Canada’s March 13, 2025 Affidavit in response to Caring Society’s Consultation Motion

I, DUNCAN FARTHING-NICHOL, of the Municipality of Dysart et al, in the Province of Ontario, AFFIRM:
1. I am employed by Indigenous Services Canada (“ISC”) as the Director of the Litigation Management Directorate within the Child and Family Services Reform Sector. I started work in the Litigation Management Directorate in June 2021 and have been in my current role since October 2022. I hold a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of Manitoba.1

2. I am responsible for managing litigation related to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program (“FNCFS Program”) and An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, SC 2019, c. 24. I played a significant role in national negotiations on long-term reform of the FNCFS Program as well as in advancing the Final
Agreement on Long-Term Reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario (“Ontario Final Agreement” or “OFA”) between Chiefs of Ontario (“COO”), Nishnawbe Aski Nation (“NAN”), and Canada (together, the “OFA Parties”).

3. In my capacity as Director, I have personal knowledge of the facts and matters deposed to in this affidavit. Where my information came from someone else, I identify the source of my information and I believe the information to be true. Unless otherwise stated, the financial information provided in this affidavit with respect to fiscal years earlier than 2024-25 is derived from financial data for the FNCFS Program contained in the Public Accounts of Canada. I am authorized to give evidence on behalf of Canada in regard to this joint motion.

4. In this affidavit, I will outline the circumstances leading to the Ontario Final Agreement and describe the primary elements of the Agreement, the methods and basis for the calculation of the various funding streams, and the manner in which the Agreement will be implemented. However, as much of the Reformed Funding Approach was discussed, developed, and decided upon in the context of settlement privileged negotiations, my evidence is necessarily limited by the application of settlement privilege. For clarity, Canada does not waive that privilege. I anticipate additional evidence could be provided pending discussions with the relevant parties on the evidentiary issues respecting this motion. Reform of the FNCFS Program in Ontario as reflected in the Ontario Final Agreement

5. The OFA reflects the OFA Parties’ vision for reform and seeks to chart a new path for the Program. The OFA, together with the reforms implemented since the Agreement-in-Principle (explained further below), represent a monumental shift in the funding and administration of the FNCFS Program.

6. This landmark agreement places the emphasis on prevention services and seeks to advance the holistic well-being of First Nations children and families in Ontario. It includes new funding streams that did not exist in 2016, such as post-majority support services funding and2 capital funding. It provides flexibility for First Nations to choose the service delivery models that work for them. The OFA’s funding approaches are designed to adapt funding to a First Nation’s circumstances, including by adjusting funding yearly to account for changes to inflation and population and accounting for the increased cost of delivering services in remote First Nations.

7. The OFA builds in safeguards that enable First Nations and FNCFS agencies to request additional funding if needed, and a dispute resolution mechanism to address funding disputes in a timely and efficient way. It also provides First Nations with an important oversight role in monitoring the implementation of the OFA and determining the future of the Program.

8. To actualize their vision for reform, the OFA Parties relied on evidence and inputs from many sources. The OFA is informed by research commissioned, led or endorsed by COO, NAN, the Assembly of First Nations (“AFN”), and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (“Caring Society”) as well as by Canada’s own research. It is also informed by new approaches, based on evidence and data, that were developed, discussed, and agreed upon through the considerable efforts of those parties during the significant amount of time spent at the negotiating table. It has also benefitted from ISC’s long experience delivering the FNCFS Program as well as from the qualitative and quantitative information gathered
through the actuals funding processes. All of these elements came together to lead to the reformed Program that is reflected in the OFA.

9. The OFA would bring the FNCFS Program’s funding in Ontario to approximately $913 million in 2026-27. That amount would represent an approximately 633% increase over the Program’s 2015-16 funding in Ontario of $124.5 million. The total cost of the FNCFS Program in Ontario was $132.1 million in 2016-17, $147.3 million in 2017-18, $285.9 million in 2018-19, $302.2 million in 2019-20, $356.2 million in 2020-21, $415.1 million in 2021-22, $644.1 million in 2022-23, and $736.6 million in 2023-24

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