Human Rights Tribunal puts liberals under third party management

Angus: After months of delays in protecting indigenous kids, the Human Rights Tribunal has now ordered the Liberal government to take immediate action – essentially putting them under third Party Management

OTTAWA– After the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal landmark ruling that found that the Canadian government discriminates against Indigenous children, the tribunal is now calling out the Liberal government for failing to take action to protect these children.

“Yesterday’s ruling on legal remedies is a direct shot at the inaction by the Trudeau government and a statement that their budget continues to fail these kids,” said MP Charlie Angus NDP Indigenous and Northern Affairs Critic. “The Prime Minister may have inherited the tribunal findings, but, this is an indictment of his government's failure to appropriately respond to racial discrimination of Indigenous children. The government's budget failed to address the crisis in child welfare. They opted to delay implementing Jordan's Principle while fighting families in court over access to medically-necessary treatments. And they have stonewalled on action on the suicide crisis and the huge shortfalls in mental health support.”

The Tribunal’s ruling is historic in its findings that a government's budgetary decisions is no longer the final word. Remediation to address this discrimination against Indigenous children is now required, even if it means that Finance Minister Bill Morneau has to go back and revise his original budget, which failed to provide the necessary funding to end the unfair treatment of Indigenous children.

“As the Minister of Youth, I hope that Prime Minister Trudeau will abide by these findings. As the court states, ‘this is the season for change. The time is now.’ In other words, the children can’t wait,” added Angus. “New Democrats will continue to push for equity for Indigenous children across all areas of their lives. This is a great day for Indigenous children, but, it shouldn't have had to come twice.”

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For more information, please contact:

NDP Media Centre: 613-222-2351 or npdcom@parl.gc.ca