Facts about Jordan’s principle, a driving force in aboriginal health needs

OTTAWA – In the debate about indigenous health needs, Jordan’s Principle has become a rallying cry. Here are some facts about it:

— Jordan’s Principle aims to sidestep federal-provincial jurisdictional fights over who pays for service for aboriginal children. It holds that the services should be delivered by the government of first contact, which can then seek repayment from the other jurisdiction.

— It is named after Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. He was born with complex medical needs and spent more than two years unnecessarily in hospital while the province of Manitoba and the federal government argued over who should pay for his at-home care. He died in hospital in 2005 at the age of five.

— The House of Commons adopted a private member’s motion in 2007 that said, “The government should immediately adopt a child-first principle, based on Jordan’s Principle, to resolve jurisdictional disputes involving the care of First Nations children.”

— In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission made the principle one of its calls to action for the federal government.

— In January 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to immediately implement the full meaning and scope of Jordan’s Principle.

QUOTE: “Jordan’s Principle was Parliament’s promise to First Nations children so that they could access government services on the same terms as other children, but Ottawa’s documents show that government buck-passing continues and so does the suffering.” — Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada.

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