Trina Roache
APTN National News
Documents obtained by APTN National News through the access to information act suggests there is an effort by bureaucrats at the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs to keep information regarding Jordan’s Principle out of the public eye.
The internal e-mails were obtained after APTN did a series of stories on Jordan’s Principle that aired last May. It focused on the reality of two-tier healthcare for First Nations who struggle to access the same services and programs available off-reserve.
The goal of Jordan’s Principle is to make sure First Nations children have equal access to social programs, healthcare and education. As a federal policy, its focus narrowed significantly to children with multiple special needs requiring different kinds of care. A common complaint from parents and advocates is over a lack of information on the policy.
According to one email, by a federal employee with Aboriginal Affairs, “JP has been low profile – if you may recall program didn’t want to put too many things on the website and it was a battle with (Health Canada) to get the fact sheet posted.”
Healthcare for First Nations is handled by two federal departments.
Aboriginal Affairs and Health Canada provide different services and funding.
Studies show that the health system for people living on reserve is complex and hard to navigate, especially for families with children who have special needs.
That’s an obstacle to equal care, according to a 2013 report on Jordan’s Principle by the University of Manitoba.
It puts the disability rate among aboriginal children at twice the rate of the general Canadian population. The study points to a lack of services and programs on reserve and recommends more public awareness and more funding.
The Harper government has done neither.
Jordan’s Principle started as a motion by NDP MP Jean Crowder in the House of Commons. While it passed unanimously, it is a government policy, not a program. That distinction means it comes with no extra money or resources, and bands, already strapped for cash, can’t afford the costs of extra care for children with special needs.
When Jeremy Meawasige’s mother Maurina Beadle had a stroke four years ago, the Pictou Landing First Nation in Nova Scotia stepped up and brought in the extra care he needed. Jeremy has multiple special needs. According to Ottawa’s definition, Jordan’s Principle is declared when there’s a dispute over who should pay – the province or the federal government.
In Jeremy’s case, both levels of government said the cost of Jeremy’s care was above the normative standard for the province, so neither should have to pay.
Part of the challenge is that the policy plays out differently across the country.
The federal documents obtained by APTN on Jordan’s Principle refer to its “complexity” and “ambiguity” and recognizes “implementation efforts come across as bureaucratic, administrative, and process-oriented.”
Since the House of Commons unanimously voted in support of Jordan’s Principle, only four agreements have been negotiated: in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba.
The emails obtained by APTN point out “we don’t have a formal agreement document in Manitoba” but rather a Terms of Reference. First Nations in Saskatchewan stepped away from the table over concerns with Ottawa’s narrow definition of Jordan’s Principle.
In Nova Scotia, there was no formal process for Pictou Landing First Nation to follow when it came to Jeremy Meawasige’s home care and though the federal government says there are no cases of Jordan’s Principle, the band disagreed.
It took its case to court and won. Ottawa appealed and Maurina Beadle and the band were gearing up to fight again last month. Then, without explanation, Ottawa dropped the appeal.
A victory, but one that will be slow to realize says Pictou Landing’s health director Philippa Pictou.
The band is still waiting to be reimbursed for the cost of Jeremy’s care.
For First Nations across the country, the hope is that this is a chance to go back to the drawing board for Jordan’s Principle. Advocates like Cindy Blackstock, with the First Nations Caring Society, say the goal is to broaden the focus from children with multiple special needs to equal education and care for all Indigneous children on reserve.
Pictou says advocates for Jordan’s Principle are waiting for a group at McGill University to release the findings of researchers working with the Canadian Pediatric Society and the Assembly of First Nations looking at how, and why, gaps in service exist for families on-reserve trying to access healthcare.
Pictou expects those answers by next spring and then, she says, the hard work can begin to implement Jordan’s Principle in a way that’s meaningful for First Nations.
