CFS settlement approved for former kids in care in Manitoba [Video]

WINNIPEG –

A judge has approved a settlement for three class-action lawsuits, worth $530 million, over federal child benefit payments that were clawed back by the Manitoba government.

The agreement will compensate an estimated 30,000 children who spent time in child welfare, some of whom have since become adults, for money the province took over a 14-year period.

“It means that each child will receive 100 per cent of their entitlement that was wrongfully withheld from them, plus interest and additional damages,” Grand Chief Garrison Settee of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 northern First Nation communities, said in a press release Friday. Roughly 90 per cent of kids in care in Manitoba are Indigenous.

“This settlement will give those who experienced child welfare an equal opportunity to chase their dreams and future ambitions,” said Mary Derendorf, a plaintiff in the case.

The dispute dates back to 2005, when the NDP government …