This article originally appeared in the Hill Times.
By Ken Coates, August 27, 2024
The Indigenous policy revolution in Canada is near the take-off point. The rather unpoetic Agreement on Long-Term Reform on the First Nations Child and Family Services Program has the potential to transform governance as it currently operates.
This settlement—worth $47.8-billion over 10 years—is the first major achievement of National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak’s term as head of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). It is also potentially one of the most consequential developments in Canadian public policy in 50 years.
For decades, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit representatives—driven by community-level and Indigenous women’s associations who drew attention to incompetence and cultural injustice—challenged the federal government repeatedly on the failure of family policy. However, their claims were ignored.
Governments in this country move extremely slowly unless prodded, in this instance by a favourable decision from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. But an incredible amount of work remained to convert these concepts into workable policy, administrative arrangements, and financial accords.
The First Nations child welfare agreement, signed by the AFN and the federal government in July, is a major step forward. But it is not a final agreement. The AFN will spend the summer meeting with regional caucuses, and explaining the financial and administrative arrangements. An AFN Special Assembly is scheduled for Sept. 17-19 for a final vote.
A positive outcome is not assured. Individual chiefs critical of the agreement have challenged the authority of the national chief to negotiate with Ottawa. Given the nature of the AFN and the stakes involved, impassioned debate is inevitable.
The final agreement, if ratified, would have truly transformative effects. Regaining control over child and family services would eliminate the inherent paternalism of government programming, allowing First Nations to set their own course on family matters.
The reverse is also true. The AFN negotiated this hard-won accord over many months. If the chiefs reject the agreement—as is their right—they will undermine the ability of the assembly to negotiate future agreements. This convergence of interests, rulings, and Canadian politics around Indigenous child welfare is an opportunity not to be missed.
If ratified, the current agreement would be the start and not the end of a process of truly national significance. The Ottawa-centric bureaucracy over Indigenous affairs would finally start to shrink. A tangible shift in power from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to the First Nations is at hand.
Current western approaches to child protection would be replaced by culturally appropriate and community-based strategies. Elders, knowledge-keepers, family, and community members would take on a far greater role in childcare and family maintenance.
These changes will not be immediate, but will evolve over time in multiple paths. There will be bumps on the road, to be sure, but Indigenous Peoples have shown exceptional resilience and determination in reaching this point.
The size and nature of First Nations governments will also change dramatically.
Battles over opioids, substance abuse, and domestic violence will be much better handled, with better connections between education and training.
However, this agreement is no panacea. It will not immediately solve the challenges, or capitalize on the opportunities facing First Nations communities. But it is a huge leap forward, and a belated recognition that the federal bureaucracy is much more part of the problem than the solution.
Woodhouse Nepinak has brought the AFN within a whisker of the finish line on a race that, until recently, seemed destined to never end. There is strong agreement—not yet a full consensus—that the final deal gives First Nations the tools and resources they need.
Canada and First Nations came close to a comparable transformation in 2005 in the last months of Paul Martin’s Liberal government. The Kelowna Accord promised the transfer of billions of dollars, offering a major step toward meaningful autonomy. Alas, the Martin government fell before the agreement was ratified.
Indigenous governments lost a vital opportunity at sustainable independence. Now, such an opportunity is once more at hand. Indigenous Peoples should watch the AFN discussions with great interest for both the nature of child welfare and the future of First Nations governments are at stake.
Ken Coates is a distinguished fellow and director of Indigenous affairs at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
