CTA 6 calls for the government to outlaw all forms of corporal punishment for children. This has not been completed - the government claims that its Next Steps are to 'continue to explore how best to respond to the CTA.'

72. We call upon the federal government to allocate sufficient resources to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to allow it to develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Status: Not Completed

incomplete

Status: With the Royal Assent of the act this call to action is now completed.

Status: Completed (On July 24 – 29, 2022, Pope Francis visited Canada on what he termed a "penitential pilgrimage".)

Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations.

1. Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.

2. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.

3. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.

4. Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.

   What's happening?

   The Government of Canada is committed to reducing the number of Indigenous children and youth in care through major ongoing reforms in child and family services.

   First, the reform agenda for the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) program has shifted the program from a protection focus to one of prevention and early intervention services to support the well-being of First Nations children.

   These prevention investments support First Nations in developing and implementing services that address the distinct child and family services needs of their community members in culturally appropriate ways, to keep families together.

   Distinct prevention and early intervention services seek to address the underlying causes of contact with the child welfare protection system.

   An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) was co-developed with Indigenous partners with the aim of reducing the number of Indigenous children in care and reforming child and family services. The Act:

   • came into force on January 1, 2020

   • affirms the inherent right of self-government for First Nations, Inuit and Métis, which includes jurisdiction in relation to child and family services

   • sets out national principles for the provision of child and family services in relation to Indigenous children such as:

     • the best interests of the child

     • cultural continuity

     • substantive equality

   • contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

   • provides an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to choose their own solutions for their children and families

   The Act sets out standards that include the:

   • prioritization of preventive care over other services

   • placement of Indigenous children in care with family members or within their communities.

   These standards promote cultural continuity and stronger communities for current and future generations.

   As well, in support of this call to action, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has collaborated to develop the Canadian Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS), a national population-based information system that uses routinely collected data about those involved with child welfare. CCWIS (which now includes the Pan-Territorial Data Project) provides timely and relevant national data to inform a public health approach to child welfare and child and family wellbeing.

   Throughout the development and implementation of CCWIS, PHAC has worked closely with First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations that exercise sovereignty over child welfare data, whether those organizations hold the data or not.

   CCWIS supports evidence-informed decisions to help reduce inequalities related to Indigenous identity and race. Using this data, the Government of Canada, alongside Indigenous, provincial, and territorial partners, will be able to report on the number of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and youth in care.

   Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) tracks the number of First Nations children who reside or ordinarily reside on a reserve or in the Yukon, are in care and are receiving services funded by the FNCFS program. When counting First Nations children in care, this count is based on a point in time on the last day of the fiscal year.

   As of March 31, 2020, there were 9,338 First Nations children on reserve or ordinarily resident on a reserve or in Yukon who were in care and receiving services funded by the FNCFS program, an increase of 794 children since March 31, 2016, where 8,544 children were in care and receiving services funded by the FNCFS program. From 2016 to 2020, the percentage of First Nations children on reserve in care increased by 0.79%, from 5.08% to 5.87%.

   As of March 31, 2020, the total 2019 to 2020 placement expenses for First Nations children on reserve or ordinarily resident on a reserve or in Yukon who were receiving services funded by the FNCFS program was $523.4 million.

   The government of Canada recognizes the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty as a key principle of the proposed partnership approach and in supporting Indigenous self-determination.

   Recent budget investments

   The FNCFS program's reform responds to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders and the Agreement-in-Principle on long-term reform that was signed on December 30, 2021. ISC is committed to providing support to child and family services agencies, with an emphasis on prevention. ISC has more than tripled the FNCFS First Nations Child and Family Services budget since 2016, from $677 million to more than $3.5 billion in 2023 to 2024.

   On April 1, 2022, Canada implemented immediate measures to help reduce the number of First Nations children in care and provide additional supports to First Nations children, youth and families, investing over $3.5 billion in 2023 to 2024.

   This funding, an increase of over 130% from the 2020 to 2021 fiscal year, supported prevention and representative services, as well as the expansion of post-majority support services in all provinces and Yukon.

   In addition, 2021 CHRT 41, the CHRT's amended capital order, was implemented in the spring of 2022. This provided funding for the purchase and construction of capital assets that support the delivery of First Nations child and family services, as well as the delivery of Jordan's Principle.

   Since the Act was brought into force on January 2020, ISC has committed approximately $1.6 billion to support:

   • capacity building

   • governance engagement mechanisms

   • coordination agreement discussions

   • the implementation of Indigenous child and family services laws and service models

   This includes:

   • over $180 million for capacity-building purposes to support more than 250 Indigenous communities actively preparing to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services

   • $8.4 million to support more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions on the effective transition and implementation of the Act

   • over $32 million in funding for Indigenous communities to facilitate their participation in coordination agreement discussions with Canada, provinces, and territories

   • close to $1.4 billion to support the implementation of Indigenous laws through 7 agreements

     • this funding is meant to be predictable, stable, sustainable, needs-based, and consistent with the principle of substantive equality

   With the release of Budget 2024, Canada proposes to provide $1.8 billion over 11 years, starting in 2023 to 2024, to support communities in exercising jurisdiction under An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the first Inuit agreement to support community-led, prevention-based solutions to reduce the number of children in care.

   The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the Government of Canada's contribution to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan, will continue to build on the increased support provided by the FNCFS program as the implementation process begins.

   PHAC's total planned operating expenses for CCWIS are approximately $225,000 for the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year.

   
   

Status: Not Completed

Status: Incomplete

"'All medical and nursing schools in Canada are responsible for the response to Call to Action 24."

Not completed

Incomplete

70. We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Association of Archivists to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of archival policies and best practices to:

    1. Determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples' inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools.

    2. Produce a report with recommendations for full implementation of these international mechanisms as a reconciliation framework for Canadian archives.

Status: Completed

Status: Stalled

-Jiho Lee

Status: completed

Status: Incomplete

State:As of May 2025, this call to action is classified as “In Progress.”

Kyungmin lee

The chief coroners and provincial vital statistics agencies are responsible for the response to Call to Action 71.

incomplete

1. Aboriginal languages are a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them.

2. Aboriginal language rights are reinforced by the Treaties.

3. The federal government has a responsibility to provide sufficient funds for Aboriginal-language revitalization and preservation.

4. The preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Aboriginal languages and cultures are best managed by Aboriginal people and communities.

5. Funding for Aboriginal language initiatives must reflect the diversity of Aboriginal languages.