UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Restrictions on Party Status in Interpretations of An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit And Métis Children, Youth And Families

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.60082/0829-3929.1515

Authors

Jamesy Patrick · Alana Cattapan · Brenda Yuen

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.743721+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:04:47.743721+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

University of Saskatchewan · University of Waterloo

Reported affiliation countries

CA

Documentary abstract — original language

An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families came into force in January 2020 with the stated objectives of affirming Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services, reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in state care, and advancing Canada’s commitments under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Central to achieving these objectives are the Act’s National Standards, which are intended to ensure Indigenous communities are meaningfully included in decision-making processes. While these standards were upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2024 as constitutional, emerging jurisprudence reveals significant shortcomings in the implementation of these standards. This article examines a growing line of cases in which courts have narrowly interpreted Indigenous governing bodies’ statutory right to “make representations,” frequently denying party status and restricting the scope of participation even where Indigenous communities have expressly sought to engage. The article argues that such interpretations undermine the Act’s objectives by excluding community-based evidence. These judicial approaches risk entrenching procedural barriers that perpetuate substantive inequality. The article contends that requiring Indigenous governing bodies to navigate complex provincial rules of court to secure meaningful participation is inconsistent with the Act’s purpose and design.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7204939168

DOI

10.60082/0829-3929.1515

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.60082/0829-3929.1515
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7204939168

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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