Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs calls for child welfare revamp

WINNIPEG – A Manitoba aboriginal group says the province’s child welfare system is part of an ongoing “genocide” and needs to be completely overhauled.

First Nations children are being seized from their parents in record numbers and are being deprived of their family bonds and their culture, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said.

The group has released a report which calls for more aboriginal control over services.

It also calls for a move away from seizing children and a greater focus on supporting parents at the community level.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said she hasn’t seen the report, but is working to address the high number of aboriginal kids in care.

The are about 10,000 children in the system and more than 70 per cent are aboriginal.