Toronto, January 26, 2016 – Today the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has found that the federal government’s management and funding of its First Nations Child and Family Services “resulted in denials of services and created various adverse impacts for many First Nations children and families living on reserves.” This systemic discrimination has meant that vulnerable children were denied equitable access to culturally appropriate child protection and mental health supports because of who they are and where they lived.

This ruling will positively affect over 160,000 Indigenous children and their families on reserves across Canada.

“This is an historic decision and recognizes that the rights of Indigenous children living on reserve have been violated. That First Nations were forced to fight for these basic rights for their children is a profound disappointment but today is a day of celebration and points us in a new and better direction,” said Patricia Erb, Save the Children President and CEO.

Save the Children recognizes and thanks all those who worked so hard for this historic victory, in particular child advocate Cindy Blackstock. We urge the Canadian government to act swiftly to remedy these rights violations and to fully implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.