By Canadian Press

Indigenous group files legal challenge over ‘inadequate’ COVID-19 funding

May 13, 2020 | 8:59 AM

OTTAWA — An national Indigenous organization that represents First Nations, Inuit and Metis living off-reserve and in urban centres is taking the federal government to court over what it alleges is “inadequate and discriminatory funding” for the COVID-19 response.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has filed an application in the Federal Court of Canada, challenging the funding allocation of $250,000 it received as part of a COVID-19 fund earmarked for off-reserve Indigenous peoples.

The national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Robert Bertrand, says the funding allocation contravenes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The federal government pledged $305 million to help First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, with $15 million of this money set aside for organizations providing services to those living off reserves or in urban centres.

Earlier this month, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller acknowledged the $15 million was not enough, as his department received far more applications to this fund than the 94 proposals that have been approved.

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Bertrand says the lack of more funding has made it impossible for his organization to provide meaningful relief to the thousands of off-reserve Indigenous peoples it actively supports.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2020

The Canadian Press