agency is entitled to a notice for all 
protection hearings involving their 
children and are deemed a party to 
said hearings. Bill C-92 provides the 
right to make representations in child 
protection hearings. It is important that 
the Chief and council provide a clear 
Band Council Resolution identifying 
their designated representative and 
informing all child welfare services 
as well as the courts. If a First Nation 
requires assistance, please reach out to 
the FSIN CWSD section. 
A five-year review of the Act was 
supposed to be done in 2025. ISC is 
supposedly commencing engagements 
by reaching out to various regions and 
with the Nations that are already in the 
process this year. FSIN has not been 
asked to date. HSDS executive director 
reached out to ISC on Jan. 15, 2026, 
with no reply to date. In Saskatchewan, 
the minimum national standards 
under Bill C-92 are still falling short 
for our most vulnerable children and 
families. There are also jurisdictional 
issues when it comes to implementing 
the Act by respecting the jurisdiction 
of Nations in other provinces or in 
other countries.
To improve outcomes for First Nations 
children and families in Saskatchewan, 
the Memorandum of Understanding 
between FSIN and the University of 
Saskatchewan’s College of Law was 
extended for another three years, effec-
tive February 2026.
The Indigenous Child Protection 
Practicum is a law course offered by 
the university that has law students 
spend their class time at FSIN, where 
they work on projects that address 
specific research gaps identified by 
First Nations. In 2024/2025, we had a 
total of 10 students. There are currently 
seven students for the 2026 winter 
term. We had two summer research 
students in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
There will be two summer students 
for 2026. 
We have hosted over 100 professionals 
at the Indigenous Law Centre to 
date – including agency directors, 
First Nations representatives, lawyers, 
the Health Authority and maternal 
health professionals – to highlight and 
celebrate our research partnership 
and to share resources to help build 
CHILD WELFARE
PRE-INSULATED PIPING SYSTEMS  
for potable water delivery, heating and cooling.
SYSTÈMES DE TUYAUTERIE PRÉ-ISOLÉE  
distribution d’eau potable, chauffage et refroidissement.
ecoflex@isonor.ca  |  www.isonor.ca  |  1-866-770-7071
Canadian Distributor of                         Pre-Insulated Piping Systems
capacity (2024, 2025). We have also 
hosted presentations to First Nations 
representatives (2024, 2025); Yellow 
Thunderbird Lodge (Saskatchewan) 
at their prevention conference (April 
2025); a plenary session at Canadian 
Association of Law Teachers confer-
ence (June 2025); an FNCFS agency 
(July 2025); the second annual Loving 
Justice Conference (September 
2025); the Legal Aid Saskatchewan 
conference (October 2025); and the 
Our Children Our Way Conference 
(November 2025).
FSIN and the College of Law have 
created an Advanced Child Protection 
Externship, which places one student 
per term who has completed the First 
Nations Child Protection Practicum at 
the Legal Aid office in Saskatoon, where 
they work directly on child protection 
matters within a supervised, practical 
setting. This externship aims to build legal 
capacity aligned with the implementation 
of Bill C-92 standards, supporting both 
First Nations and students in this field of 
law. There was one student in 2025 and 
currently one student enrolled for the 
2026 winter term.
 The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations   13

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