< Back to All News

Call for Action on the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination

NEWS RELEASE – Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Territory

On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Our Children Our Way Society celebrates the successes achieved to date and calls for urgent action to address ongoing discrimination within Indigenous child & family services.  

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The day is also proclaimed by the Province of British Columbia, recognizing that “Indigenous peoples, Black people and people of colour in British Columbia continue to experience systemic racism, discrimination and hate”.   

The extent of the discrimination in BC is widespread and well-documented across many inter-connected systems including education, health, justice, and child & family services.  

Nonetheless, there are successes to celebrate thanks to the ongoing efforts of many Indigenous leaders—including the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Caring Society who have worked tirelessly to end discrimination against First Nations children and families through the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT). As a result of their decades long efforts Canada has been ordered to end all discrimination within the First Nations Child & Family Services program, to ensure that discrimination never happens again, and to properly compensate First Nations children and families who were harmed by the discrimination. 

The historic CHRT rulings sets a roadmap for achieving substantive equality for all Indigenous children in BC, where the funding approach retains the features that were deemed discriminatory by the CHRT.  The BC Representative for Children and Youth released a report in 2022, describing the ongoing discrimination. To date, BC has failed to respond to any of the recommendations in At a Crossroads: The roadmap from fiscal discrimination to equity in Indigenous child welfare.  

As an end to this ongoing discrimination, the Our Children Our Way Society urges the Ministry of Children and Family Development to come into alignment with the CHRT rulings and uphold the rights of Indigenous children and youth.  

“Indigenous children and youth are sacred. Their lives matter. They have a right to services rooted in cultural excellence.  They have a right to who they are as beautiful Indigenous people. They have the right to be well and to be afforded opportunities to thrive. But first and foremost, they have the right to receive the same level of care, service, and support wherever they are living— this should not be impacted by the funding discrepancies that exist on and off reserve.” Jennifer Chuckry, Executive Director, Our Children Our Way Society Secretariat.

To fully eliminate racial discrimination in child & family services, a fundamental overhaul of practices and mindsets across all systems impacting Indigenous children and families is imperative. Current service delivery approaches fail to meet the needs of children and families and prioritize crisis response over trauma-informed and culturally grounded prevention approaches.  

The Our Children Our Way Society reaffirms our commitment to working collaboratively with the Ministry of Children and Family Development to implement a new service delivery approach, firmly rooted in Indigenous values, beliefs, and worldviews, and with enhanced collaboration between systems, as described in Culture is Healing: An Indigenous Child & Youth Mental Wellness Framework. 

In recognition of the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Our Children Our Way Society calls on Premier Eby and Minister Lore to resolve the ongoing discrimination against Indigenous children and families, including to: 

  • Address siloed and crisis-driven approaches by convening a cross-ministry table with Indigenous leadership and partners to address systemic discrimination including the root causes of why Indigenous children and youth are at risk of coming into care (i.e., housing, poverty, mental health) and disproportionate representation of Indigenous people in the opioid and toxic drug crisis.
  • Establish a negotiations table, inclusive of the Indigenous leadership and the Our Children Our Way Society, to reform the current discriminatory funding model and uphold substantive equality.  
  • Adopt the principles of the CHRT orders and agreement-in-principle on long-term reform to guide needed systems and practice shifts. 

Learn more:  

-30-

For further comment, please contact: Mary Teegee, Chair, Our Children Our Way Society – Phone: 250-612-8710

< Previous