Jordan's Principle backlog leaves Interlake First Nations short $1M, affecting 900 families: tribal council
Human Rights Tribunal ruled last month federal government must immediately deal with a backlog of claims
First Nations leaders in Manitoba's Interlake are pressing the federal government to address funding shortfalls due to a backlog in processing requests through Jordan's Principle in their communities — funding requests intended to ensure First Nations kids get timely health-care services.
"You created a program for our people to fail, and then failure is exactly what's happening here today," Lake Manitoba First Nation Chief Cornell McLean said at a Friday news conference hosted by the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council.
"A lot of us depended on those dollars to take care of our members, with the promise of being reimbursed for whatever … we spend, dollar for dollar."
Ottawa launched the Jordan's Principle program in 2016, named after Jordan River Anderson, a five-year-old Norway House Cree Nation boy who died in 2005 in the midst of a two-year battle between Manitoba and Ottawa over who would pay for his care. It's intended to compensate qualifying families for their children's health and therapeutic services.
The principle stipulates that when a First Nations child needs health, social or educational services, they are to receive those services, with any questions about which level of government pays for it worked out later.
But the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council said federal backlogs related to requests for Jordan's Principle funding are affecting roughly 900 families in the seven Manitoba Interlake communities represented by the council, and the government owes more than $1 million to the communities.
The backlog extends beyond Manitoba. In November, in response to a motion from Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled the federal government needed to immediately deal with a backlog of claims under Jordan's Principle.
It gave the federal government until Dec. 10 to report back with a detailed plan, targets and timelines.
In the meantime, the shortfall has left communities covering costs on their own and means they've had to take funding from existing programming, McLean said.
"All we're asking of the federal government is to follow the tribunal decision.… You have to reimburse in a timely fashion," he said.
Peguis First Nation Chief Stan Bird said Jordan's Principle funding in his community "has been completely discontinued," leaving children with urgent care requests at risk.
"Most requests from my community dating back as far as 2022, and that are marked urgent … have not been addressed," he said. "Our families continue to wait for a response."
Funding is flowing: Indigenous Services
In a statement sent Saturday in response to a CBC request, Indigenous Services Canada said funding is flowing to the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council members.
"There is no delay in funding," spokesperson Eric Head wrote.
"To date, $28.8 million in approved funding has been distributed to IRTC and its communities for the 2024-25 fiscal year. There is an additional $13 million in approved funding that will be allocated to IRTC and its communities based on the schedule in their contribution agreements," the statement said.
"We have been in discussions with Interlake Reserves Tribal Council … as recently as this week, and will continue to be available as needed."
But Coun. Darrell Shorting of Little Saskatchewan First Nation said Friday there has been "no outline, no policy" from the federal government around the program.
"It was just like 'go ahead, go ahead, keep going, keep spending, keep helping,'" and the Interlake First Nations have done their part by following the rules around reimbursement, he said.
"I'm scared that what they're telling is going come crashing down one day or another, with no guidelines."
WATCH | Manitoba First Nations decry long waits for Jordan's Principle funding in October:
Pinaymootang First Nation Chief Kurvis Anderson said staff in his community have worked to create a policy and guidelines that would help sustain the Jordan's Principle program.
"Because of a lack of criteria, I questioned … are our families and children today better off than they were before the program?" he said.
"Families have become very dependent on the program," but the First Nation communities have had to cover its costs themselves, he said.
Shorting said the backlog shows a lack of commitment to reconciliation on the federal government's part.
"We say all lives matter. Well, let's prove it."
He said if the situation doesn't change, "drastic measures" may be needed — which could include a blockade of Highway 6, a vital north-south corridor that runs past Little Saskatchewan First Nation.
"That's not an empty threat — we will do it," he said.
"I hate to do that to our neighbours, our relatives in the north, but … we need help."
With files from The Canadian Press and Santiago Arias Orozco