Via Email Re: Joint Submissions in response to MCFD’s Child, Family and Community Service Legislative Reform

The ongoing colonial legacy of the child protection system is directly reflected in the crisis of MMIWG2S2, the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in care, harmful removals, and the interference with and surveillance of Indigenous families.3 In our collective experience, the CFCSA enables a system that is more akin to family policing and is rooted in suspicion, surveillance, regul. [...] We recommend that the revision of these principles include: ▪ The right to self-determination of Indigenous children, youth, families, communities, and Nations that affirms and recognizes their inherent jurisdiction over the well-being of Indigenous children and families in accordance with UNDRIP and recognizes and respects the diversity of all Indigenous peoples, including the diversity of their. [...] ▪ The need to uphold and enact the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice. [...] ● Consider the impact of family violence on the child and provide all the necessary services and support for healing and well-being to the family in a manner that supports family members and prevents the need to remove the child from the custody of an abused family member.11 ▪ We strongly recommend that the CFCSA be revised to include and define the principle of the “best interests of the child, f. [...] The CFCSA should affirm and explicitly address the right of Indigenous communities to have control over the design and delivery of services for their families and children, including the commitment to adequately fund resources and capacity building to ensure better support for families and communities to keep children in their family homes.14 3.