Ending Discrimination and Protecting Equality: A Challenge to the INAC Funding Formula of First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies

Throughout history, First Nations children have been the subject of confused jurisdictional debates and unfair treatment by all levels of government. As a result, these children have been subjected to unspeakable harm, violence and neglect. In turn First Nations Child Welfare Agencies have attempted to address these issues and care for the children of their communities, bringing spiritual and cultural competence into the context of child protection. But the federal government has directly ensured their failure: unfair funding practices and unequal service provision has created a divide between the level of support and caring afforded to non-First Nations children and those children serviced by First Nations Child Welfare Agencies. This divide signifies a direct violation of a basic right often taken for granted by most Canadians: equality. Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms exists to protect our rights as equal citizens of this nation; in this instance the federal government has simply chosen to ignore this basic tenet. The unequal funding structure created to support First Nations children is a volatile reminder that First Nations across our country continue to be marginalized and relegated to being second class citizens