Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday morning on Bill C-92.
The bill came into effect Jan. 1.
It gives Indigenous communities and families control over welfare services that affect their children rather than putting these children in the provincial foster care system, as has previously been the case.
In a speech prior to the signing, Bellegarde noted the importance of governments actually putting the legislation into effect.
“I’ve always said it’s one thing to get things passed into law, but it’s really more important about the implementation of that law,” he said. “We’ve always talked about a distinction-based approach for implementation of Bill C-92 and that’s really what this MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) is about, and it’s about improving the quality of life for our children.”
Bellegarde said adequate financial resources will be needed to properly implement the law.
“So, now it’s time for implementation and that’s really what this MOU is about—implementation of Bill C-92. Of course, along with that is the necessary resources that will have to be forthcoming. It’s needs-based, and that’s an important thing to remember.”
The agreement doesn’t provide a dollar amount for funding but Miller said deciding what’s needed will be the next step of implementation.
Bellegarde said although the bill has come into force, challenges remain.
He said the biggest obstacle is having provincial and territorial governments agree to Bill C-92’s implementation.
“That’s one of the biggest challenges—getting the premiers and the territorial governments to accept that there is a jurisdiction that needs to be respected, and let’s set up those tables together, province by province, territory by territory with First Nations leadership to work this out.”
One province opposed to the legislation is Québec, which has launched a constitutional challenge.
(PHOTO: Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde. File photo.)