The Jordan's Principle system designed to support Indigenous children has been facing a crisis of backlogged requests.
OTTAWA, Ont.-In recent months, Tribal leaders across Canada have expressed frustrations and concerns over implementation of Jordan's Principle, a nation-wide program created to help Indigenous children.
The Principle stipulates that when a First Nations child needs health, social or educational services, he or she should receive these services from the government first, with questions about final jurisdiction worked out afterward.
The Jordan's Principle was implemented after Parliament passed a motion in 2007. It's named after Jordan River Anderson, a boy with numerous health needs from Norway House Cree Nation, who died in a Winnipeg hospital while the provincial and federal governments argued over who would pay for his at-home care.
Jordan's Principle is designed to help individuals and families, and to also support tribal projects and programs designed to help children. Indigenous Services Canada's website says Ottawa has provided more than 8.2 million products, services and supports under the principle from 2016 to the end of October 2024.
The office of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu previously told The Canadian Press that since 2016, the federal government has allocated nearly $8.1 billion to meet the needs of First Nations children.
However, the efforts don't seem to be enough as demands rise among First Nations needs. And children and families, as well as tribes, are getting caught in the crosshairs.
The Jordan's Principle Handbook says Canada must ensure "a decision on individual requests for supports and services for First Nations children within 12-48 hours of receiving a completed request."
But even urgent requests are taking up to one month or longer to be reviewed, says Independent First Nations, an advocacy body representing a dozen First Nations in Ontario and Quebec.
Various problems have been arising among those who need the program's aid-even situations such as families traveling distances, understanding they will receive help, but finding themselves left on their own to procure shelter and aid. Manitoba leaders illustrate that children who were flown to Winnipeg for health services were forced to find their own accommodations and food after the federal government cut services.
According to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), which represents 63 First Nations, a crisis regarding Jordan's Principle funding has led to "alarming service denials and delays," with a backlog of an estimated 25,000 requests in Manitoba. They note that the delays have led to communities paying out of pocket for health, social or educational services that are supported under the Principle, putting other important programming at risk. They claim the system is unsustainable in the paperwork and approval processes.
Manitoba is ranked third highest in estimated backlogs amongst the provinces, according to Indigenous Services Canada. Saskatchewan is the highest with more than 33,000 claims, followed by Ontario with more than 30,000.
Nationally, the backlog number sits at 140,000 applications, with nearly 26,000 marked as urgent.
In the 2022 federal budget, $750 million was set aside to fund the program until 2028, according to Julien Castonguay, the interim assistant deputy minister at Indigenous Services Canada's (ISC) for Jordan's Principle. He noted that when demands rise, additional funding is requested, but may not be be granted.
Other regional executive officers with ISC express experiencing a lack of communication about annual budgets they have to work with and a lack of clarity in knowing what's eligible in the program and what are gray areas.
The national ISC office is also reportedly more carefully scrutinizing cases to determine what qualifies as a Jordan's Principle case. For instance, recently, case workers in some communities learned that the national office would now need to review requests for a parent or guardian to travel with sick children.
Examples of tribal project snafus include one Raymond Brown, chief of the Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, revealed to APTN News. The band fronted more than $1 million to construct a Jordan's Principle service building where children can get care, and has been trying to meet with ISC officials to discuss reimbursement for six months.
Fifty-two First Nations are in the queue to get a Jordan's Principle service building.
The Manitoba First Nations Interlake Reserves Tribal Council also paid more than $1 million in funding out of pocket for Jordan's Principle requests.
The 11 First Nations of the Keewatin Tribal Council in northern Manitoba told CBC News that they are at a standstill on projects because money has had to be allocated to cover the costs of service requests. They previously paid $7 million for Jordan's Principle requests before the federal government reimbursed them. And now Jordan's Principle owes them millions more-and are learning they may receive no funding until a new fiscal year.
Other First Nations who have invested in services underneath the wings of Jordan's Principle are concerned that federal money set aside will run out, leaving them without help paying bills, needing to run in the deficit and needing to cut services.
"Every one of the First Nations will be declaring a state of emergency regarding Jordan's Principle" Chief David Monias of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake), who was recently appointed to the National Children's Chief's Commission, told APTN News.
One Jordan's Principle case worker said the ISC advised her regarding Jordan's Principle "to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best, that significant cutbacks were going to happen and to expect layoffs."
The situation has been festering for some time. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society raised concerns earlier in 2024 that Ottawa was taking too long to process requests for financing through Jordan's Principle.
The organization filed 1,000 pages of evidence to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal supporting a non-compliance motion against the federal government for failing on its promise of timely access to health care for First Nations children.
The Caring Society learned about thousands of unopened email requests, and says the ISC is not providing timeframes for determination and payment, leaving families seeking alternative solutions at their own costs.
In a January affidavit, the society said nearly half of requests made by individuals from those First Nations in 2023-24 are still in review, along with 10 per cent of the files submitted in 2022-23. The society also noted that although the Indigenous Services promised to make payments within 15 days, in 2022-23, the department processed only 50.7 per cent of payments within 15 business days, compared to 82.9 per cent in 2021-22.
The Caring Society notes that the ISC's 24-hour phone often goes unanswered, with long delays in callbacks, and they say they've also witnessed Jordan's Principle "plugging holes" in other under-funded programs, such as education and transportation.
A resolution passed at the AFN gathering in early December tasked the National Children's Chief's commission with negotiating a settlement agreement for children in care, including a long-term plan to reform Jordan's Principle.
This is not the first time the program has shown challenges. In October 2023, the federal court approved a $23.34 billion Final Settlement Agreement (FSA) on compensation for First Nations children and families who experienced discrimination because of flawed and inequitable provision of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS), and the improper implementation of Jordan's Principle.
This stemmed from several Canadian Human Rights Tribunal rulings, including one in 2016, which ordered the federal government "to cease applying its narrow definition of Jordan's Principle and to take measures to immediately implement its full meaning and scope."
In an attempt to address these challenges, the Caring Society, the Assembly of First Nations, and Canada (the Parties involved in the Class Action FSA on Compensation) agreed on a "back-to-basics" approach to Jordan's Principle in early 2022, which was to include lighter documentation requirements for urgent requests and a presumption that parents or guardians were acting in a child's best interest with requests. However, The Caring Society says they're still not seeing improvement from ISC.
In the fall of 2024, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to identify the number of backlogged cases under that rule and return to it with a detailed plan to address them by Dec. 10.
Canada told the tribunal the proposed timeline to address the backlog of 140,000 cases was "not operationally feasible" and could further hinder services to First Nations children and families. Canada has told the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal it can't say when it will work through the backlog.
The Assembly of First Nations asked for a delay in the proceedings until April,
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is expected to hear the case in April or May.
Note: The staff at Indian Life Ministries would like to encourage our readers to pray for the individuals, tribes, and government entities involved in this ongoing Indigenous childcare challenge.
