$20 Billion Settlement Reached in First Nations Youth Millennium Scoop and Jordan's Principle Class Actions

TORONTO, Jan. 4, 2022 /CNW/ - The law firms Sotos Class Actions, Kugler Kandestin LLP and Miller Titerle + Co announce a historic agreement in principle with the Government of Canada to settle two class actions alleging systemic discrimination in the government's funding and provision of child and family, and other services dating back to 1991.

The agreement in principle provides for $20 billion in compensation to certain First Nations children and certain of their primary caregivers. In addition, Canada will pay for support to class members during the compensation process, legal, administration and settlement distribution fees over and above the compensation amount.

The agreement in principle covers several hundred thousand First Nations children and family members, comprised of the following groups:

• Children living on reserves or in the Yukon who were removed from their homes and placed in out-of-home care at any time from April 1, 1991 to the present.  
• Children who suffered discrimination by being deprived of timely essential public services and products due to the Government's failure to respect a child-first principle now known as "Jordan's Principle." These children suffered denials, delays or gaps in obtaining essential public services or products from April 1, 1991 to November 2, 2017. Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, who passed away in hospital in 2005 while the federal and provincial governments disputed over who should pay for his care in home.
• Certain primary caregivers of the children described above.

The class actions allege that Canada's discriminatory underfunding caused an epidemic of children being removed from their homes and placed into state care. As noted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in recent years there have been approximately three times the number of First Nations children in care than there were in Residential Schools at their height in the 1940s.

The situation of Xavier Moushoom, one of the representative plaintiffs, illustrates the tremendous harm suffered by the class members. Mr. Moushoom was born in the Anishinaabe Nation in Lac Simon, Quebec. When he was only nine years old, he was removed from his family for unknown reasons and placed in foster care. From the age of 9 until 18, Mr. Moushoom was transferred to fourteen different foster homes. He lost his native Algonquin language, his culture, and his ties to the Lac Simon community, and suffered enormous emotional consequences. At 18, Mr. Moushoom was forced to leave his foster family because Canada did not fund post-majority services for First Nations individuals.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, following a years-long hearing, found Canada's widespread underfunding, resulting in the removal of First Nations children living on reserves from their homes, to be wilful discrimination that warrants substantial compensation to each child and their primary caregivers from 2006 until the present. The Tribunal also found Canada's breach of its duties under Jordan's Principle to be wilful discrimination warranting compensation to each affected child and their families from 2007 until 2017. Canada's application to the Federal Court earlier this year in which it sought to challenge the compensation component of those findings was unsuccessful.

During the past thirteen months, the plaintiffs have negotiated under the guidance of the Honourable Leonard S. Mandamin, a retired judge of the Federal Court and Anishinaabe member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, and, more recently, the Honourable Murray Sinclair, past Chief Commissioner of the TRC.

The amount to be paid to each individual, and when and how it will be paid, will be determined at a later date in consultation with experts, the Assembly of First Nations, and other stakeholders. The final settlement agreement will be subject to review and approval by the Federal Court in a public hearing to be announced in the coming months. Until the Federal Court has approved the settlement, it is not possible to determine the amounts to which each individual is entitled.

If you or any First Nations individual that you know are a part of any of the above-mentioned groups, please register on our website here to receive further information. If you have already registered on our website and wish to contact us for further information, please send an email to firstnationsyouth@sotos.ca or call 1-888-888-3126 in English or 1-866-857-7047 in French.

Quote:

"The discrimination that underlies these class actions is one of the most shameful chapters of recent Canadian history. The unprecedented amount of compensation to be paid under this settlement is due entirely to the scope and extent of the trauma and suffering that the government's discrimination has caused to these children. It is our hope that this compensation, when coupled with an urgent overhaul of the First Nations child welfare system that is being separately negotiated, will help these children and young adults to rebuild their lives and will ensure that no other generation of First Nations youth will have to suffer under a discriminatory system."

- David Sterns, class counsel

"This settlement is historic and hopefully a turning point in this country's work on reconciliation. It is a truism that no amount of compensation will repair the damage that has been done to First Nations children and their families. The settlement amount underscores the severity of the harm suffered, and will provide financial support to enable victims to better their lives going forward."

- Robert Kugler, class counsel

SOURCE Sotos Class Actions