AFN national chief says child welfare funding to top $20B as chiefs raise concerns

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the organization is about to finalize a deal with Ottawa on child welfare reforms that will top the $20 billion promised as part of a landmark settlement. But it likely won’t include reforms to a legal rule intended to ensure First Nations kids get the care they need when they need it with payments to be worked out afterward. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is calling it a “monumental agreement” and said she will continue to work with chiefs before they ratify it later this year. “Time is not our friend — there’s a (federal) election in a year or less,” Woodhouse Nepinak said in an interview Tuesday. “I think the chiefs will be very happy with what I’ve been negotiating alongside…

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