Canada sets $15B deal over Indigeneous child welfare flaws
OTTAWA (AP) — The Canadian government says it has signed a $15.6 billion agreement to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by chronic underfunding of child welfare.
The Assembly of First Nations and plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits agreed to the deal announced Monday. The government’s Indigenous agency says the settlement is the largest in Canadian history.
The settlement accounts for half of an overall $31 billion deal that aims to reform Canada’s child welfare system, including five-year funding for the First Nations Child and Family Services program.