Indigenous mom’s discrimination payout hangs in the balance at B.C. Supreme Court

By Brielle Morgan  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Content warning: This story deals with child apprehension and discrimination against an Indigenous mother. Please look after your spirit and read with care. An Afro-Indigenous mother sat quietly in a “Vancouver” courtroom last week as 14 lawyers argued about whether a tribunal decision that found social workers discriminated against her should be upheld. About this same time last year, “Justine” was celebrating a landmark B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling, which ordered the agency that took her daughters and put them in “care” to pay her $150,000 “as compensation for injury to her dignity, feelings, and self-respect.” Now, the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS) is asking B.C. Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Gomery to toss that decision out. The tribunal’s decision “jeopardizes the safety…

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.
Register
Already a member? Log in here

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.