Public Protector | First Nations “better placed” to care for their children

(Quebec) First Nations are “best placed” to take care of their children, says the Québec Ombudsman, who supports Indigenous communities who claim full autonomy in matters of youth protection.

“In a model where it is the community that provides its own services, well, the person knows the needs of the child, they know the needs of the family because they are in the community. There is no bias or prejudice […] so, necessarily, there are already marked improvements,” illustrates Marc-André Dowd.

The Québec Ombudsman published on Thursday the second follow-up report on the calls for action from the Commission of Inquiry into Relations between Indigenous Peoples and Certain Public Services. The public services watchdog this time examined recommendations relating to youth protection, a sector where the least progress was made.

According to his conclusions, “significant progress” has been made since the submission of the report by retired judge, Jacques Viens, in 2019. However, “serious issues”, sometimes similar to those reported at the time, persist, despite significant legislative changes at the federal and provincial levels, deplores Mr. Dowd.

“These realities demonstrate that recent legislative changes require profound transformations in the ways of doing things within the health and social services network,” notes the Protector.

In 2020, the An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, which gives full autonomy in matters of youth protection, came into force in Ottawa. Quebec, which challenged its constitutionality, was rejected in the Supreme Court.

Until now, the Atikamekw community of Opitciwan in Mauricie has adopted its own child protection law. The Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam on the North Shore have also adopted a similar approach, but are still looking for an agreement with Quebec. Powers have also been delegated from other Indigenous nations in recent years.

Promising models

“There are a range of different models,” says Dowd. The right to self-determination, which is recognized by the decision of the Supreme Court, starts with the basic idea, which has motivated us and which should motivate everyone in the health and social services network, to the effect that the people best placed to take care of their children […] these are the First Nations and Inuit communities. »

According to him, “all the biases or all the obstacles” which explain “the over-representation of First Nations children” in youth protection fall when it is the community itself which offers the service.

For the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), the “observation is clear”: “it is essential that the expertise of the First Nations be recognized, and that the relationship between the youth protection departments and the First Nations communities be strengthened,” we write.

“We are ready to collaborate and work hard so that real government-to-government work is done. The well-being of our families and our populations depends on it,” said the chief of the AFNQL, Francis Verreault-Paul.

The Public Protector recalls that it has not carried out an impact analysis directly on the models born from federal law and emphasizes that they are still “relatively young”. However, he believes that it is promising.

Last November, the watchdog presented an update on the implementation of the Viens commission’s 142 calls for action. “We note that gaps remain worrying regarding respect for the rights of First Nations and Inuit in Quebec public services. In addition, the current context of budgetary restrictions and the non-renewal of certain funding compromise several achievements and even risk leading to setbacks,” concluded Mr. Dowd.