(Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick)
Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
NDP MP Charlie Angus said Thursday he believes Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick is running interference on Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett’s attempts to end discrimination against First Nation children and comply with a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling.
Angus made the statement during a debate in the House of Commons on an NDP motion to force the Liberal government to comply with the human fights tribunal which ordered Ottawa to immediately end its discrimination against First Nation children by increasing funding for on-reserve child welfare services and reform the system.
“I know the Indigenous Affairs Minister wants to support this motion,” said Angus. “But I know the prime minister gets his advice from Michael Wernick, the man who fought Cindy Blackstock tooth and nail for nine years.”
Wernick, who was named Clerk of the Privy Council by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was deputy minister for the now-named Indigenous Affairs department from 2006 to 2014.
Blackstock, who is head of the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society, launched a human rights complaint, with the support of the Assembly of First Nations, in 2007 against Ottawa over the systemic discrimination of First Nations children through the underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services.
Blackstock faced documented retaliation from the federal Indigenous affairs department and government officials also spied on her.
Wernick oversaw an internal investigation that absolved the department of spying on Blackstock before the Privacy Commissioner’s office substantiated her claim.
When Wernick was deputy minister, the department fought to have the human rights complaint thrown out and took the issue to the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, losing at both levels.
Indigenous Affairs was also caught sitting on about 100,000 documents it failed to disclose as part of the human rights case.
The Privy Council did not respond to a request for comment on Angus’ accusation as of this article’s posting.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment
Bennett’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Angus’ specific charge.
Since the human rights tribunal’s ruling in January the federal government has been hit with two compliance orders from the quasi-judicial body over the slow pace of the required change.
Bennett did not respond to Angus’ Wernick-meddling claim during the House of Commons debate, but she defended her government’s actions and its plan to execute a complete overhaul of the on-reserve child welfare system.
“I’ve been mandated by the prime minister to make real change, including on child welfare….We plan to keep our promise, first and foremost on the health and protection of Indigenous children,” said Bennett. “The fact there are more children in care than at the height of residential schools is heartbreaking.”
The NDP motion calls for the Liberal government to immediately invest an additional $155 million for on-reserve child welfare services, implement the full definition of Jordan’s Principle, comply fully with the human rights tribunal’s order, stop fighting Indigenous families in court over payment for health services and releasing all documents related to the overhaul of Jordan’s Principle.
Jordan’s Principle deals jurisdictional disputes between Ottawa and the provinces over who pays for health services for Indigenous children. Under Jordan’s Principle, Ottawa would agree to settle the jurisdictional issues after the health care needs are met. The tribunal ordered Ottawa to fully implement Jordan’s Principle to cover all health issues. At the moment, Ottawa is applying a definition that covers children with disability, which has impacted 900 First Nation children to date, according to Health Canada officials.
In an interview with reporters before the motion debate, Bennett said was examining whether the Liberal government could support the motion. The minister questioned the source of the $155 million.
Angus said during the debate the dollar figure comes from Blackstock and that it had been submitted with the tribunal.
@JorgeBarrera
