Blackstock made significant contributions to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in its work to develop and adopt a General Comment on the Rights of Indigenous Children. Maurina would have been eligible for compensation under the tribunal’s decision but she died while Canada fought her, and people like her, in court. Government proclamations of good intentions – and statements of reconciliation – must not shield them from a serious review of their actions. Can it be more than "just another day off?". They even refused to replace the word “apprehension,” which is considered dated by many and linked to criminal apprehensions, with “placement in alternative care.”. Blackstock has spent her career speaking out against the systemic inequalities of services provided to First Nations children, youth and their families and, in the process, become a powerful advocate for Indigenous children in Canada. We ask that you follow these guidelines. Cindy Blackstock is a member of the Gitxsan First Nation and currently serves as the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and is a professor at McGill University. This article first appeared on Policy Options and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. When Everything Matters: Comparing the factors contributing to the reunification or continuance in child welfare care for First Nations and non Aboriginal children in Nova Scotia.
The University of Lethbridge is pleased to recognize the work of Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a professor of social work at McGill University, by presenting her with an honorary degree at the University’s 2019 Spring Convocation ceremonies.

The tribunal ordered Canada to pay $40,000 to each victim of its discriminatory conduct, dating back to 2006. She is currently a professor at the McGill University School of Social Work and executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada. The government of Canada is a repeat offender when it comes to discrimination against First Nations children. Blackstock will be presented with a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2019 Spring Convocation III Ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 31, 2019 in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gymnasium. She has worked in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights for 30 years, focusing on ensuring culturally based equity for First Nations children across all public services.

And indeed, my first reflex was to be grateful, because when someone gives you something you are supposed to be thankful, right? The government is moving forward with plans to create a stat holiday to remember residential schools. Equity Concerns in the Context of COVID-19: A Focus on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Communities in Canada: 2020: Journal article. Her inspiring story is recounted in Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary on the tribunal hearings called We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice. But upon further reflection, I realized that all Canada was offering was a continuation of its discrimination against First Nations children, and I could never be thankful for that. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Yet the government holding up the proposed Indigenous child-welfare legislation (Bill C-92) as a response to the national inquiry is not so convincing.

Three years later, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal cited Maurina’s case in its legal decision that has provided over 250,000 products and services under Jordan’s Principle this past year alone.

Cindy Blackstock is a successful person by any measure. Vous pouvez reproduire cet article d’Options politiques en ligne ou dans un périodique imprimé, en suivant nos lignes directrices. Quick links. Sadly, based on the response thus far, the answer is not encouraging. I'm a print subscriber, link to my account, Avoid the use of toxic and offensive language. Maurina and Pictou Landing First Nation filed suit against Canada in 2011. Join them, because the best way to honour the memories of the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls is to act. Department and University Information.

But I will never be grateful to governments that want to be thanked for their inadequate actions while they discriminate against First Nations children. The passing of Maurina Beadle this past week evidences the inhumanity of Canada delaying the compensation payouts. The day before Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized in 2008 for the harms done to Indigenous children in residential schools, I was in Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery, visiting the grave of Peter Henderson Bryce. 2007 - National Collaborating Centre on Aboriginal Health.

Simply select your manager software from the list below and click on download. They even argue that fulfilling the tribunal’s order to just talk to the Assembly of First Nations and First Nations Child and Family Caring Society about a process for the distribution of the compensation would be too much for the government to bear. Cindy Blackstock OC FRSC is a Canadian-born Gitxsan activist for child welfare and executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. Cindy Blackstock is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. Publications. Cindy Blackstock is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Proponents of the bill suggest it affirms Indigenous jurisdiction in child welfare, but it is non-Indigenous federal public servants and politicians who have thus far controlled the debate and rebutted dozens of First Nations proposals for improvement. Legal documents filed by the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the federal government argue that it will be irrevocably harmed if it has to pay, even though its own high-end estimates suggest that the compensation would amount to less than five per cent of Canada’s national budget. There is no question that Indigenous jurisdiction in child welfare could be a positive game changer for Indigenous children, but without significant changes it will likely be nothing more than another empty promise to First Nations children, youth and their families.

Moreover, it has taken seven (and counting) Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders to compel the federal government to begin to fix the funding inequalities in First Nations child welfare that contribute to the overrepresentation of children in care – inequalities that Canada has known about for at least 19 years. She is currently a professor at the McGill University School of Social Work and executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes.
I don't want that job to exist—now or ever.” Blackstock is the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of … Without a comprehensive and public plan, Canada’s incremental discriminatory approach to public services will continue for decades to come. Read our. She is currently a professor at the McGill University School of Social Work and executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada.