Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank you and the members of the committee for the invitation to come to present to you on this—as Cindy very eloquently said—very important and serious matter and issue.
As I prepare presentations to make before various committees that the NAFC presents to, I always do my own little bit of research. It was in this particular case that I just couldn't come up with any good news or good scenarios, or anything positive, necessarily. It was more disappointing things that I came across, in trying to find information on urban aboriginal adoption issues and matters. I wish there were positive things. But on the other hand, as Cindy very eloquently said, I think there's an opportunity. There are opportunities all the time.
The opportunities are based on our own willingness to dialogue together, to listen to each other, to learn and find out from each other, to learn from experts like Cindy what the best practices are out there. There are best practices on reserve, and despite their limited number, urban-based child and family service agencies and Métis child and family service agencies have best practices as well.
One of the toughest bridges to cross that I learned about in my research was—and in particular I'll look towards Ontario—the capacity to appreciate what customary adoption is and its uniqueness from aboriginal community to aboriginal community. It seemed that there was a desire on the part of the established Children's Aid Society system to want to compartmentalize it and use a compartmentalizing process and take it from one community to another community.
We always pride ourselves on the distinctiveness of communities. While we may be one nation—maybe it's the Ojibway Nation or the Oneida Nation—communities within those nations are distinct. The same thing exists in the urban areas, although it's more of a blending. As well, there are particular issues that pertain to each case.
As I said, it was one of the more sorrowful kinds of research issues that I've looked into.
I am a former social worker from my own first nation community of Tobique in New Brunswick. I was the director-supervisor of the child welfare agency back there as well, back in the early eighties, so I have a good idea. I was a few years ago able to moderate a round table discussion here in Ottawa with some adoptive parents who had adopted aboriginal children. They very eloquently, very sadly, and in many situations breaking down in tears were saying how frustrated they were with the system.
Unfortunately, what I'm saying is not in my presentation. On the other hand, I think it's important to let you know of the experiences that adoptive parents have with the federal government, and in particular with the Department of Indian Affairs—and to a certain extent as well, I guess, with the first nations and Inuit health branch—under non-insured health benefits to access those benefits and be able to provide properly and adequately for the child, if it's a status first nations child.
In the urban area, we have such a blending of aboriginal people. We have a lot of first nations people, a lot of Métis people, and in particular in the east, in Montreal and in Ottawa, a lot of Inuit as well.
It puts a lot of pressure on the very few child welfare agencies that exist. There's one in Toronto, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, and in Vancouver as well, the Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society. I know for sure that the one in Toronto does work on adoptions.
There are a number of issues. I want to read a little bit from an article I ran across in my research. It's called “Adoption Crisis”. It says:
In April 2007, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights issued a report titled Children: The Silenced Citizens that concluded “there is an adoption crisis in Canada.” It called on “governments across Canada to recognize and address the adoption crisis in this country, particularly in the case of aboriginal children.” Despite the fact that aboriginal families are more inclined than non-aboriginal to adopt, there continues to be a chronic shortage of aboriginal foster and adoptive parents.
Meanwhile, a May 2008 report by the Auditor General of Canada found the federal government is failing to provide First Nations Child and Family Services agencies with adequate funding to meet the number or the needs of children in care.
And here is the champion right here:
That report stated that the funding formula has not been reviewed since 1998, and it has not been adjusted for inflation since 1995.
Earlier this year, the Canadian Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry into a complaint regarding First Nations children in state care.
In Ontario, there are currently approximately 9,200 children available for adoption. Of those, 1,191 (13%) are children with aboriginal ancestry.
I think I'll stop there.