Canada agrees to $17B settlement over mistreatment of Indigenous families

Canada has agreed to a revised settlement of $17 billion to compensate Indigenous children and families for discrimination in the child welfare system.

The final deal, announced on Wednesday by the Canadian government and Indigenous groups the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, boosted the settlement a further $2.2 billion from the nearly $15 billion agreed last year and expanded eligibility for compensation.

"This $23 billion [Canadian dollar] final settlement agreement is a long overdue turning point for so many thousands of families," Cindy Woodhouse, Assembly of First Nations Manitoba Regional Chief, said in a statement.

The settlement impacts some 300,000 children, adolescents and families and would close a case brought before a human rights tribunal more than 15 years ago that found the government had underfunded Indigenous children's services compared to those for non-Indigenous children.

READ MORE: More potential unmarked graves discovered at Canada school

'Historic amount'

The tribunal must still green light the revised agreement, which has been approved by the Assembly of First Nations.

The tribunal had rejected the initial settlement, considering, among other things, that the agreement excluded certain children.

The settlement announced on Wednesday will apply to those who were part of the welfare system between April 1, 1991, and March 31, 2022.

Despite making up less than eight percent of children under 14, Indigenous children account for more than half of those in Canada's foster care, according to a 2016 census.

"The compensation announced today is a historic amount, matched only by the historic amount of harm that occurred to First Nations children," said Marc Miller, Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations, cited in a statement.

READ MORE: Canada to pay more than $2B to Indigenous survivors of abuse

Over 4,100 Indigenous children died

The announcement came after a series of unmarked mass graves of Indigenous children found in residential schools.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forced to attend the 139 Indian Residential Schools.

The first one opened around 1825 and the last closed in the 1990s.

The schools were funded by the Canadian government and run by various religious denominations.

Their mission was to wipe out Indigenous traditions and assimilate the children into white culture.

More than 4,100 children are thought to have died in the schools, sometimes buried in mass graves and at other times in graves that, if they were marked, became obscured over the years.

More than 1,900 unmarked graves have been uncovered to date.

READ MORE: Remains of 'a young child' found at Indigenous school in Canada