Canadian government agrees to pay £29.5bn over indigenous children discrimination

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Canadian government announced on Tuesday that it has reached the largest settlement in country’s history as it allocated funds worth C$40bn to addressing discrimination among indigenous children and to monetarily compensate them starting 2022. Indigenous Services Canada said the global resolution was meant to compensate those “harmed by discriminatory underfunding of First Nations Child and Family Services and to achieve long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program and Jordan’s Principle, to ensure that no child faces discrimination again”. Calling it a challenging time, the officials said in the statement: “The unmarked graves of children who attended Residential Schools, climate change emergencies and the pandemic have deepened the disadvantages that many First Nations families and communities face.” Canada’s census data from 2016 shows that while less than 8 per cent of children under 14 constitute as Indigenous, more than 52 per cent land in foster care. According to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, discriminatory practices by child and family services against First Nations children have been repeatedly registered.