AMC accuses Ottawa of child neglect

The leaders of First Nations across the province accused Ottawa this week of neglecting children, following recent changes the federal government made to a children’s aid program. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.

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Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! The leaders of First Nations across the province accused Ottawa this week of neglecting children, following recent changes the federal government made to a children’s aid program. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? The leaders of First Nations across the province accused Ottawa this week of neglecting children, following recent changes the federal government made to a children’s aid program. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs put out a statement on Friday saying there is ongoing failure toward First Nations children through Jordan’s Principle.

The assembly asserted that children’s lives and rights are being jeopardized as requests through the program face delays and a lack of clarity about the future. “There is so much that’s changing right now, and we have no correspondence that speaks to what Canada is doing,” AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson told the Sun Friday. “Right now, we’re not getting any answers from Canada .

.. about the future of Jordan’s Principle.

” Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson says recent changes by the federal government surrounding a children’s aid program called Jordan’s Principle have created a lot of uncertainty for First Nations people. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files) The federal government in February announced changes to the aid program. The changes included a ban on the approval of funds for requests such as home renovations, non-medical support and international travel, unless necessary to create equality with non-First-Nations children.

In response, the assembly’s Friday statement argued that Canada is overstepping, and that it is unwise to pull back funding for the children’s aid program. “AMC demands the full and uncompromising implementation of Jordan’s Principle,” the assembly said. In the statement, Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said, “We are demanding that Canada do what it is already legally and morally obligated to do.

We are done watching our children suffer while governments hide behind red tape and meaningless platitudes.” The message comes after a ruling from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal this year highlighted misuse in the program. Funding in the children’s aid program was found to be used to support a range of things that the federal government and the tribunal considered inappropriate.

“There are modelling headshots and gaming consoles that are being paid for under Jordan’s Principle,” the tribunal wrote in its January release. “This was never what the Tribunal envisioned under Jordan’s Principle. It is troubling to know that some communities are living in poverty leaving children in precarious conditions and others would use Jordan’s Principle to access services a thousand miles away from the normative standard.

” Started in 2007, Jordan’s Principle is a commitment from Canada to ensure First Nations children receive necessary support. It memorializes Jordan River Anderson, a two-year-old disabled child who died after a dispute between governments delayed care ahead of his death. The House of Commons passed Jordan’s Principle as a commitment that “First Nations children would get the products, services and supports they need, when they need them.

” In 2024, the Government of Canada argued that the program was being misused. The argument led to the tribunal’s ruling earlier this year. The ruling acknowledged Canada’s submitted evidence that the number of requests for funding labelled “urgent” grew by more than 900 per cent between 2021-22 and 2022-23, and that urgent requests included modelling photography headshots, a zipline kit, gaming consoles, a lawn mower, laptops, museum tickets, trampolines and printers.

“It is difficult to imagine that there is a serious and immediate risk to a child should (Canada) take longer than 12 hours, or even 48 hours, to determine requests received in the summer for school supplies, hockey equipment and winter gear,” read the tribunal’s ruling in January. Two weeks after that ruling, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu put out a statement acknowledging that changes were being made, and made a comment in passing about misuse of the program. “Jordan’s Principle is supposed to be used when necessary,” Hajdu said.

“(It shouldn’t) be used for requests that are outside of what it is designed for.” Grand Chief Wilson told the Sun on Friday that the Canadian government is not free of blame in this area. Wilson said that she knows of many examples, with emails as proof, where staff at Jordan’s Principle asked the government if a request was appropriate and received an affirmative answer before requesting the funds.

“A lot of our leadership, they have emails to support these claims,” said Wilson. “The response would be, ‘Yes, support this request and continue on supporting these types of requests. Spend, spend, spend.

’ That was exactly the response that our First Nations leadership would receive when it came to Jordan’s Principle.” Wilson said it is her understanding now that requests through Jordan’s Principle are going through an additional review process for approval. She said this process could impact children who depend on services such as mental health supports, because the extra layer of bureaucracy could delay response times when a crisis takes place.

Wilson said her main concern is a lack of information. She said First Nations are in the dark about the future of the program and what they can expect from it. » cmcdowell@brandonsun.

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