EDMONTON -- Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau鈥檚 record on Indigenous reconciliation was called into question Thursday during the English-language leaders' debate when NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh cited the controversial legal challenge of two rulings involving First Nations children taken from their families by a chronically underfunded child-care system.

Trudeau immediately denied the allegation of 鈥渢aking Indigenous children to court,鈥� saying his government has committed to compensating children who were harmed by what his government has called a broken child-care system.

THE CLAIM

During the portion of the debate discussing Indigenous reconciliation, Singh attacked Trudeau鈥檚 record when it comes to keeping his commitments to Indigenous Peoples.

鈥淵ou can't take a knee one day, if you're going to take Indigenous kids to court the next, that鈥檚 not leadership,鈥� Singh said, referencing Trudeau kneeling during an anti-racism protest in June 2020.

鈥淢r. Singh, you love that line about taking Indigenous kids to court,鈥� Trudeau responded.

After Singh interjected saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a line,鈥� Trudeau continued, saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually not true, we have committed to compensating those kids.鈥�

ANALYSIS

Ottawa's controversial legal challenge of a pair of rulings involving First Nations children dates back to 2007, when the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act alleging that child welfare services provided to Indigenous children and families were underfunded, flawed and discriminatory.

The groups also claimed the government had failed to implement Jordan鈥檚 Principle 鈥� a rule that when different levels of government disagree about who's responsible for providing services to First Nations children, they must help a child in need first and argue over the cost later.

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in favour of Indigenous families, despite multiple attempts by the government to have the case thrown out, and called for the redesign of the child welfare system and its funding model.

And, in 2019, the government was ordered to provide compensation of up to $40,000 to each Indigenous child who was taken away from their families after 2006, as well as some of their parents and grandparents.

The Liberal government has filed for judicial review of both decisions, arguing the human rights tribunal "erred in law" by "improperly" turning the case into a class action by awarding individual compensation, despite repeated calls from the opposition parties to end the litigation.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, which filed the original human rights complaint over 14 years ago, says rectifying the Indigenous child-care system was a top call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Watching the debate in real time Thursday, she says she was 鈥済obsmacked鈥� by Trudeau鈥檚 statement.

鈥淭hese calls to action were the survivors' priorities for the country, and one of the first things they wanted to see is their grandchildren not suffering like they were, not being taken out of their families unnecessarily like they were,鈥� Blackstock told CTVNews.ca on Friday.

鈥淎nd for the federal government to falsely claim that they are not litigating against First Nations kids鈥� I'm just so gobsmacked by this.鈥�

Blackstock called Trudeau鈥檚 debate remark a 鈥渟elf-inflicted injury,鈥� noting his statement stands at odds with what is on the public record 鈥� something The First Nations Caring Society  of on its website.

鈥淸His government] has every right to litigate against First Nations children, and they've chosen to do so,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hat they don't have a right to do is lie about it.鈥�

Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have insisted they are in favour of compensating children and their families through a settlement in two separate but related class-action lawsuits, claiming such a settlement would pay out larger sums than the tribunal's maximum $40,000 award for each child. One of those lawsuits was filed in February 2020 by the Assembly of First Nations.

In a statement to 麻豆影视, the Liberal campaign said: "The question is not whether we compensate. It is a question of compensating in a way that is fair, equitable, and inclusive of those directly affected."

But Blackstock says that Trudeau鈥檚 rebuttal that he is committed to compensation doesn鈥檛 paint a full picture.

鈥淭hey have two judicial reviews... the first is that they don't want to provide Jordan's Principle to First Nations kids who are recognized by their nations but don't have Indian Act status鈥� Then there was the second matter regarding compensation,鈥� she said.

鈥淐anada is appealing that decision, and in their application, they seek to quash all financial compensation. There's none of this 'we want to pay more' in that order.鈥�

The government鈥檚 factum on the case, filed in March, states:

鈥淭he issue in the first application is whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction, rather than this Court, to provide class action-like compensation to impacted individuals鈥�. The Tribunal ordered the funding system be fixed, and Canada agreed. However, the issue here is whether the children should receive compensation in a Tribunal proceeding that focused on systemic discrimination, rather than in a class action in this Court where the rules better protect the interests of victims.鈥� 

CONCLUSION

While Trudeau and his Liberal government have pushed back on the narrative that they are 鈥渢aking Indigenous kids to court,鈥� public records show litigation has continued.