Federal Court approves $23B First Nations child-welfare settlement

A Federal Court judge has verbally approved a landmark $23-billion settlement that will see Ottawa compensate more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families over chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services.

The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society first launched a human-rights complaint in 2007.

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal called the federal government's treatment of First Nations child welfare "wilful and reckless."

It found First Nations are adversely impacted by the services provided by the government and, in some cases, denied services as a result of the government’s involvement.