The tribunal has ordered the federal government to pay what likely totals billions of dollars for harm done by chronic underfunding of those services for children on reserves, including families' being split up needlessly.

``It's about accepting responsibility as adults towards children and doing the right thing,'' Cindy Blackstock said.

The tribunal's ruling came shortly before the start of the federal election campaign and has bolstered criticism of Trudeau's commitment to reconciliation.

In a ruling last month, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that the federal government “willfully and recklessly” discriminated against children living on reserves.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled earlier this year that Sandy Lake First Nation denied Angele Kamalatisit's right to housing based on her marital or family status.

British Columbia's representative for children and youth says indigenous kids are being removed from their homes and placed in care because agencies supporting their families are underfunded.

The government will introduce the act in hopes of preserving and revitalizing First Nations, Metis and Inuit languages in Canada.

The former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is urging all MPs to support an NDP motion on First Nations child welfare - a move that applies political pressure on the Liberals ahead of a Tuesday vote in the House of Commons.

A leading advocate for the welfare of First Nations children and families says she'll have little faith in the upcoming inquiry on murdered and missing indigenous women unless a funding gap is closed first.

The federal department charged with overseeing every social insurance number in the country says it is working to loosen rules to make it easier for transgender Canadians to change the sex designation on the record.