Fix First Nations child welfare system now, says Cindy Blackstock

A leading First Nations children's advocate is hailing Ottawa's decision to abandon itslegal challenge on First Nations child welfare, but warns she will continue to fightfor equality of access until the government delivers on its commitment.

"I have always measured this on whether a little kid actually can go in and get the health care that they need whether they can go to a school that doesn't have black mould contamination," Cindy Blackstocktold CBC Radio'sThe House. "None of us should be satisfied or patting ourselves on the back until that happens for every single kid in the country."

In 2007 the Assembly of First Nations, andBlackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, alleging Canada was discriminating against First Nations children by underfunding child welfare services on reserves.

In January 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal sided with Blackstock and the AFN.

The tribunal has since issued three compliance orders, demandingthe federal government fully implement Jordan's Principle a resolution passed in the House of Commons in 2007, affirming that when a patient needs medical treatment, that treatment should be provided immediately and any issues over which level of government should pay for that treatment must be resolved after the patient has been taken care of.

The Trudeau government hadsaid it would seek "clarity" from the Federal Court on the tribunal's latest compliance order, but Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott announced Thursday that anagreement had been reachedwith the parties to the case.

WhileBlackstockwelcomed the government's decision, she said it must be followed by nothing less than full compliance with Jordan's Principle.

"Let's get this behind us," she said. "Let's raise a generation of First Nations kids for the first time in the history of this country that actually get the same level of services that every other kid enjoys."

In an interview with The House, Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott said she shares Blackstock's goals.

"We want to make sure that there is no First Nations, Inuit or Mtis child in this country that's not getting the access to the care that they need," she said. "When people talk directly together, it's amazing what happens."

Although Philpott concededthere's still much that needs to be done, she said the federal government has been working hard to ensure First Nations children receive the services they need, adding that 24,000 Jordan's Principle cases have been approved over the last 18 months.

'Fix it today'

Now, afew months into her mandate, Philpott told The House she has beenencouraged by her interactions so far with Indigenous people across the country.

"The solutions are in First Nations, Inuit and Mtis communities," she said. "We as a government, and as Canadians, need to provide the support to recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples. I really believe this is fundamental to our success as a country going forward."

The federal and provincial governments will have an opportunity to discuss some of those solutions when they meet early next year at an emergency meeting on Indigenous child welfareconvened byPhilpott.

As forBlackstock, she said it's high time the federal and provincial governments address the inequalities facing First Nations childrenonce and for all.

"This isn't an issue that just sprung up. It's been something that's lingered and piled up on hopes and dreams of generations of First Nations kids," she said. "Children only get one childhood.Fix it today."