The staggering number of indigenous children under the care of social services departments across Canada was the focus of discussions at a special meeting of the assembly of First Nations in Quebec on Wednesday.
In Manitoba, more than 11,000 children – mostly aboriginal – have been removed from their homes and in many cases the residential school system is being blamed. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report dealt extensively with what it called a crises in child care for indigenous children.
Manitoba regional chief Kevin Hart says it is more than a crisis.
“I would go even farther today to say the current child and family services system in Canada is now just a legalized version of the old residential school system,” he says.
Hart says his parents went to residential schools and ended up being unable to properly raise him. He says he ended up being raised by his grandparents.
The chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights commission, Marie-Claude Landry also addressed the chiefs on child welfare. She says inequalities can’t be tolerated in a country like Canada.
“We should have a country where everyone is included,” she says, “here all the children are treated equally, every child, no matter who they are or where they live.”
Also on the agenda for Wednesday is education funding, as well as a discussion on missing and murdered aboriginal women. Canada’s new Aboriginal Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett will address delegates on Thursday.