Highlights: Quebec's Indigenous communities can now set up their own family support organization. In Canada, nearly half of children placed in foster families are Indigenous. Thirty-eight percent of Indigenous children live in poverty, compared to 7% of other children. Added to all this is the trauma linked to the forced schooling of children in residential schools for more than a century. The distress of young indigenous people is chilling and has multiple causes, says Pascale Guéricolas, a correspondent in Quebec.

In Canada, almost half of children placed in foster families are Indigenous even though they represent only 7% of the population, according to the 2021 census. Thanks to a recent decision…

Child protection: Quebec natives build their own models

In Canada, nearly half of children placed in foster families are Indigenous even though they represent only 7% of the population, according to the 2021 census. Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, Quebec's Indigenous communities can now set up their own family support organization, as in other Canadian provinces.

A young girl during a gathering in memory of the victims of residential schools for indigenous children, in Montreal, in September 2023 (illustration). AFP - ANDREJ IVANOV

By: Pascale Guéricolas

From our correspondent in Quebec,

The distress of young indigenous people is chilling and has multiple causes. Deplorable economic conditions, whether it be lack of housing or lack of food, explain several reports to social services. Thirty-eight percent of Indigenous children live in poverty, compared to 7% of other children.

Other risk factors accompany these sad statistics, such as the high rate of drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, not to mention the few services available in isolated communities to help families. Added to all this is the trauma linked to the forced schooling of children in residential schools for more than a century.

Cut off from their family and culture during their formative years, young people who have grown up have not learned to be parents. They pass this deficiency on to their descendants. Not to mention that this heritage fuels a distrust of social services which, even today, take young indigenous people far from their community. “

Many families live in environments lacking support services. These are non-Indigenous people who make assessments, following reports, without knowing their reality,

testifies Sarah Fraser, professor of health and well-being among Indigenous peoples at the University of Montreal.

Often, children will be placed outside, sometimes several hundred kilometers from their community.

Also read: Canada will pay historic compensation to indigenous peoples

Give more power to indigenous people

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called on Canada to give Indigenous governments a role in child and family services. Law C92, which came into force on January 1, 2020, therefore aims to take into account the interests of the child and to promote adapted services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Even before this legislation, certain indigenous communities in Quebec had considered models of support for families that were more like them. They focused on prevention before placement. Thus, in Manawan, an Atikamekw community located a three-hour drive from Montreal, a family council brings together relatives of parents struggling with family problems. They reflect on their behavior and put forward possible solutions discussed within the group. Added to this is a circle of helpers, made up of cousins, friends, teachers, and neighbors. These close people try to support a child who is going through difficulties. Sometimes grandparents take over temporarily. They then take care of the grandchildren, while their own children resolve their difficulties.

Avoiding the courts

Opitciwan, another Atikamekw community, has its own youth protection law, thanks to Canadian legislation C92. Once again, it is about focusing on prevention and mediation to find a solution within the family. When placement cannot be avoided, it takes place within the village which has around sixty host families. In the end, we want to prevent the child from being torn from his or her environment and so that he or she retains his or her language and culture. According to researcher Sarah Fraser, trust in social services also plays an essential role. According to him, if parents know social workers better, they are more transparent than when it comes to staff who are less aware of their reality.

The professor at the University of Montreal also mentions another approach, adopted by certain Inuit villages in Nunavik in northern Quebec. “

In

Kangiqsualujjuaq
, a family that is the subject of a report can be accommodated for two weeks in a specialized center,”

says the researcher.

On site, a social worker takes care of them, and supports them in a healing process and reflection on their needs. Other communities offer family activities, without accommodation.

» As we see, everyone builds a child protection system that suits them.

For now, the new models are only just beginning. The recent decision of the Supreme Court will allow them to move forward, while until now the Quebec government has opposed independent initiatives. By providing services close to the needs of communities, local governments hope to alleviate the distress of their children, preventing them from growing up cut off from their people and their identity.

Also readFirst Nations, indigenous or indigenous peoples, who are we talking about?

Child protection: Quebec natives build their own models

Child protection: Quebec natives build their own models

Give more power to indigenous people

Avoiding the courts

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest