Why Indigenous children are overrepresented in Canada's foster care system

Indigenous Children in Canada’s Child-Welfare System

Indigenous children under four made up more than half of the children in Canadian foster care, despite representing about 7% of the population, according to the census discussed in the video.

Historical context

The video traces this overrepresentation to government policies aimed at assimilation. More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools, where they were separated from their cultures and languages, and many suffered abuse. The last residential school closed in 1996.

Later, the Sixties Scoop removed more than 20,000 First Nations children and placed them with non-Indigenous families.

Ongoing effects and funding

The video argues that today’s child-welfare system continues some of these harms. Children often live with non-Indigenous caregivers and may lose connections to their culture, language and clan. Families can be separated for years.

It identifies inadequate federal funding for on-reserve child welfare, health and social services as a central cause. A funding formula used since 1988 reallocates money from services such as housing and infrastructure rather than increasing budgets. The resulting poverty and poor housing can contribute to children entering care, while agencies lack resources for prevention.

The video also says that agencies’ foster-care costs are reimbursed by the federal department responsible for Indigenous affairs. This can create an incentive to use foster care when families may instead need support. A 2008 Auditor General report flagged inequitable funding.

Human-rights complaint

The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations filed a human-rights complaint in 2007. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal later found that the federal government was racially discriminating against Indigenous children and ordered it to remedy the problem.

According to the video, the issue remained unresolved after three non-compliance orders, and subsequent federal budgets fell short of the required action.

Presenters and contributors

• Kyle Edwards — reporter
• Tamara Malcolm
• MP Charlie Angus