Jordan’s Principle: To ensure that our children have the right to develop and achieve their full potential

Press Release

Respect for the rights of First Nations children: an ever-necessary struggle

While the discoveries made earlier this year at the sites of former residential schools shed light on the sad fate suffered by thousands of First Nations children, which was commemorated on September 30 as part of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation decreed by the federal government, and we are about to mark the sixth year since the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of First Nations Children, it is clear that respect for the rights of First Nations children has not yet been achieved. Quite the contrary, sustained efforts must be made to ensure the full recognition of the rights of our children to develop and achieve their full potential.

Adoption of Jordan’s Principle

One of the most telling manifestations of these injustices is the discriminatory underfunding of First Nations child and family services. In 2005, Jordan River Anderson, a young boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, died at the age of five in a hospital following complex medical needs, while the federal and provincial governments argued about who should pay for his care. To prevent another similar tragedy from happening, Canada adopted Jordan’s Principle in 2007, and in 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to implement the full scope of the principle so that all First Nations children have access to the services they need, ranging from homework assistance to specialized camps, speech therapy services and the construction of wheelchair ramps.

The importance of knowing your rights in order to enforce them

While Jordan’s Principle is a big step forward for First Nations families and children, not enough people know about it, let alone how to make a request.

It is for this reason that the FNQLHSSC produced a video aimed at informing the First Nations population about Jordan’s principle and how to make a request. To access the video, please click here.

This is the continuation of a toolbox designed primarily for workers, which was launched a few weeks ago.

Your collaboration is essential to help us distribute this video widely, by sharing it within your respective networks. Together, let’s take care of our children, starting by being better informed about their rights.

IHT5