FSIN Vice-Chief Bob Merasty. Photo courtesy FSIN
FSIN wants to put politics aside in a battle between Social Services and the Saskatoon Tribal Council.
Social Services is trying to take control of the on-reserve child welfare cases, with STC saying 67 children are currently in their care. Earlier this week, Minister Donna Harpauer said they’ve reached an “impasse” on STC’s failure to properly report on those cases.
When it comes to Child and Family Services on the seven reserves Saskatoon Tribal Council serves, FSIN Second Vice-Chief Bob Merasty said only one thing matters.
“The best interest of the children is the important thing at this point,” he said.
This battle between the two agencies has been brewing a long time, Merasty said.
He cited concerns that until a resolution is found “that something disastrous might happen to these children, and we don’t want that.”
Merasty is critical of how Social Services has approached this issue.
“You’ve heard provincial governments saying ‘this isn’t about politics.’ Well I don’t think that’s accurate,” he said. “If it wasn’t about politics they would come and sit down and talk about resolving this. Saskatoon Tribal Council and the FSIN want nothing more than to sit down with the province and resolve this issue.”
Merasty said what’s most pressing right now is coming up with an interim plan to keep children with their communities.
“We understand it’s in issue of a legal battle around jurisdiction and – I’ll say it – it’s a legal battering around financial resources. So you know, let’s put that aside and let’s talk about how we look after these kids and how … we build capacity to address the interest of these kids and family units.”
Merasty echoes what FSIN’s been saying for some time – that the federal government is changing its approach to First Nations. He said he wants to see the province do the same.
More specifically, he points out that the feds are building up capacity for First Nations to take a community-based approach with their own challenges, like mental health issues.