Child and Youth Advocates call for national action
Canada’s Indigenous Services Minister called out the country’s child welfare situation, and advocates have responded.
Minister Jane Philpott called an emergency meeting regarding child welfare in Ottawa at the end of January. During the meetings she said the over-representation of Indigenous youth in Canada’s care system had reached “crisis proportions.”
“We hear daily from Indigenous children, youth and their familes about their experiences in the child welfare system,” a statement from the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates read. “We stand with children and youth, and hope their voices are heard directly.”
The statement said finding solutions is a shared responsibility of individual nations, provinces, territories and the federal government. The council’s release also stated community consultation and the inclusion of children and youth must be part of a solution.