Welfare for First Nations families, underfunded

On Monday, the First Nations took to the Tribunal of Human Rights to discuss the underfunding of child welfare services on their reserves.

According to CBC news, Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations says that thousands of children are being sent into institutional care when there’s a family crisis.

Atleo told the Human Right Tribunal that many reserves don’t have the ability to keep children safe and in their homes.

According to AFN and experts, an estimated 27,000 aboriginal children have been removed from their immediate families.

Today’s case is different from a similar incident that occurred in the 1940s and 50s where children were forced away from their homes and into residential schools. 

Back then, discrimination appeared to be the primary issue for these removals.

Atleo says the reasons for today’s removals are different and relate more to poverty and social conditions on reserve.

Flickr Photo by: Michael Ignatieff

STORY WRITTEN BY: JENNA MONNEY-LUPERT