Sweeping changes to Jordan’s Principle have been made just days after Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said it was no longer operating “within the spirit” it was created.
The ministry’s website has been updated to clarify what will not be funded, and the list itself suggests critics were right when they sounded the alarm that the program was being abused and mismanaged.
The purchase or construction of a home, vacations, elite sport training, new furniture, private schools and vehicles are among the items that won’t be funded.
Indigenous Services Canada also reiterates what the fund is intended for — to “help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs, including the unique needs that First Nations Two-Spirit and LGBTQQIA children and youth and those with disabilities.”
This comes after Ernest Anderson, the father of Jordan River Anderson, for whom the fund was named, took to social media asking Canadians to “stand up with us” in demanding a probe into how Jordan’s Principle was being abused, calling it an insult to his son’s legacy.
Jordan River Anderson died of multiple disabilities in a Winnipeg hospital in 2005 as the federal and provincial governments fought over who should pay for his care at home. The House of Commons passed Jordan’s Principle to ensure First Nations children would get programs, services and supports when they need them and not be caught in jurisdictional wrangling.
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The boy’s legacy is Jordan’s Principle, which was to ensure that on-reserve First Nations children get their health, social and educational needs met the same as off-reserve and non-Indigenous children.
Weeks after Anderson spoke out, Hajdu said changes were happening to return the initiative to its original intent.
Almost $9 billion has been spent on products, services and supports for First Nations children since 2016 and the volume of applications has “grown at an extremely fast pace” she says, to nearly three million funding requests approved in 2023-24 — a 367-per cent increase over the previous year.
Eilleen Lynxleg of Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve, 440 km northeast of Winnipeg, is a grandmother who has long been calling for an investigation into how Jordan’s Principle offices in First Nations communities spend money.
“I’m glad that it’s stricter and only allowing what’s required for specific needs,” Lynxleg says. “I still want an investigation, though.”
Ernest Anderson could not be reached for comment on the updated guidelines.
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