An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families

In 2019, Bill C-92: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) received Royal Assent, and came into force on January 1, 2020. The Act affirms the rights of First Nations and Indigenous Governing Bodies to enact their own child and family services laws, recognizing the jurisdiction and inherent rights of First Nations to care for their children and families. The AFN advocates for the full and proper implementation of the Act and provides advice through the Chiefs Committee on Child and Family Services and Self-Determination on its implementation.

The Government of Quebec challenged the constitutionality of the Act, launching a constitutional reference at the Quebec Court of Appeal which was heard in September 2021. On February 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision regarding the constitutionality of An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth, and Families. The SCC held that the Act in whole is constitutional, including two provisions relating to federal force of law and paramountcy that the Quebec Court of Appeal previously found unconstitutional. The SCC endorsed the creativity of the co-drafted legislation as a viable alternative to affirm the Inherent Right of First Nations and other distinctions-based rights-holders, noting that constitutional amendments and Treaty settlements are slow and uncertain processes. The SCC was clear that Parliament was well within its constitutional purview to affirm Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-government and jurisdiction over child and family services were rights protected by virtue of s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

This is a landmark ruling. The SCC acknowledged that Canada’s constitutional framework allows for various pathways for First Nations’ Inherent Rights to be recognized. For far too long, provinces and territories have held up or obstructed this recognition, as seen in past constitutional discussions during Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord. First Nations will no longer be hindered by unwilling provincial partners in the exercise of their Inherent rights, laws, and jurisdiction.

Read more: AFN Bulletin – February 12, 2024 – Supreme Court of Canada Ruling on an Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth, and families.

In 2021, the AFN hosted a series of virtual gatherings to provide information and resources to First Nations leadership about the Act and its implementation. To learn more, including access resources and videos by presenters, visit Virtual Leadership Gathering on First Nations Child and Family Services and Self-Determination.

Jordan's Principle

Jordan’s Principle is named in honour of Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, born with complex medical needs. Jordan could have received home-based care, but because the governments of Canada and Manitoba could not agree on who would pay for his care, Jordan spent his entire life in hospital where he passed at age five in 2005. Jordan’s Principle ensures First Nations children have access to the supports they need to thrive, regardless of where they live, without denial, delay, or disruption. Between July 2016 to August 2024, Jordan’s Principle approved over 7.6 million products, services, and supports for First Nations children.

In 2007, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society filed a complaint at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT), alleging discrimination against First Nations children and families in the delivery and underfunding of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program and Jordan’s Principle. In January 2016, the CHRT found that the Government of Canada was discriminating against First Nations children on-reserve and in the Yukon, and ordered the government to immediately reform the FNCFS Program and properly implement Jordan’s Principle to meet the needs of First Nations children and ensure their best interests are protected.

The AFN advocates for First Nations children to receive the products, services, and supports they need to thrive, without delay, denial, or disruption, and for First Nations to determine and advance their priorities for implementing Jordan’s Principle. In December 2023, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society filed a motion at the CHRT outlining Canada’s continued non-compliance with the orders of the CHRT regarding Jordan’s Principle. In particular, they pointed to issues of non-compliance with the CHRT-ordered timeframes for determining requests, delays in issuing payments to individuals and service providers, and mishandling of urgent requests that risk harm to First Nations children. The AFN has intervened in the non-compliance proceedings and will continue to advocate for Jordan’s Principle to be properly implemented in accordance with the CHRT’s orders.

Please note: the AFN does not administer Jordan’s Principle. To learn more about Jordan’s Principle and to submit a request, please visit Indigenous Services Canada’s website on Jordan’s Principle.

Income Assistance, Social Programs & Poverty Reduction

The AFN advocates for greater First Nations control and determination over the programs serving their citizens, including the On-Reserve Income Assistance (IA) Program, social programs such as Assisted Living (AL), Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP), Family Violence Prevention Program (FVPP), and poverty reduction.

The AFN is mandated to pursue reform of the IA Program, including greater First Nations control and increased resources, to ensure that the IA Program is meeting the needs of First Nations IA clients, including immediate and ongoing relief measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid rise in inflation, and the growing First Nations population. The AFN developed policy recommendations for the reform of the IA Program that address the specific needs of First Nations with disabilities, First Nations in northern and remote communities, and to address the extensive gaps in resources for First Nations to administer the IA Program. The policy recommendations were supported by the First Nations-in-Assembly by way of Resolution 07/2022, Reform of the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program. The policy recommendations informed a 2023 Memorandum to Cabinet; however, Budget 2023 and subsequent budgets have not made the required investments to implement these reforms. Learn more about the policy recommendations here.

