The AFN’s national chief confirmed today that the organization finalized a deal with Ottawa late Wednesday night to put $47.8 billion towards child-welfare reform.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak got cheers as she made the announcement on the floor of the annual general assembly in Montreal on Thursday.
At a later press conference, she underlined the emotions that underpin the agreement, which seeks to redress decades of discrimination.
“There has been so much pain and hurt and harm caused by this racist child-welfare policy in every one of our First Nations communities and our families,” she said.
The assembly is set to ratify the agreement, which would fund reforms over a 10-year period, at a special assembly in September.
After receiving criticism over the closed-door negotiations in the leadup to the announcement, Woodhouse Nepinak promised to listen to feedback.
“You have directed us to go and get a deal out of Canada. You’ve pushed us over and over again to continue to negotiate in a good way,” she told chiefs.
“I get direction from you. Not from agencies, not from AFN, not from staff, not from anybody else, but from chiefs.”
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu stood beside chiefs and shed a few tears as Woodhouse Nepinak said what a monumental agreement they had reached.
“It’s an attempt to bring some peace to families and to communities and to First Nations peoples who have experienced the tool of colonialism through what I would say is the most cruel policy, which is to separate families,” she said.
The deal is worth more than double what was originally promised for long-term reform in a settlement agreement that resulted from a hard-fought human-rights complaint over underfunding of child-welfare services.
The initial amount was slated at $20 billion. A separate $23 billion was set aside to compensate children and families harmed by the system.
Families who helped launched the initial court case stood with the minister and national chief as they shared the news.
Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict said the agreement marks a fundamental change in the relationship between First Nations and Ottawa.
“I can tell you that as part of the negotiating team, we are comfortable with the agreement that we have seen. Otherwise, we would have not put it forward,” he said, thanking Hajdu for her support. “This is revolutionary.”
He added that First Nations people will now begin the process of discussing the deal on its merits. “It is now in the hands of our communities.”