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A federal judge in Canada has approved the country's largest-ever compensation of indigenous families who suffered racial discrimination at the hands of the child welfare system.

More than 300,000 children and their families will receive a settlement of nearly US$17 billion, with a further US$15 billion pledged to reforming the system itself.

It follows a human-rights tribunal ruling in 2019 that found the Canadian government had systematically underfunded services provided to First Nations children, compared to those for non-indigenous children.

Cindy Blackstock is the First Nations children's advocate who started the battle for federal compensation in 2007. She told Newsday: 鈥淚n general, most of the victims will get about 拢40,000. It will probably be the late summer or early fall of 2024 before the compensation begins to be rolled out. There will be upward adjustments for the children who suffered the most, so children who maybe were removed from their families at a young age.鈥�

(Picture: Shows a student walking past a National Day For Truth And Reconciliation display at a school in Canada. Credit: Blair Gable / Reuters.)

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