Manitoba government apologizes as part of $530M child welfare lawsuit settlement

The Manitoba government has apologized successful the legislature for clawing backmost national payment payments to kids successful the kid payment system.

The apology is portion of a colony of a class-action lawsuit, approved by a justice past month, that volition spot the state wage retired $530 million.

The statement volition compensate astir 30,000 children who spent clip successful kid welfare, immoderate of whom person since go adults, for wealth the state took betwixt 2005 and 2019.

The state clawed backmost a monthly national payment called the Children’s Special Allowance.

It goes to agencies that attraction for children and mirrors the monthly Canada Child Benefit cheques fixed to parents raising children crossed the country.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine says the state is atrocious for having withheld the money.

“This was not conscionable a fiscal mistake. It was a profound injustice leaving immoderate of our astir susceptible children without the supports they needed and rightfully deserved,” Fontaine said Tuesday.

“These funds should person nourished your dreams (and) helped you learn, turn and flourish.”

The quality dates backmost to 2005, erstwhile the NDP authorities of the time started the clawback and said it was warranted.

In 2019, the Progressive Conservative authorities stopped the signifier but besides tried to prohibition immoderate lawsuits implicit the clawback successful a measure that was aboriginal struck down.

The plaintiffs said the wealth was expected to wage for recreation programs, taste activities, hockey and a big of different items not covered by basal kid payment funding.

More than 80 per cent of kids successful kid payment in Manitoba are Indigenous.

The state and lawyers for the pb plaintiffs aboriginal negotiated. They reached the colony successful March, respective months aft the NDP was backmost successful office.

Kris Saxberg, 1 of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, has said assertion forms are to commencement being processed successful January.