Minister files judicial review of First Nations child welfare agreement

OTTAWA — Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty says her government has filed a judicial review on a child welfare agreement she struck with First Nations in Ontario.

That $8.5 billion agreement marked a step toward resolving a dispute that began in 2007, with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal later ruling the federal government discriminated against First Nations children in its funding of on-reserve child welfare services.

In a decision letter released in March, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said two First Nations will not be covered by the deal.

Gull-Masty says the judicial review will seek answers on why those First Nations are exempt and what the federal government’s obligations are.