Tribunal chair dismisses Canada's request to rejig panel on First Nations child welfare reform

Tribunal chair dismisses Canada's request to rejig panel on First Nations child welfare reform

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society welcomes dismissal

The chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed Canada's request to reconstitute a three-member panel to determine long-term reforms of the child welfare system for First Nations children.

Tribunal chair Jennifer Khurana delivered the news in a letter to the parties involved in the longstanding child welfare discrimination case Tuesday evening.

Khurana's letter stated the full reasoning for her decision would follow. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society said in a statement Wednesday the organization welcomed Khurana's decision.

"Preserving judicial independence requires governments to respect independent adjudicative processes like the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal," the statement said.

"The Minister of Justice and Indigenous Services Canada must stop evading accountability, comply with the law, and embrace the First Nations-led solutions already before them to end Canada’s discrimination against First Nations children."

Spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada Eric Head said in a statement the department will take time to review Khurana's reasons once they are received.

The statement said Indigenous Services Canada remains committed to advancing long-term reforms of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.

A three-member panel began hearing the case in 2012. One panel member died in 2015, and the two remaining delivered a landmark decision in 2016 that said Canada had discriminated against First Nations children in care on-reserve and in Yukon by underfunding child welfare agencies. It called for compensation for those affected and reform of the system.

One of the two remaining panel members resigned in July.

Canada asked to "reconstitute" the panel in a letter July 28, citing a loss of quorum. It said a three-member panel was necessary to ensure "public confidence" in the tribunal's decisions and to maintain adjudicative authority.

The Caring Society, Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation had opposed Canada's request.

They had argued that reconstituting the panel would create further delays to the long-term reform process, harming First Nations children and families, and would stall other outstanding decisions, including the Jordan's Principle settlement and the Ontario Final Agreement for long-term reform.

Joy SpearChief-Morris is an Indigenous Black journalist and member of the Kainai Blood Tribe in Alberta. She reports primarily on Indigenous politics, healthcare and sports. Along with CBC, Joy has had bylines in The Globe and Mail, The Narwhal, The Walrus, The Toronto Star and Sportsnet. She is the recipient of the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship.