A class action lawsuit alleges that the actions of the federal government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and demonstrated systemic negligence.
VANCOUVER – The Federal Court of Canada has certified a class action lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Indigenous children outside the reserves that were taken from their families and placed in non-Indigenous care.
In a ruling posted online Monday, Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan ruled that the class period will run from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 2019, a period that the Vancouver law firm representing the plaintiffs he calls “Millennium Scoop.”
The ruling says those affected include stateless and stateless Indians, Inuit and Métis youth and their families who did not live on the reserves.
The class seeks various damages, restitution and recovery of specific expenses on behalf of the affected children and families.
He alleges that the actions of the federal government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and showed systemic negligence, although the allegations have not been proven in court.
Vancouver attorney Angela Bespflug, speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs, says the certification “signs a major change in the law,” because now the federal government has to explain why it has treated children off-reserve differently. to those living on the reserves.
“It is fundamentally wrong for Canada to agree to compensate children for reservations while leaving children out of reservations away from home,” Bespflug said in a statement issued by law firm Murphy Battista.
The federal government reached an agreement in principle last year to pay $ 40 billion to young people on reserves and their families affected by discriminatory funding practices related to the child welfare system.
Current data show that the vast majority of Indigenous children detained and placed in government care are Indigenous children off-reserve, Murphy Battista said in a statement.
Dr. Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Care Society, says that compared to the peak of the residential school period, there are three times as many dependent children in the state today.
“Canada has apologized for the residential schools, but has continued with the same policies under a different name,” Blackstock said in the same statement.
“We urge Canada to stop fighting Indigenous children off-reserve in the courts, to take the lead and lead, and to finally make the necessary changes to fix this deeply broken system,” he says.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 20, 2022.
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