AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak announces progress on the long-term reform negotiations and engagement sessions in opening AGA speech.
“For too many years, we have been fighting to fix a broken child welfare system in the courts. And because of our unity in this fight for justice, we reached a historic turning point with the largest compensation settlement in the history of this country.
We have now received an offer from Canada to provide funding for the long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. While the offer is under Settlement Privilege, I can tell you it is a significant increase from the initial offer in 2021.
There is still much work to do but we are confident that this offer will benefit generations for our children. We must never lose sight what this work is all about. It’s about our children, our future. We, as First Nations, are best positioned to care for our own children.
That’s why starting this month the AFN will host regional engagement sessions to discuss the details of the offer and hear your views and recommendations.
We will host a special Chief’s assembly in the fall for Chiefs to deliberate and vote on the offer. Ultimately, the decision to proceed rests solely with you, the Chiefs.”
