Jordan's Principle funding for First Nations children being extended through 2026: Indigenous Services

Joe Bongiorno · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 22, 2025 4:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Ottawa says it volition proceed to money Jordan's Principle to enactment First Nations children done 2026, arsenic immoderate First Nations chiefs decry what they telephone cutbacks successful services.

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu announced the hold successful a property merchandise Saturday, astir 24 hours earlier a national predetermination run is expected to footwear off.

The rule is intended to guarantee that First Nations children tin entree government-funded health, societal oregon acquisition services careless of wherever they unrecorded and without seeing their cases bogged down successful jurisdictional disputes.

No circumstantial spending amounts were provided successful the latest announcement, but Hajdu said the authorities has poured $8.8 cardinal into the rule since it was established successful 2016.

"More than 8.9 cardinal products, services, and supports person been approved since 2016 nether Jordan's Principle," Hajdu said successful her statement.

Jordan's Principle stems from a quality rights ailment filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Family and Caring Society successful 2007, and is named after Jordan River Anderson, a five-year-old lad from Norway House Cree Nation successful bluish Manitoba who died successful 2005 successful the midst of a two-year conflict betwixt the province and Ottawa implicit who would wage for his care.

Backlog of requests

First Nations leaders person complained for months that the national authorities has failed to supply communities with captious backing and resources done Jordan's Principle.

Cindy Blackstock, caput of First Nations Family and Caring Society, launched a non-compliance question against Canada aboriginal past year, and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled successful December Canada needed to code the backlog of requests, on with creating an autarkic complaints mechanism.

Blackstock was not instantly disposable for remark Saturday. However, she has accused the authorities of shirking ineligible obligations and failing to supply grounds of misuse oregon however wide the alleged occupation is.

Blackstock has besides argued that the authorities takes excessively agelong to process requests, leaving children without entree to services, and said the backlog contented is simply a occupation of the government's ain making.

Last week, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs accused the authorities of failing to unrecorded up to its duties by denying requests and cutting backmost connected funds. The chiefs accused the Trudeau authorities of neglect and called connected recently sworn successful Prime Minister Mark Carney to rectify what the chiefs called a breached system.

The federal government confirmed successful December determination were 140,000 backlogged requests crossed Canada, but said the ineligible bid requiring swift enactment connected it would beryllium "challenging" to implement.

The authorities besides argued earlier the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that requests were being made for a swath of non-urgent matters, saying the scope of Jordan's Principle had go excessively wide and contributed to the backlog of requests.

Last month, the national authorities announced it would barroom backing approvals for location renovations, sporting events, planetary travel, and non-medical supports oregon school-related requests unless required to guarantee equality with kids who are not First Nations.

Hajdu said successful her Saturday connection she has asked Indigenous Services Canada to reappraisal the publication agreements of First Nations recipients to marque definite expenses incurred nether the rule successful 2024-25 volition beryllium considered for funding.

"This reappraisal is intended to enactment partners who are providing captious services to First Nations children done the modulation to the caller operating procedures related to processing requests nether Jordan's Principle," she said.