Despite comprising less than 10 per cent of children in British Columbia, Indigenous youngsters make up 63 per cent of those in ministry-mandated foster care – a systemic overrepresentation that has prompted efforts for legislative changes.
Two months after her birth and the subsequent ministry-ordered separation, a mother and infant will be reunited.
The ruling came on Wednesday, March 14 from Judge Barbara Flewelling – despite opposition from B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development. A publication ban on the mother and baby’s identity is in effect, and the Ha-Shilth-Sa is not publicizing names in order to protect the privacy of those involved in the case.
As it watches the number of children in foster care grow, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations has declared “a public health emergency” in a statement released March 8.
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a Huu-ay-aht mother who is fighting for time with her newborn after the baby was taken into foster care just three days after birth.
As the federal government announces that the number of indigenous children in foster care has reached “crisis” proportions, a Huu-ay-aht councillor cautions that the system is continuing the intergenerational trend of removing First Nations youth from their families.
During a visit to Hesquiaht Harbour this summer Chuck Lucas recalled a time years ago when he heard singing on the shoreline.
“I was sitting on the beach first thing in the morning,” said Lucas, who lives in Hot Springs Cove, of the singing. “Just real clear and strong.”
In a move to decrease the number of its children in foster care, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations has committed $400,000 to help keep families together.
More support is needed to break an escalating cycle of removing Huu-ay-aht children from their families, according to an independent panel’s report on foster care that was released Thursday.