B.C. Indigenous leaders 'disgusted' by Ottawa's foster care compensation appeal, as feds vow talks

Leaders from First Nations organizations across B.C. reacted with outrage after the federal government announced late Friday it would appeal the latest court order to compensate former foster kids for discrimination.

Announcing its appeal of the Federal Court decision, Ottawa restated its commitment to reconciliation and redressing decades of unequal funding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in care.

But Indigenous organizations in B.C., a province where many Indigenous child welfare battles have been fought and won over decades, questioned how reconciliation could be possible while the government fights in court.

"I was quite upset and disappointed and disgusted really," Cheryl Casimer, political executive of the B.C. First Nations Summit, told CBC News on Saturday.

"I had some difficulty falling asleep just thinking about the decision and how it impacts our children and our families on the ground," she said.

"I still woke up upset. I think that's just going to be the feeling for many of us for quite some time."

Meanwhile, Ottawa says it remains committed to its promises of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and that its appeal of the child welfare discrimination ruling is because of objections to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal overstepping its authority.

The government instead hopes to negotiate an agreement out of court with the parties to right the wrongs of unequal funding, ideally by the end of the year.

"We will work with the parties to put in place an approach that will best serve the children," said Indigenous Services minister Patty Hajdu on Friday. "We will focus squarely on reaching an agreement outside of court and at the table."

The Federal Court sided with repeated previous rulings of the Tribunal ordering payouts to those impacted by the child welfare system.

The tribunal had ordered the federal government to pay $40,000 to every child in the on-reserve child welfare system since 2006. It was the most the legal body could award.

The government's decision to appeal once again leaves an estimated 50,000 Indigenous children in limbo as they await compensation for what the tribunal ruled was discrimination.

Hajdu said her government will compensate families and survivors of the foster care system. But federal lawyers argued that the court made a mistake when it ruled the tribunal "acted reasonably" when it ordered financial payments to children and families.

First Nations organizations said they are willing to sit down at the negotiating table, but Casimer believes it's just a "stall tactic."