Cowichan Tribes Takes Control of Family and Children’s Services for its Members

Photo by Jenna Christina on Unsplash

In November 2023, Cowichan Tribes, the largest First Nation in B.C., voted to take authority over child and family services for its members.

A vote taken by the Cowichan Tribes in November 2023 indicated that 83% of the 416 voters who cast ballots were in favour of the new law prioritizing supports to keep children with their families or place them with relatives or in other Indigenous homes. The Cowichan Tribes, based on Vancouver Island, has about 5, 300 members.

A CBC article spoke with Robert Morales, who helped develop the new law, sees the new law as representing “a significant step in the self-determination of the Cowichan people” and indicated that the negotiations were expected to be completed in January, with the Cowichan Tribes hoping to take over administration of their own child welfare system by April 2024. He noted that, for now, the new law will apply to members of the Cowichan Tribes living anywhere on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, with about 100 children who are members of the Cowichan Tribes currently covered under provincial child services laws.

While the federal legislation does not set geographic boundaries, the federal government have indicated that each nation would need to negotiate a co-ordination agreement with the relevant province in order to have jurisdiction. In November, 2022, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize the right of Indigenous communities to legally create and control their own child and family services, following the passage of the Indigenous Self-Government in Child and Family Services Amendment Act.