the provincial government must be responsive to the needs of First Nations as they go through the process of drawing down jurisdiction and provide appropriate financial resources as Indigenous children are transferred to their respective authorities.

“The province and the federal government really need to understand they’ve tried for many years to help us find solutions and look at where we are today in child welfare,” Swan said. “We need to lead this one, listen to us, hear us and work with us in the spirit of true reconciliation.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca