44th Annual Osler Lectureship
Virtual lecture
Watch Live on Youtube
Cindy Blackstock, PhD (Social Work)
Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Cindy is honoured to serve as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at 91社区鈥檚 School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children鈥檚 rights and has published more than 75 articles on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare and human rights. Cindy was honoured to work with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada鈥檚 inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan鈥檚 Principle. This hard-fought litigation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth and families.
She recently served on the Pan American Health Commission on Health Equity and Inequity and fundamentally believes that culturally-based equity is fundamental to meaningful reconciliation. Cindy is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society鈥檚 reconciliation Am-bear-rister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action.
Equity + Culture = Healthy Kids
Equity means access to the same opportunities as others in areas such as education, healthcare, and other vital public services. As more First Nations move towards self-determination, how will they ensure equity for their members? It is inherently tied to self-determination, especially as First Nations continue to move forward despite past and present systemic racism in Canada.
