“THIS IS FOR OUR CHILDREN”: NISHNAWBE ASKI NATION AND CHIEFS OF ONTARIO ANNOUNCE HISTORIC CHILD WELFARE SETTLEMENT
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Posted by Shelby Percival
- Posted in BlogsNews
From left to right: Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler (NAN), Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict (COO), Minister Patty Hajdu (Indigenous Services of Canada) and Walking Bear Drum Group.
On Wednesday February 26th, 2025, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (“NAN”), Chiefs of Ontario (“COO”), and Canada signed a Regional Final Agreement to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario. This agreement follows a Special Chief’s Assembly held on February 25, 2025, where the NAN Chiefs voted to ratify the Agreement.
Valued at $8.5 billion over a 9-year period, this landmark agreement represents a long-needed overhaul to support the First Nations Child and Family Services program in Ontario. For NAN, it has been a nine-year journey to ensure children in remote communities get justice. NAN was successful in negotiating remoteness adjustments that ranges from 30% to over 100% to account for the serious challenges inherent in remote communities. Never before has this kind of unique indexing of the costs faced by remote communities been incorporated into funding decisions of this magnitude.
In order to create a voice for remote communities, NAN, represented by Falconers LLP, originally sought standing before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) in 2016. As a result of NAN’s continued advocacy, this Regional Final Agreement reflects a significant step toward fairness in funding and improving services to care for children, youth, and families in NAN communities and the rest of Ontario. This Agreement will now go before the CHRT for final approval before it is implemented.
This regionally specific agreement is distinguished from the previously proposed Final Agreement reached in July 2024 that would have legally bound Canada to provide $47.8 billion in stable and predictable funding over ten (10) years for a fully reformed Program.
Julian Falconer, Meaghan Daniel, Jordan Tully, and David Schwartz of Falconers LLP are honoured to have been a part of the negotiations team for NAN in their efforts to achieve real systemic change for remote Indigenous communities in respect of the child welfare system.
A copy of the Regional Final Agreement can be found here.
Media Coverage
- Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Commit to a Better Future for Children – Nishnawbe Aski Nation (Feb. 26, 2025)
- Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Commit to a Better Future for Children – Chiefs of Ontario (Feb. 26, 2025)
- Final settlement agreement on Compensation and Agreement-in-Principle for long-term reform of First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan’s Principle – Indigenous Services Canada (Updated Feb. 26, 2025)
- Assembly of First Nations Congratulates Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Chiefs of Ontario on Ratifying Final Agreement on Long-Term Reform of First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario – Assembly of First Nations
- Karyn Pugliese, APTN News (Feb. 26, 2025) – “Chiefs in Ontario vote in favour of federal child welfare reform deal”
- Brett Forester, CBC News (Feb. 26, 20245) – “Ontario First Nations approve $8.5B regional deal on child and family services reform | CBC News”
- The Canadian Press (Feb. 27, 2025) – “Ontario First Nation Chiefs vote to finalize federal child welfare reform deal”
- Canada News Release (Jan. 7, 2025) – “Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, and Canada to negotiate a Final Agreement putting children and families first”
- AFN News Release (Jan. 7, 2025) – “National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak Responds to Canada’s Decision on the Long-Term Reform of First Nations Child Welfare”
- Karyn Pugliese, APTN News (Jan. 8, 2025) – “Why chiefs in Ontario are the only ones getting an agreement on reforming child welfare”
- Tanya Talaga, The Globe and Mail (Jan. 8, 2025) – “The end of Justin Trudeau doesn’t mean the end of important work – including child welfare reform”
