Lac Seul Exploring Its Own Child Welfare Law

Lac Seul First Nation is holding a series of engagement sessions for on-reserve and off-reserve band members regarding the creation of a Child Welfare Law for the community.

With the passing of Bill C-92 in 2020, it recognized the inherent right of First Nations people to control our own child and family services.

This means that Lac Seul can create its own custom child welfare laws that reflect our practices of caring for children and supporting families and youth.

The upcoming engagement sessions is an opportunity to provide your voice, thoughts, and beliefs in how this system will be built for our community.

“It is the goal of Chief and Council to support a child and family law that is community driven and rooted in our language and culture. We believe that the band members have the potential to fulfill the mandate of the new law and we will be looking to our people to take on the necessary roles to ensure that our children and families are cared for in the best way, and according to who we are,” Lac Seul First Nation Chief and Council said in a previous statement about initiative.

The Bill C-92 team will be holding sessions on the following dates:

• February 6 – Thunder Bay
• February 9 – Sioux Lookout
• March 20 – Whitefish Bay
• March 21 – Kejick Bay
• March 22 – Frenchman’s Head
• April 3 – Red Lake
• April 5 – Winnipeg

All Lac Seul members are invited. Dinner and prizes will be available. An update on the Flood Claim Settlement will also be shared during these sessions.

Join the Lac Seul First Nation group on Facebook to keep up to date on the sessions in your community.

For those unable to attend in person, you may share your thoughts and views through an online survey: https://forms.office.com/r/VKnVaPbYbR