A draft of the federal Liberal government's proposed Indigenous child welfare bill recently received negative reviews from First Nations representatives involved in co-development talks with Ottawa, according to a grand chief.

Ottawa announced last November it would table the bill that would break from more than 100 years of destructive federal policies aimed at Indigenous children that began with residential schools and led to tens of thousands of Indigenous children in care today.

The promised legislation is an outgrowth of the 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that found Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding child welfare services on reserve.

Cindy Blackstock, who heads the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and led the human rights complaint, has been in the loop on the draft legislation as a result of the tribunal ruling.

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Blackstock said legislation must include an equitable and statutory funding base, affirm First Nations jurisdiction, focus on structural flaws that put children at risk, family and community health and acknowledge the "sacredness of children."

"Absent these critical ingredients, the law risks being a paper tiger and a disappointment to another generation of children," said Blackstock in an emailed statement.

Federal officials presented the draft version of the bill late last month to First Nations representatives from an Assembly of First Nations working group created to lead co-development work.

Concerns over funding and jurisdiction

"There were some good things and some things we had concerns about," said Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) Grand Chief Joel Abram, the Ontario First Nations political representative on the working group.

Abram said his organization would oppose the proposed legislation if problems aren't fixed in the final product.

AIAI previously opposed the now-shelved Indigenous rights and recognition framework which aimed to enshrine the Constitution's section 35 Aboriginal rights in federal legislation on grounds it threatened First Nations rights.

"We were one of the main opponents pushing against the framework and if this bill isn't right, we will do the same thing," said Abram, who saw the draft but couldn't discuss details due to a confidentiality undertaking.

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