In June 2023, Bill C-22, An Act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act, received Royal Assent. This legislation establishes the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to support working-aged individuals with disabilities; however, the legislation does not contain provisions specific to the needs of First Nations with disabilities. Budget 2024 proposed an investment of $6.1 billion over 6 years for the CDB, which will provide up to $2,400/year for low-income persons with disabilities. Budget 2024 also proposed to invest $213.5 million over 5 years to provide income support for Indigenous people with disabilities, providing comparable supports to those offered provincially/territorially. The AFN will continue to seek opportunities to advocate for the meaningful inclusion of First Nations’ priorities and considerations in the implementation of these new benefits.

The AFN is mandated to develop a wholistic Long-term and Continuing Care (LTCC) Framework to strengthen services and supports for First Nations with additional care needs residing on-reserve. The AFN leveraged the First Nations-led engagements on the reform of the Assisted Living (AL) and the First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care (FNIHCC) Programs to develop and submit a Storyline Policy Document, outlining action-oriented recommendations to reform the FNIHCC and AL Programs for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to include in an MC on the development of a wholistic LTCC Framework. The policy recommendations include; culture as the foundation for LTCC services to First Nations; wholistic care from preconception to end of life; restructuring and advancing health and wellness infrastructure in First Nations; scalable and sustainable resources including integrating both formula-based and needs-based funding mechanisms; building and supporting health and social human resources; support governance and First Nations self-determination; and create equitable access to services across Canada. The recommendations were endorsed by the AFN Executive Committee through AFN Resolution 98/2023, First Nations-created Policy Recommendations for a Wholistic LTCC Framework. Following validation, the AFN submitted the document to ISC in April 2024, to include in a Memorandum to Cabinet (MC) on the wholistic LTCC Framework for a potential Winter 2025 Cabinet date. Learn more about the policy recommendations here.

The AFN is mandated to co-develop First Nation-specific indicators of poverty with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). In 2021, Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) was contracted to lead research with First Nations to develop indicators of poverty and well-being, including understanding, measuring, and addressing poverty in First Nations. The AFN will leverage the on-going conversations with ESDC to continue advocating for funding, renewed partnership and continuation of the work on First Nations poverty through implementation and/or piloting of the First Nations-specific poverty indicators to develop an evidence-based analysis to inform the development and implementation of a culturally appropriate poverty reduction strategy.

Early Learning and Child Care

The AFN advocates for enhancements to First Nations Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) in accordance with the First Nations ELCC Policy Framework. In 2016, the First Nations-in-Assembly mandated the National Expert Working Group (NEWG) on First Nations ELCC to lead engagements to develop the First Nations ELCC Policy Framework, which outlines the vision, principles, and goals of First Nations ELCC. The Framework envisions happy and healthy First Nations children who are grounded and connected to their identity as First Nations and supported by culture and language-based programs and services determined by First Nations. The Framework was endorsed by AFN Resolution 83/2017, Support for the National First Nations Early Learning and Child Care Policy Framework, supporting it as the First Nations component of the Indigenous ELCC Framework that was released in 2018, along with a $1.02 billion investment over ten years for First Nations ELCC.

The AFN has long advocated for increased supports for First Nations ELCC programs and services, including addressing historic funding gaps. Budget 2021 proposed investing $30 billion over five years, beginning in 2021-22, and $8.3 billion ongoing in ELCC across Canada; of this, $878.53 million is dedicated to First Nations ELCC. Pursuant to AFN’s advocacy, Budget 2021 also made historic investments in First Nations ELCC infrastructure, totalling more than $250 million over three years.

Budget 2021 further proposed legislating a Canada-wide system of ELCC, which was tabled in the House of Commons in December 2022 as Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. In 2022, the First Nations-in-Assembly passed AFN Resolution 08/2022, Early Learning and Child Care Legislation, outlining First Nations priorities for federal ELCC legislation and asserting that federal ELCC legislation must respect First Nations rights to self-determination and jurisdiction over ELCC, calling on Canada to engage directly with rights holders. In early 2023, the AFN, with input from the NEWG, prepared a submission to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. The AFN’s submission expressed concerns about the lack of engagement and Free, Prior and Informed Consent from First Nations in the development of Bill C-35, pointed to the need to recognize and support First Nations jurisdiction and rights, and emphasized the importance of long-term funding for First Nations ELCC. In fall 2023, the AFN appeared as a witness to the Senate of Canada’s Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology to emphasize the need to recognize First Nations jurisdiction over ELCC in the legislation. Bill C-35 received Royal Assent on March 19, 2024.