First Nations chiefs have voted to reject a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal, reached in July with the Canadian government.

At a special chiefs assembly in Calgary hosted by the Assembly of First Nations, 267 out of 414 chiefs voted against a resolution in support of the deal after a lengthy debate that at points was emotionally charged as they argued either for or against it.

Resolutions remain on the agenda for the final day of the gathering on Friday, including for chiefs to be given another 90 days to review the deal, bringing another vote in January.

The deal was struck between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory.

It tasked Canada with coming to an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, and also with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in foster care.

Chiefs and service providers critiqued the deal for months, saying it didnSA国际影视传媒檛 go far enough to ensure the discrimination stops, and have blasted the federal government for what they say is its failure to consult with First Nations in negotiations.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, which helped bring forward the initial human rights complaint, said before the vote that chiefs can do better than the deal thatSA国际影视传媒檚 been reached, and that she cannot endorse it.

SA国际影视传媒淚 want to see a day when we get the discrimination stopped and it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 happen again SA国际影视传媒� and we can get there,SA国际影视传媒� Blackstock said.

SA国际影视传媒淣ot in a long time we got all the tools to be able to get there.SA国际影视传媒�

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations stressed on Wednesday and Thursday that wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 the case, saying a change in government could throw the reforms into question, while Blackstock highlighted the reforms are required by a legal order, not political will.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e lived through the Harper years, and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal survived through the Harper years,SA国际影视传媒� she said, referencing former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

SA国际影视传媒淓verything is on the table.SA国际影视传媒�

In another address, Blackstock blasted the federal government for what she called a breach in its duty to consult with First Nations during negotiations, and after the deal was made public.

SA国际影视传媒淲here is Canada?SA国际影视传媒� she asked.

In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for the minister of Indigenous services said the department wonSA国际影视传媒檛 tell First Nations organizations how to engage their own members.

The Assembly of First Nations is not a rights-holding organization, but rather a forum where 630 rights-holding chiefs across Canada can advocate for their concerns.

The federal government has a duty to consult with First Nations when its actions could affect their rights.

Carolyn Buffalo, a mother from Montana First Nation in Maskwacis, Alta., was one representative plaintiff in the class action for JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle families.

JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle is a legal rule named after Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child born in 1999 with multiple health issues that kept him in hospital from birth. He didnSA国际影视传媒檛 leave the hospital until he died at the age of five, and governments couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 agree on who should pay for his home-based care.

BuffaloSA国际影视传媒檚 son, Noah, has cerebral palsy and requires continuous care. But Ottawa has been making that care difficult for him to access on reserve.

Speaking through tears at the assembly earlier Thursday, Buffalo said she thought chiefs would vote down the deal she and others have worked on for years. She said kids would be left without protection if the deal was rejected.

SA国际影视传媒淚 didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even want to come to this assembly because I knew that politically it was going to be tough,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淒o I trust the AFN? No. Do I trust the Liberal government? No, but I am a supporter of this legal process. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 why we agreed to join and be part of it. If I thought for one second that this was going to be harmful to our people, I wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be part of this SA国际影视传媒� go ahead, scuttle the agreement. But if the deal is lost, just remember what I said.SA国际影视传媒�

Another representative plaintiff, Ashley Bach, was removed from her community as a child. She urged chiefs to remember that many children in care are watching the assembly, even though the topic is traumatizing for them and some conversations have been hostile.

SA国际影视传媒淭his is a once-in-a-childhood agreement, because if we take too long weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to lose another generation,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淚f we wait years and years for a perfect agreement, they wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be kids anymore. TheySA国际影视传媒檒l be like me.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒擝y Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press