Minister, I have to say that I was surprised when the First Nations rejected the negotiated agreement that would allocate $47.8 billion to a long-term reform of First Nations Child and Family Services. That is $40,000 per child. There seems to be some disagreement between the chiefs, some of whom believe it’s unlikely that they will get a more generous agreement, particularly if there’s a change of government.

Can you tell us what the next steps will be on this file?

Thank you for the question, Senator Dagenais.

This is, again, something that is led by Minister Hajdu, but I can assure you that a lot of work has gone in by all parties to come to a conclusion. Ultimately, this is about the children to make sure the children are kept in their communities. The government will continue to do the work in order to see if we can have a resolution on this matter.

Do you really know what First Nations are asking for? How much are they asking for and how much is your government prepared to add to the proposed amount of $47 billion?

Senator, I want to take away the financial aspect of this conversation and move to what I think we need to do as a country. The failures of the child welfare system on Indigenous children cannot be underscored enough. This is the residential school issue of our era. Last year, at the Special Chiefs Assembly, the national chief said it was the highest rate of Indigenous children apprehended in Canadian history, and I think that should sink in. It’s an urgency. It’s one that we need to address. We are all trying to get there, and I sincerely hope we will get to the right place.