Chiefs say Ottawa owes First Nations millions of dollars in compensation for Jordan’s Principle

Chiefs from Manitoba and Caring Society executive director Cindy Blackstock at a news conference in Ottawa Thursday. Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN.

APTN News: Howard Burston, executive director at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs was baffled by an email he just received just after speaking at a news conference denouncing Canada for failing to properly fund the Jordan’s Principle program.

The email was from the Jordan’s Principle Manitoba Region Contributions team, run by the First Nations Inuit Health Branch and Indigenous Services Canada.

It reads in part “Funding under Jordan’s Principle should be utilized specifically to support the direct needs of a child. Any use of funding outside this scope does not align with the criteria outlined under Jordan’s Principle,” it said.

Burston doesn’t know why he received the email.

There is no contact name on the email sent to Burston, only a general number and a link to the email to Jordan’s Principle Contribution Agreement Inbox. He says he can’t reach anyone to discuss what is eligible, guidelines or parameters around supporting families.

Burston is not alone in his concerns.

The news conference, ironically, was about how First Nations across Canada have accumulated millions of dollars of debt because governments are offloading bills for children’s health and care services to First Nations, and “not picking up the phone” when First Nations try to get reimbursed.

Keewatin Tribal Council member Grand Chief Walter Wastesicoot said KTC ran up $7 to 8 million in debt before the government finally reimbursed them. He said a letter dated Dec. 4, confirmed that Canada also has a total backlog of 131,000 claims across the country.

Burston said communities in Manitoba “still haven’t received any additional funding.”

“The current issue that we do have right now is that many First Nations and organizations, such as the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs’ Jordan’s Principal Service Delivery Unit, are in deficit because they’ve been told to spend, spend, spend,” he said.

But, Burston said, they have not been reimbursed as promised, and that has led to the shut down of First Nations services.

“So we have had a rise of about 100, clients, families per week, that are new to us that are coming in saying our Jordan’s principal office for this First Nation has closed down. Can we get services from here? …but we, at the same time, don’t have that ability to manage this level of debt load,” he said.

Jordan’s Principle is a policy that aims to ensure First Nations children can have access to the health services, products, and supports they need.

It is named after Jordan River Anderson, a child who suffered from a rare muscle disorder known as Carey-Fineman-Ziter syndrome, who died in 2005. He had spent all five years of his young life in hospital as governments squabble over which jurisdiction would pay for his care if he returned home.

Parliament passed the motion 17 years ago affirming Jordan’s principle, but leaders at the news conference said it has repetitively failed to uphold its full meaning and intent, and have not adequately financed the programs.

“Canada has failed to properly budgeted or funded Jordan’s Principle. First Nations are trying to meet their needs, they are currently running deficits. Indigenous Services is not responding to their requests, sending them to Ottawa. And Ottawa staff are not answering their emails or calls,” said Acting Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nation Child and Caring Society, who hauled the government before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal many times for discriminating against First Nations children said, “Canada has behaved its way into a crisis.”

“It was in documents. It was in graphs. The Canadian government knew that was coming,” said Blackstock. “We at the Caring Society, for our small part, put forward numerous solutions on how they could improve their systems so that they could manage that volume.”

“Any attempt to impose inadequate funding, watered down services, or flawed dispute resolution mechanisms undermines not only the principle itself, but the dignity and futures of our children.”

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias added, “We cannot, and still will not, allow that to happen under our leadership.”

“The spirit of Jordan’s Principle is rooted in equity, dignity, and justice for our children. It is a call to action for Canada to uphold its legal and moral obligations in response to Indigenous peoples.

“Our children deserve the same quality of care and opportunities as afforded to any other child in this country.”