First nations want more say in children’s fate

As the Kwanlin Dun First Nation (KDFN) continues work on developing its own legislation around family law, its chief is joining two others in calling on the Yukon government to take another look at the proposed draft of the Child and Family Services Act.

As the Kwanlin Dun First Nation (KDFN) continues work on developing its own legislation around family law, its chief is joining two others in calling on the Yukon government to take another look at the proposed draft of the Child and Family Services Act.

“This is a very important piece of legislation,” Carcross-Tagish First Nation (CTFN) Chief Mark Wedge told reporters at a press conference Friday morning.
Wedge was joined on the consultation for the review of the act by KDFN Chief Mike Smith, Ta’an Kwachin Council Chief Ruth Massie, Judy Pakozdy, the Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome Society Yukon’s executive director, and two former first nation liaison representatives, Victoria Fred and Corrine McKay.

Among the key problems identified in the draft, the group noted:
- there’s no provision for a children’s advocate, which would be an independent role that’s been called for;
- the proposed draft fails to address concerns that the director of the family and child services unit has too much discretionary power in making decisions for children in government care;
- there’s nothing to address the government-to-government relationship between the territorial government and self-governing first nations in the Yukon; and
- while the draft has a number of good changes to recognize extended family members, their role in making major decisions has been reduced or removed.

Parents with physical or mental challenge also have less ability under the proposed act to be involved in decisions, as they are under the current act.

During the press conference, Wedge pointed out that every jurisdiction across Canada has a child advocate with the exception of the Yukon.

The proposed legislation, he argued, could be viewed as regressive. The territory needs to take the time to get the legislation right before it passes it, he said.

“We’re trying hard not to battle (the Yukon government),” Wedge argued.

The KDFN opted out of the consultation process for the review of the act because, Smith explained, it didn’t believe the government would address the first nation’s concerns.

Nothing in the proposed act speaks to working together in “true partnership”.

With nothing in place to provide solutions, the KDFN is developing legislation that will take over laws around children in care, family law, marriage and so on.

As a self-governing first nation, he argued, the KDFN can draft a better act for its own people, but it will take whatever time is necessary to do so.

“We want to be part of the decision-making process,” he said.

He argued one of the biggest problems with this and many other legislative decisions is with a central government system, everything is “dictated” from Whitehorse, with the Yukon government making all the decisions for the territory.

Massie echoed similar concerns for the Ta’an.

She noted that through the symposium, it’s hoped the issues that have been brought up through the chief’s committee still reflect the issues of concern for first nations people in the territory.

Like the chiefs, both Fred and McKay argued there’s a need for more involvement from first nations and families when children are taken into care.

It was argued by the two that first nations should have more of a say in children going into government care.

Pazkody, who works with a number of former children in care, pointed out under the current system, most adults who were part of the foster care system end up searching out their birth families.

It’s important that children are kept with their birth families, she stressed, even if that means having someone in the home 24 hours to keep the child safe.

“This is a big opportunity to change it,” she said of the system.