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OTTAWA — The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is expected to release a decision Monday on a landmark First Nations child welfare deal reached between chiefs in Ontario and the federal government.
The decision could bring to an end a nearly 20-year dispute that began in 2007 when the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society filed a joint human rights complaint about federal child welfare funding.
In a ruling on that complaint in 2016, the tribunal concluded the federal government had discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding the on-reserve child welfare system and ordered reforms.
Chiefs across the country twice voted down a national $47.8 billion deal proposed by the federal government to reform the child welfare system in 2024, saying it didn’t go far enough on eliminating discrimination.
Chiefs in Ontario — whose representatives with Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Chiefs of Ontario took part in the negotiations that lead to the $47.8 billion national deal — voted in favour of a separate provincial deal last year.
Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict said at the time they couldn’t wait for a national agreement while their children continued to be harmed by the child welfare system.
First Nations chiefs in Ontario are expected to speak about the decision Monday afternoon in Toronto, while Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is set to hold a press conference in Ottawa.
The Ontario-specific deal is largely in line with the national deal the chiefs rejected.
Two competing deals to reform the child welfare system outside of Ontario were presented to the tribunal in December — one from the federal government and one drafted by First Nations leaders.
Gull-Masty said in an interview at the time the government was introducing new components to the deal and allowing regions to decide for themselves how to invest in things like prevention programming or information technology.
The federal child welfare plan offers $35.5 billion in funding to 2033-34, followed by an ongoing commitment of $4.4 billion annually.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2026.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
