Provinces Won’t Have To Shoulder Costs Of MMIW Inquiry, Federal Minister Says

‘We are reassuring provinces there will be no costs to the provinces’

Federal government ‘very close’ to launching inquiry, Carolyn Bennett says

By Katharine Starr, CBC News Posted: Jul 12, 2016

The federal government is reassuring the provinces that when it comes to a national inquiry on murdered and missing indigenous women, they won’t have to foot the bill.

“I think there was some misunderstanding, but I think we are almost there in terms of getting the assurances out there that this is going to be done in co-operation,” said Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett in an interview on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics.

The Liberal government’s spring federal budget pegged the cost of a full national public inquiry at $40 million over two years starting in 2016.

Bennett told First Nations chiefs at their 37th annual general assembly Tuesday that the government is “very close” to announcing the launch of the inquiry, a campaign promise made by the Liberals last year.

But before a national inquiry can begin, all provinces and territories must be on board.

Some provincial and territorial governments have had questions and concerns about their roles and responsibilities in the inquiry, including who was going to cover the cost of travel and other support for families and whether legal representation would be required.

Confusion over terms of reference

Bennett confirmed that “different provinces had different understandings” of what the terms of reference will be.

“I think we are reassuring provinces that there will be no costs to the provinces,” Bennett told Power & Politics host Rosemary Barton.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde signs an accord with Carolyn Bennett, minister of Indigenous affairs and northern development, during the AFN general assembly on Tuesday. (Chris Glover/CBC)

“It really is just co-operation around documents, around witnesses. It’s just about us now getting that all pinned down so that we can launch in a timely fashion.”

The provinces and territories will still have a critical role to play in the inquiry, Bennett added.

“We’ll still need the provinces to help with the healing and wellness piece, and to make sure these families are dealt with in a compassionate, culturally safe way,” she said.

“But that’s a shared responsibility, and we are very, very heartened by the co-operation that’s out there now.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bennett-mmiw-indigenous-1.3675722

First Nations Chiefs Sign Agreement With RCMP To Address Racism Within Force

AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde, left, signs a memorandum of understanding with RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, during the AFN annual general assembly in Niagara Falls, Ont., on July 12, 2016. (Chris Glover/CBC)

Annual gathering of Indigenous chiefs goes today through Thursday in Niagara Falls, Ont.

By Susana Mas, CBC News Posted: Jul 12, 2016

The Assembly of First Nations signed an agreement with the RCMP on Tuesday to address racism and discrimination within the force as the two sides look for new ways to improve relations ahead of the federal government’s inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The memorandum of understanding comes just over six months after RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson openly admitted during the Special Chiefs in Assembly last December there are “racists” inside his police force.

“We invited the commissioner back again … to be part of this MOU… about how can we work together to deal with issues, deal with all those misconceptions that are within the police,” said National Chief Perry Bellegarde as the AFN kicked off its three-day annual general meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont.

“How can we work together to make sure that that air is cleared, that cloud is gone, that there is a bright sunny way within that RCMP?,” Bellegarde said.

While the government is not expected to launch an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women during the assembly, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett told First Nations chiefs it is “very close” to making that announcement.

Bellegarde said an inquiry will force police to answer some difficult questions about the force’s own shortcomings.

“When the inquiry is announced, be prepared, because you will come under question and focus about why did you not put more resources into these things upon investigation… why was there not more respect for the families, why was there not more communication? All these things are going to come out.”

“There is still a lot of hurt, still a lot of pain with the families that are still looking for closure,” Bellegarde said.

The national chief said the launch of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women could come later this month, or next month.

AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde signs a memorandum of understanding with Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett during the AFN annual general assembly in Niagara Falls, Ont., on July 12, 2016. (Chris Glover/CBC)

In his opening remarks, Bellegarde said Indigenous communities are “gaining momentum” — the theme of this year’s general assembly.

“It doesn’t mean all of our issues have been solved. But what it does mean is that, for the first time in a very long time, there is reason to believe that we are on the cusp of great change,” Bellegarde said.

“But it will take all of us, working together, to make it real for everyone.”

Bellegarde said the AFN also signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government “to create a new fiscal relationship, one based on real needs.”

The AFN signed the MOU with Bennett to form a working group to advise the government on how it should move forward with funding for Indigenous communities.

