OTTAWA — The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ordered Canada to address a backlog of requests under Jordan's Principle which is meant to ensure First Nations children don't wait to receive assistance because of jurisdictional battles.
The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society raised concerns that Ottawa was taking too long to process requests for financing through Jordan's Principle, leaving children without access to services.
The principle stipulates that when a First Nations child needs health, social or educational services they are to receive them from the government first approached, with questions about final jurisdiction worked out afterward.
It's named after Jordan River Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. Born in 1999 with multiple disabilities, Anderson died at five years old without ever leaving the hospital, because federal and provincial governments couldn’t decide who should pay for his at-home care.
Caring Society executive director Cindy Blackstock told the tribunal the ever-growing Jordan's Principle backlog was of Canada's own making and that some kids are waiting months to receive the care they need.
Urgent Jordan’s Principle requests are supposed to be processed within 24 hours. But urgent requests are taking up to one month to be reviewed, according to Independent First Nations, an advocacy body representing a dozen First Nations in Ontario and Quebec.
Blackstock’s January affidavit 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 delays extend to the reimbursement of service providers, the Caring Society argued, with the Indigenous Services department missing its own promise to make those 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 tribunal wrote in a decision Thursday that Canada admitted to the backlog, but the estimated size of it differs between parties.
"There is a backlog of cases and some of them may very well be urgent and this will be established when Canada reviews the email requests in the backlog," the decision says.
The tribunal ordered Canada to return to it with a detailed plan, timelines and targets to address the backlog before Dec. 10.
Jennifer Kozelj, spokesperson for Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, said in a statement that the department remains focused on ensuring First Nations children can access the services they need, and that they are reviewing the tribunal's decision.
"Since 2016, we have invested nearly $8.1 billion to meet the needs of First Nations children through Jordan's Principle, working collaboratively to develop processes and operations to meet the growing volume of requests," she wrote.
"Additionally, more than 7.8 million products, services and supports were approved under Jordan’s Principle since 2016."
In the decision Thursday, the tribunal also highlighted the need for a "credible and independent national and effective" complaints mechanism for Jordan's Principle.
"The Tribunal agrees it would be best to have broad consultations with First Nations for the creation of a permanent independent Indigenous-led complaints mechanism," the decision says.
Still, the tribunal wrote that interim complaints mechanisms can be implemented before that formal structure is created.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press