Canada is taking the path of reconciliation, unlike Australia. Canadian justice approved this Tuesday the largest compensation agreement in the country’s history. It awarded 23.4 billion dollars (15.8 billion euros) in compensation to indigenous people and their families who were victims of discrimination by the child protection system.
This dispute is based on the Canadian government’s underfunding of services for indigenous children compared to those intended for non-indigenous children. Because although they represent less than 8% of children under the age of 14 in Canada, indigenous youth made up more than half of those placed in the child protection system, according to a 2016 census.
A “historic day for Canada”
On Tuesday, after years of proceedings initiated by indigenous activist Cindy Blackstock, the Federal Court approved an agreement to compensate some 300,000 indigenous children and their families, victims of a chronic lack of public services. “I think of all the victims and I look forward to seeing the support offered to all (…)”, reacted on X (ex-Twitter) Cindy Blackstock, who filed a complaint in 2007 before the Canadian Rights Tribunal of the person to denounce racial discrimination against indigenous children.
In addition to the 23.4 billion dollars in compensation, the settlement also provides for investments of 20 billion (13.75 billion euros) intended for reform of the system, according to a spokesperson for the Canadian government. “While nothing can compensate for the harm and pain caused, compensation is essential,” Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters, calling the day “historic for Canada.”
A “cultural genocide”
The minister also added that the contribution of indigenous organizations to this issue will help move Canada “on the path to reconciliation.” Since spring 2021, more than a thousand anonymous graves have been found on the sites of former Catholic residential schools for indigenous people, shedding light on a dark chapter in the country’s history and its policy of forced assimilation, considered since 2015 as a “cultural genocide”.
From the late 19th century to the 1990s, some 150,000 indigenous children were forcibly placed in 139 now-closed residential schools, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture. During a visit to Canada in the summer of 2022, Pope Francis asked “forgiveness for the evil committed” against the country’s indigenous people.