As the number of children in government care rises every year, the New Democrats are calling for quicker action in overhauling child welfare legislation.
According to the Child Advocate report for 2017, approximately 5250 kids were in government care, up from 4500 in 2013.
The provincial review of the system began in 2012, with Social Services Minister Paul Merriman saying Thursday it was broken into three phases, of which the process according to Merriman is in the second phase.
Merriman concedes the review is taking a long time, but he insists the government wants to develop strong legislation, which will not require further study for years. He acknowledges that consultation with First Nations is important, expecting that to conclude within the 12-18 months.
“We have over 140 First Nations children right now that are in First Nations run community facilities. We’re making sure that if a child has to come into care that the First Nation component can be looked after by the First Nation community that is actually running the group home,” Merriman explained.
“This has been a really frustrating process. We know that the government in 2010 indicated they were going to do a comprehensive overhaul of the child welfare system. It’s 2018, and we’re still waiting for a lot of these regulations to be going forward,” NDP critic Nicole Rancourt said.
The Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp in recent days has sent Merriman several model teepees to serve as a reminder that child welfare reforms are greatly needed.
In July, the group met with several cabinet ministers demanding sweeping changes such as greater transparency on child welfare information and a moratorium on adoptions of First Nations children.
Merriman says the Ministry has been working to implement many of the protest group requests, halting adoptions is out of the question.
(PHOTO: Teepees delivered to Social Services Minister Paul Merriman by the Justice for Our Stolen Children protesters. Credit Sask. Government)