Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Approves the Ontario Final Agreement

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 

On March 30, 2026, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) released its summary decision approving the Final Agreement on Long‑Term Reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario (the Ontario Final Agreement, or the “OFA”).  

The OFA is a negotiated agreement between Chiefs of Ontario (“COO”), Nishnawbe Aski Nation (“NAN”), and Canada to implement extensive, systemic reforms to the First Nations Child and Family Services (“FNCFS”) Program in Ontario. The OFA is the product of nearly a decade of negotiations and consultations following the Tribunal’s 2016 Merit Decision, which found that Canada’s FNCFS Program discriminated against First Nation children and families and ordered long-term reform to end and prevent that discrimination. The OFA represents the first completed regional agreement on long-term reform of the FNCFS Program.  

The Tribunal’s decision confirms that the OFA is sufficient to achieve the objectives of its previous orders, and to address, eliminate, and prevent the recurrence of systemic discrimination in the FNCFS Program in Ontario. This decision marks a significant milestone in the ongoing First Nations Child and Family Caring Society et al. v. Attorney General of Canada proceedings, and a historic moment for First Nations in Ontario and their children and families. 

Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP (“OKT”) is proud to have represented COO in the successful negotiation and approval of the OFA. COO was supported in this important work by OKT lawyers Maggie Wente (partner), Jessie Stirling-Voss, Sinéad Dearman, Ashley Ash, Katelyn Johnstone, and Jenna Rogers.  

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to COO and NAN in this historic moment and commend them for their tireless advocacy and dedication in developing meaningful and lasting reform of the FNCFS Program in Ontario.  

The OFA and the Tribunal’s Summary Decision

One of the most serious harms the Tribunal ordered Canada to rectify was the mass removal of First Nations children from their families and communities, which it found perpetuated the harms of the Indian Residential School System and Sixties Scoop. The Tribunal found that “Canada is making a giant step to reverse that terrible legacy with the OFA and it does so in partnership with the First Nations in Ontario.”  

The Tribunal made several key findings with respect to the OFA, including: 

1. Self-Determination is a Fundamental Human Right 

   In its decision, the Tribunal reaffirmed that self‑determination is a fundamental human right and found that children’s fundamental right to grow up within their families and communities is best protected when First Nations make decisions for their own children. 

   Under the OFA, First Nations decide how to allocate funding across key child and family services in their own communities – including prevention. The Tribunal stated that the OFA is an exercise of and upholds First Nations’ right to self-determination by “empowering communities to shape their own child and family services, including deciding who will deliver key services, particularly in the area of prevention, based on their own priorities and choices.”  

2. OFA Delivers on Substantive Equality  

   The Tribunal emphasized that “at the heart of this entire case is the principle of substantive equality.” The Tribunal found that the OFA delivers on substantive equality by responding to actual needs, recognizing remoteness and regional realities, and shifting decision‑making authority to First Nations. Substantive equality ensures that the real and specific needs of First Nations children and families are accounted for and take into account their historical disadvantages, intergenerational traumas, barriers, unique circumstances, etc. 

3. Canada’s Human Rights Obligations Remain 

   The Tribunal reaffirmed that Canada cannot contract out of its human rights obligations, and that its order against Canada to cease the systemic discrimination found is permanent. The Tribunal made clear that increased First Nations control under the OFA does not lessen Canada’s legal obligations. Canada remains fully responsible for complying with the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Tribunal also held that its previous decisions should remain foundational in interpreting and applying the OFA. 

4. New Tools and Safeguards in Line with Reform 

   The OFA introduces the Remoteness Quotient, a NAN-led funding adjustment developed through the NAN-Canada Remoteness Quotient Table to better reflect the true costs of delivering FNCFS Services in remote and northern communities. The Tribunal recognized it as “an important, ground‑breaking, innovative and valuable tool” representing a shift towards needs-based funding. 

   The OFA also introduces built-in safeguards including mid- and end-term Program Assessments and a commitment to co-develop a successor program following the OFA’s expiry. The Tribunal found that these safeguards are “entirely in line with the Tribunal’s views on reform”.  

Next Steps 

The Tribunal’s approval of the OFA represents a significant step toward substantive equality in First Nations child and family services in Ontario. Provided no appeal is filed, the OFA will take effect 60 days from the date of approval and will apply province-wide, except to Taykwa Tagamou Nation (“TTN”) and Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation (“GIFN”), who were granted exemptions from the Tribunal. The exemptions were granted because TTN and the GIFN intervened in the OFA approval motion in opposition, and the Tribunal found that their distinct circumstances warranted an exemption and ordered Canada to consult with them on a path forward. 

Once in effect, COO, NAN, and Canada will engage in the important work of implementing the OFA, and work together to ensure that the promises and principles of the OFA are upheld and inform a new era of the FNCFS Program in Ontario for generations to come.  

Click here to read the press release issued by COO and NAN.  

To learn more about the OFA, visit: https://fncfsreform.ca.  

Related Blog Posts 

Ontario Chiefs Ratify $8.5 Billion Agreement to Reform First Nations Child and Family Services in Ontario – OKT | Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP 

Historic $47.8 Billion Agreement Will Transform First Nations Child and Family Services – OKT | Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP