Jordan’s Principle: CCOH Speaking Notes
On December 12, 2007, the House of Commons unanimously passed a Private Member’s Motion 296 tabled by Member of Parliament Jean Crowder (The New Democratic Party of Canada) in support of Jordan’s Principle. The child-first principle ensures that federal and /or provincial funding disputes do not interfere with First Nation children accessing government services that are available to other Canadian children.
Jordan River Anderson, of Norway House Cree Nation, spent his short life unnecessarily in hospital because federal and provincial governments could not agree on who should pay for government services to status Native children on reserves, even when the services are provided to other Canadian children without question.
Jordan was born with complex medical needs, and because the federal and provincial governments provide so few services to support families with special needs children on reserves, Jordan had to be placed in foster care. In a government policy that baffles common sense, the federal government will pay foster parents to look after First Nation children with special needs, but will not provide support for the child’s own family to care for them at home, even when there is no abuse or neglect.
Sadly, Jordan’s case is not an isolated one; research has repeatedly shown that hundreds of First Nations children are caught in payment disputes within, or between, the federal and provincial governments each year. The problem is lived out in the lives of children every day, and even though Motion 296 was passed in the House of Commons on December 12, 2007 – no provincial/territorial government has fully implemented Jordan’s Principle or meaningfully engaged First Nations in developing an implementation plan. Motion 296 will continue to remain only a moral victory unless it is fully adopted and implemented by all Canadian Governments.
Jordan’s Principle must not be narrowed in scope to be exclusive to children with complex medical needs. This principle applies to all government services available to children, youth and their families.
Jordan’s Principle requires that that the government department of first contact pays for the service to the child without delay or disruption. The paying government can then refer the matter to inter-governmental processes to pursue repayment of the expense.
Jordan’s Principle is consistent with government obligations set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and many federal, provincial and territorial child focused statutes.
Jordan’s Principle is also consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, of which Canada has recently become a signatory.
-Article 18 reads, “Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision making institutions”.
Article 19 reads, “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them”.
Article 21 reads, 1.) “Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia, in the areas of education, employment, vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation, health and social security”.
2.) “States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special measures to ensure continuing improvement of their economic and social conditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities”.
Article 22 reads, 1.) “Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities in the implementation of this Declaration”.
2.) “States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination”.
The Canadian Medical Association has weighed in on the issue through an editorial (2007 – “Jordan’s Principle, governments paralysis”) where it advised that First Nations governments should sue to receive fair medical treatment. If the governments are unsure of their responsibility, Amir Attaran(co-author and University of Ottawa law professor) said, they merely need to look at the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees equal treatment for all Canadians, and let common sense prevail.
Jordan and his family’s story sadly illustrates the long standing discrimination against First Nation children. The health conditions of Canada’s First Nation children is shameful particularly for one of the most affluent countries in the world. The passing of the private members bill in Jordan’s memory will not end the discrimination faced by countless numbers of First Nation children unless the Prime Minister takes the courageous and necessary step of declaring that the Government of Canada will fully and immediately implement Jordan’s Principle.
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