Indigenous families in Canada to receive $23 billion in reparations

This is a record amount. Canada and several Indigenous groups have signed an agreement to pay more than $23 billion in compensation to Indigenous children and their families who have been discriminated against by the child care system, reports theFrench media agency.

Read also: In Quebec, thesilence cracks around forced sterilizations

“Largest Offset Deal in Canadian History”

In January 2022, a first version was announced as “largest offset deal in Canadian history”, estimated at $20 billion. But it had been rejected by the Canadian court, considering in particular that the agreement excluded some children.

A higher level of poverty

Finally, more than 300,000 families with children will be compensated. The deal will apply to those who have fallen victim to this system between 1^um April 1991 and March 31, 2022. The revised settlement would end a legal battle that has been going on for more than fifteen years. It was approved by the Assembly of First Nations and now needs to be validated by justice.

Although they make up less than 8 percent of children under the age of 14 in Canada, according to a 2016 census, Indigenous children made up more than half of those placed in the childcare system.

Indigenous peoples in Canada experience higher levels of poverty and lower life expectancies than other Canadians. They are also more often victims of violent crime. Especially women, who denounce the forced sterilizations and gynecological violence they have been suffering for decades.