Courts rule Human Rights hearings into discrimination against aboriginal children to proceed
Tribunal hearing on aboriginal child welfare funding to go ahead
Laurie Monsebraaten - Nov 26 2009
Ottawa's attempt to derail a landmark Human Rights Commission Tribunal hearing into discrimination against aboriginal children in the child welfare system has been denied by the federal Court of Canada.
In a ruling late Tuesday, adjudicator Roza Aronovitch issued a stay of proceedings in an application last fall by Indian and Northern Affairs to stop the hearing on grounds the commission doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the complaint.
"There is an interest.....in allowing a full and thorough examination in the specialized forum of the tribunal, of issues which may have an impact on the future ability of aboriginal peoples to make discrimination claims," Aronovitch wrote in her ruling.
The federal government has the right to appeal any tribunal ruling and can do so in this case after the complaint is heard, Aronovitch noted in her decision.
Tuesday's decision is a "huge victory" for aboriginal children, said Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society which launched the human rights complaint with the Assembly of First Nations almost three years ago.
They charge that Ottawa spends less money on child protection on Indian reserves than provinces spend on these services for non-aboriginal children off-reserve. The lack of funding means there are three times as many First Nations children in the care of children's aid societies today than were forced to live in residential schools at the height of their operation in the late 1940s, they say.
"My goal was that I really wanted this children's story to be told," Blackstock said Wednesday. "If (Ottawa) appeals it, we'll respond in the appropriate way. But I really want the facts put out there so that members of the public can see both sides of the story and make up their own minds.
"The evidence of inequality is so overwhelming that it will not take very long to conclude, as we have, that sadly, these kids are being racially discriminated against by our own government," she added.
A spokesperson for Indian Affairs said the government had no comment on the ruling.
"Canada will continue to meet its procedural obligations as the complaint moves to a tribunal hearing," the spokesperson said.
The tribunal, which was supposed to begin hearing evidence last week, has been adjourned until January.