The federal government is fighting an Anishinaabe First Nation in what could be a precedent-setting legal battle over the alleged systemic underfunding of on-reserve schools in Ontario.
Credit First Nation’s Mississaugas made its opening statement Monday to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, alleging that Canada’s education funding model is inadequate, racially discriminatory and perpetuates colonial harms inflicted on children in boarding schools.
Although it was initiated by one community, the case affects all Ontario First Nations children, Chief Claire Sault said at a ceremony before the hearing began.
“For too long First Nations students have faced barriers that no child should face,” he said in a speech.
The human rights tribunal is a court-like body that judges complaints of discrimination. The first day of the hearing was held in person in Mississaugas del Crédito, about 90 kilometers south of Toronto.
The First Nation says in legal documents that residential schools may have closed but the damage continues.
“They were replaced by an education system that was underfunded and subject to arbitrary budget limits,” the documents say.
“The damage caused by this period also continues to this day.”
At stake is Canada’s “interim funding model” introduced as a temporary measure in 2019-20, which the First Nation says does not provide funding comparable to the provincial system and does not take into account the greater needs of First Nations children, nor the higher cost of operating schools on reserves.
“As an inevitable consequence, children do not receive equitable services, including services that account for historical disadvantages and the need for culturally based services,” the First Nation alleges in its court papers.
“Children are suffering the consequences now and in many cases the impacts will last a lifetime.”
Canada will not make an opening statement until later in the proceedings. However, in a response legal filing, Canada says it recognizes the lasting impacts of colonialism before arguing that Mississaugas of the Credit misinterprets and mischaracterizes the funding model.
“It is significant that the [First Nation] “It does not identify, in specific or concrete terms, exactly how the interim formula fails to meet the needs of its students,” the Justice Department says.
“Rather, his complaint is formulated in general terms and without a concrete factual basis.”
The case builds on a key precedent set in 2016, when the court confirmed that Canada was racially discriminating against First Nations children for decades by chronically underfunding child and family services on reserves and in the Yukon.
That complaint, filed in 2007 by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Care Society, culminated in a historic $23.4 billion class action settlement to compensate victims, in addition to a $47.8 billion bid proposal to reform the system that First Nations leaders rejected in October 2024.
The Harper government initially fought to have the complaint thrown out on procedural grounds, but lost. After coming to power, the Trudeau government fought in court against a court order requiring Canada to compensate victims, but also lost.
In a statement, Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Maryéva Métellus said Canada respects the community’s decision to seek the court’s review and will respectfully participate.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission supports the First Nation’s case, arguing that Indigenous children have a human right to education protected by international and Canadian law.
The hearing continues virtually and is expected to last 15 days.