The agreement follows the Trudeau government’s pledge to forge a new fiscal relationship with First Nations.

First Nations to benefit from Hydro One shares

The general assembly began with Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day announcing that First Nations communities in Ontario will benefit from the sale of Hydro One shares.

“As of 9 a.m. this morning, the province of Ontario has entered into an agreement in principle will all 133 First Nations communities to sell 15 million shares of Hydro One for our collective benefit,” Day said in his opening remarks.

Some eight months ago, Ontario began the biggest sell-off of a Canadian crown corporation in 20 years.

Chiefs will also hash out strategies for moving beyond the Indian Act, the primary legislation used by the federal government to administer everything from laws to membership and elections in First Nation communities.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is also scheduled to attend the assembly.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with chiefs at a 2015 AFN gathering, his office told CBC he will not be attending the general assembly in Niagara Falls this week.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afn-meeting-niagara-falls-1.3674114

 

Provinces Studying Terms Of Reference For Inquiry On Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women

Dresses overlook the makeshift memorial for slain teen Tina Fontaine. Sean Leslie/Global News

Federal government and provinces engaged in back-and-forth about role provincial governments will play in national inquiry

By Joanna Smith, The Canadian Press, Updated: Jun 29, 2016

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the one who promised a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, but the provinces still need to sign off on the details.

The recommendations that came out of the Liberal government’s consultations earlier this year were clear: the upcoming national inquiry should have the authority to make recommendations within provincial and territorial jurisdictions as part of a larger attempt to tackle what the inquiry will determine are the root causes of the issue.

That authority does not come automatically, however, which is why officials at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada are having some back-and-forth discussions with the provinces and territories over the terms of reference, which sources said the federal government proposed in early June.

The feds gave provincial governments only a few weeks to discuss and approve their own orders-in-council — potentially turning over the provincial books on everything from policing to child welfare services — in time to launch the second phase of the inquiry by the end of this month as originally planned.

Provinces have concerns

Some provincial and territorial governments had questions and concerns about their roles and responsibilities in the national inquiry, including who was going to cover the cost of travel and other support for families and whether legal representation would be required.

Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the proposed terms of reference “were fairly vague”, leaving the province with unanswered questions about an inquiry her government is otherwise eager to support.

“We think it’s really important, but we do think it’s important to know precisely what it is we are going to be doing,” Ganley said in an interview.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was not available for an interview and her office did not comment in time for publication.

Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson says her province supports the inquiry, but worries they will go over topics already covered under provincial inquiries. (CBC News)

Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said her province supports a national inquiry, but is still in talks with the federal government over the terms of reference.

Stefanson said it is too early to go into details, but suggested Manitoba might have some reservations about how much a national inquiry would delve into its child welfare system, particularly if it treads ground already covered by the provincial auditor general and the inquiry into the 2005 murder of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair.

“We just want to make sure there is not overlap and duplication as far as Manitoba is concerned,” she said in an interview.

If Ottawa does push for those areas to be examined, Stefanson said they should be prepared to pick up the tab.

“It’s a national inquiry and if they want to look at the costs associated with that, then that’s up to them,” she said.

Others told The Canadian Press they want recognition of special circumstances.

Quebec, for example, said it wants the inquiry to take into account what has happened since Radio-Canada reported allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Surete de Quebec police force against Indigenous women in Val d’Or, as well as the linguistic reality of French-speaking Indigenous communities in the province.

Nunavut wants the inquiry to include a specific focus on Inuit women, as well as the fact that the majority of its cases involve domestic violence.

Provincial buy-in essential: Shelagh Day

Organizations that have long pushed for a national inquiry have stressed the importance of getting the provinces and territories on board.

Shelagh Day of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action said getting buy-in from the provinces is essential to the success of the inquiry.

“The national inquiry can’t do the work that Indigenous women need it to do unless the provinces and territories have bought in in such a way that their policies and practices and programs and policing in provincial and territorial regions can also be scrutinized,” said Day, whose organization is part of the coalition.

“This is a fundamental issue. We have to have them in. Otherwise, we don’t have a national inquiry, we have a federal inquiry, which is very limited,” she said.

Dawn Lavell-Harvard, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, suggested the inquiry might be open to a creative compromise when it comes to areas particular provinces feel they have already adequately addressed, such as the child welfare system in Manitoba.

