AFN says it secured extra $3 billion from Ottawa for child-welfare compensation

OTTAWA — The Assembly of First Nations says it has secured an extra $3 billion from the federal government in a historic child-welfare compensation case. 

The assembly, along with the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, announced the money today as part of a revised compensation package now totalling $23 billion, which it plans to present to chiefs gathered this week in Ottawa. 

Last year the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal rejected the $20-billion compensation package the government had negotiated with the parties, which threw the settlement into question. 

The tribunal had expressed concerns about whether all children would received the $40,000 it says they are owed and noted worries about the timelines for claimants to opt out.