Issue 1: Federal Legislation on Indigenous Child Welfare in Canada

This paper examines the contribution that federal legislation could make to the governance of Indigenous child welfare in Canada. It explores the origins of the assumption that indigenous child welfare must be governed by provincial legislation and explains why Parliament would have jurisdiction to legislate in this area as well. It then explores how federal legislation may contribute to indigenous self-determination, delving on examples such as the Indian Child Welfare Act in the United States and Canadian initiatives in the fields of education or child welfare. It then outlines what federal legislation should contain, in order to promote self-determination and to address the shortcomings of the current system, including those highlighted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) and by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (2016).