“If there are areas where the other inquiry looked into something and can be submitted as evidence, then there shouldn’t need to be concern about overlap,” Lavell-Harvard said.

[SOURCE]

Tribunal Rules Canada Discriminated Against First Nations Children

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations and Family Caring Society.

By Red Power Media, Staff

On-reserve child welfare system receives less funding than elsewhere

Canada’s federal government has discriminated against First Nations children by providing less money for social services on reserves, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.

CTV News reports, the decision comes nearly nine years after a complaint was filed by the Assembly of First Nations and The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.

In its ruling Tuesday, the tribunal found that funding formula used by the federal First Nations Child and Family Services Program (FNCFS) and related agreements with the provinces and territories have resulted in the denial of child welfare services on reserves.

The tribunal also found cases in which there was a financial incentive for the government to remove children living on reserves from their parents’ care and place them in foster care, even though that’s not the standard of care off reserves.

The society’s executive director Cindy Blackstock said the federal government’s own documents shows the gap in funding for social services on reserves runs between 22 and 34 per cent.

She noted the gap is “particularly intense” when it comes to services meant to keep families together.

“I can’t even believe we had to take the federal government to court to get them to treat First Nations children fairly,” Blackstock told CTV News Channel shortly after the decision was released. “I’m hoping they’ll use this opportunity to end the inequality for 163,000 children, not only in children’s welfare, but in education, health and basics like water.”

Children take part in a protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 14, 2013 calling for equal education for First Nations.

According to CBC News, the Canadian Human Rights Commission applauded the tribunal’s ruling.

“This historic decision could have a profound impact on how the government of Canada funds other on-reserve programs and services,” wrote Marie-Claude Landry, chief commissioner of the human rights commission.

Long fight

Hearings began in 2013, and the federal government made multiple attempts to have the case thrown out.

“They fought right out of the gate,” Blackstock said.

Before final arguments were heard in October 2014, during which the tribunal heard from 25 witnesses, the federal government had racked up $5.3 million in legal fees.

“Never once were those motions brought because they felt it was in the best interests of the children,” Blackstock said. “It was always to protect the government.”

Following the ruling, UNICEF Canada’s President and CEO David Morley said the tribunal has “set an important precedent” by promoting the right for First Nations children to be free from discrimination.

“We have a long history of inequitable treatment of First Nations children that must be recognized, atoned for and addressed moving forward so they have the same rights, access to services and opportunities as every other Canadian child,” Morley said in a statement.

Canada Gov’t: Worried About Aboriginal Communities In Wake Of Shooting

A family in La Loche, Saskatchewan, pay their respects on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, to the victims of a Friday school shooting.

Reuters | Jan 24, 2016

In the wake of a school shooting in a remote aboriginal town, the federal government admits that improving conditions in impoverished First Nations communities is “a huge challenge.”

OTTAWA — Canada’s government, grappling with a fatal attack in a remote aboriginal town, is very concerned about the “tragic and alarming” conditions in other indigenous communities, a top official said on Sunday.

A 17-year-old boy was due to appear in court on Monday, charged with four counts of murder after Friday’s deadly incident in La Loche, an impoverished town in the western province of Saskatchewan.

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power last year promising to tackle high levels of poverty, crime, bad housing and poor health among aboriginals, who make up 4 percent of the country’s population of 36 million.

House leader Dominic LeBlanc, a key Trudeau ally from the Atlantic province of New Brunswick, told reporters Ottawa would work with aboriginal leaders “to deal with some of the tragic and alarming social indicators in many of these communities.”

He added: “I have some of these communities … in New Brunswick. I worry about them a great deal, and our whole government does.”

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale arrived in La Loche on Sunday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Mr. Trudeau last month promised a new “nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples” – a term that aboriginals use to refer to themselves – and said he would increase funding for indigenous communities.

Trudeau’s chief spokeswoman said he had no plans to address the media on Sunday.

Mr. LeBlanc said improving the lot of the First Nations was “a huge challenge.”

Robert Nault, who served as aboriginal affairs minister under the Liberals from 1999 to 2003, said real change would take a long time.

“So we’re going to have to be patient and start … working on the lack of infrastructure, the lack of housing, to change our relationship as it relates to education and healthcare,” he said in an interview. “It is a slow process.”

By REUTERS