Supreme Court upholds Ottawa's Indigenous child protection act, rejects Quebec appeal – Winnipeg Free Press

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the federal Indigenous Child Welfare Act is constitutional, affirming that First Nations, Métis and Inuit have the sole authority to protect their children.

The unanimous decision is a setback for the Quebec government, which succeeded in 2022 when its Court of Appeal ruled that parts of the act exceeded federal jurisdiction.

Canada's top court on Friday fully upheld Ottawa's 2019 Respect for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children, Youth and Families Act, which reaffirmed Indigenous peoples' inherent right to self-governance, which includes control over child and family services.

In its 110-page judgment, the court wrote: “The act as a whole is constitutionally valid,” adding that it “is squarely within the legislative competence of Parliament.”

The Ottawa Act affirmed the right of Indigenous peoples to govern their own child welfare services, and Indigenous legislation includes sections that have the force of federal law and can supersede provincial laws.

Quebec challenged the act constitutionally in its Court of Appeal, which found the sections invalid. But the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected that decision, adding that the 2019 law does not change Canada's constitutional architecture.

Nothing in the separation of powers between the federal government and the provinces prevents Parliament from affirming that the inherent right of indigenous peoples to self-government includes legislative authority over children and family services, the court said.