NDP critics Sol Mamakwa (Indigenous and Treaty Relations) and Teresa Armstrong (Children and Youth Services) issued the following statement after the Parliamentary Budget Office released their report on Tuesday that showed hundreds of thousands of First Nations children are eligible for up to $15 billion in compensation due to delay and denial of government services.
“If anyone doubts that the vestiges of colonialism towards First Nations people still exists in Canada today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report shows in stark terms that hundreds of thousand of First Nations children have been denied life saving and life giving, essential public services in this country,” said Mamakwa.
Despite orders from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) for governments to protect the rights of First Nations children to access public services through Jordan’s Principle, and despite the constant promises from governments, more than 250,000 children were denied the services that every other Canadian child accesses daily.
“How much suffering and oppression must First Nations children endure in this country before they are treated as equals to other Canadian children? How much indignity and racism must Indigenous families suffer before they are respected?” said Mamakwa.