It was standing room only in a Regina courtroom on Tuesday as the provincial government and the Saskatoon Tribal Council argued about who has jurisdiction over children in care on reserves.
The ministry is asking the courts to force the band to turn over the files of 67 children under its care because the band council has failed to file monthly reports to the department.
Government lawyer, Michael Morris says the department has no desire to take over the files permanently, but is forcing the issue because the tribal council has refused to follow the department’s reporting procedures. Social Services had an agreement in place with the tribal council for twenty years.
Tribal council Chief Felix Thomas is confident the court will turn down the injunction application from the provincial Ministry of Social Services.
He calls the ministry’s recent actions a power play. He says the bands are equal partners and have the ultimate responsibility for the children’s welfare.
“If you’re a sovereign nation, you’re told with respect ‘please share the report so that we can do what’s best for the child,’” he said. “And that’s all we’ve been asking for with the province is show us the respect and live up to your agreement that you signed.”
Tribal council Chief Felix Thomas says it is another example of governments trying to take control in areas that should be left up to First Nations.
“The thing that we want to see is that, the 60s Scoop, the residential schools, they did irreparable harm to our kids and we don’t want to go down that road anymore,” he said.
The application was heard in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench, with more than 100 supporters of the tribal council present, including several chiefs.
There is no word on when a decision will be handed down, but the judge promised it would be quick. In the meantime, the federal government has suspended funding because of the lack of an agreement between the province and the tribal council.
Both sides say they are still willing to negotiate.