First Nation says Alberta is preventing it from taking control of child welfare

A First Nation in Alberta says it's been nearly three months since it was supposed to take legal control of its own child welfare but the provincial government won't recognize the arrangement made possible by federal legislation.

"[Alberta] won't recognize it at all. They won't sign co-ordination agreements," said Darin Keewatin, executive director of Asikiw Mostos O'pikinawasiwin Society, a child welfare organization for the Louis Bull Tribe.

The tribe asked to enter an agreement with Alberta and Canada in October 2020 under a federal law that was proposed in Bill C-92 and was enacted the previous year. It allows First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to have jurisdiction over child and family services.

The law says a three-party agreement should be reached within a year of a request. If an agreement has not been reached, but reasonable efforts were made, the child welfare laws designed by the Indigenous group come into play and supersede provincial or territorial ones.

Louis Bull Tribe's law came into effect in October, but Keewatin said Alberta is not co-operating.

"As soon as a tribe steps up to take responsibility and case manage their children, suddenly the ministry is saying, 'Oh no, that's not going to happen,'" he said.

Louis Bull's law outlines the tribe's protection and prevention services. That means cases involving Louis Bull children and families should be handed over to the society. Keewatin said the province hasn't transferred all those cases.

The province took control of talks from the beginning instead of respecting the community's authority, he said. There were certain parts of the co-ordination agreement the province wanted resolved before signing it, he added.

Children's Services Minister Rebecca Schulz was not available for an interview, but her office provided a statement.

"Throughout trilateral discussions with Louis Bull Tribe and the federal government, our primary goal continues to be ensuring the best possible care for Indigenous children and youth," she said in the statement.

"A co-ordination agreement is critical to articulate roles and responsibilities to ensure service gaps are not created and that children are not put at risk."

Schulz said her department will work with Asikiw Mostos O'pikinawasiwin Society to deliver services until an agreement is signed and a transition plan is carried out.

Keewatin would not speculate on the province's concerns, but said Indigenous children are overrepresented in Alberta's child-welfare system.

"We're employing a huge ministry," he said.