Canada ordered to address backlog   

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) has ordered the federal government to immediately address a backlog of claims within the Jordan’s Principle program, in a 14-page decision released at the end of last week.

“I feel encouraged that it’s being escalated,” said Karonhiaroroks Picard, manager of Onkwata’karitáhtshera, Kahnawake’s health and social services agency that is responsible for submitting the community’s Jordan’s Principle requests.

“We’re doing everything we can to fight the fight at least at the community level, but it needs to get escalated to this higher level.”

Picard said that Kahnawa’kehró:non have been facing delays in the processing of Jordan’s Principle requests since early July, when Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) suddenly stopped processing Onkwata’karitáhtshera’s requests.

Representatives from ISC had been slow to communicate with Onkwata’karitáhtshera at the time, with Picard initially receiving no responses to emails asking for an explanation for the delays.

Eventually, multiple weeks after the delays began, Onkwata’karitáhtshera received an email from ISC stating that processing requests could be delayed by up to six weeks and non-urgent invoice payments and reimbursements delayed by up to three months. Those delays are still ongoing, Picard said.

“At this point I just have to be really real with parents when they apply and say it’s going to be three months, because we’re experiencing so many issues,” Picard said. “Things remain status quo in terms of what they told us back in August, things haven’t really evolved beyond that.”

Picard said that there has been slight improvement in communication from ISC, though there’s still an absence of details about the timeline for resolving delays.

“Unfortunately, those communications aren’t actually giving us any information,” she said. “But at least there’s somebody responding.”

The CHRT decision comes from a motion brought forward by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) headed up by executive director Cindy Blackstock, which was heard at the Tribunal in September.

Back then, Blackstock told The Eastern Door that the government’s failures on Jordan’s Principle “have gone as badly as to include the deaths of children.”

The Tribunal’s 14-page decision addresses directly the backlog of cases, stating that “the backlog was admitted by Canada, and while parties may have different views on the number of backlogged cases, the existence of a backlog is undisputed.”

In an ISC report titled “Status of Jordan’s Principle Operational Backlogs,” it was estimated that Jordan’s Principle has between 40,000 and 82,000 backlogged requests as of March of this year.

Last week’s order from the CHRT states that Canada must return to the Tribunal with its detailed plan to address backlogs, including targets and deadlines, by December 10. They must also identify the total number of currently backlogged cases both nationally and in each region, and must triage all backlogged requests for urgency, as well as confirm that staff have the authority to review and determine urgent requests.

Canada must also consult and work to co-develop solutions to reduce and eventually eliminate the backlog, and report back on this process to the Tribunal by January 9 of next year.

The Tribunal also affirmed its support for the creation of an independent complaints mechanism created in consultation with First Nations, and ordered the creation of an interim complaints mechanism until those consultations are complete. Canada must report back on that matter by February 22 of next year.

The Jordan’s Principle program came about following the death of Jordan River Anderson, who passed away at five years old in a Manitoba hospital in 2005, having never spent a day in his home community of Norway House Cree Nation, while the federal and provincial governments argued about who should fund his at-home care.

Jordan’s Principle was intended to prevent situations like his, with the government of first contact providing payment for medical services up front.

The service has helped thousands of children and parents, including Kahnawa’kehró:non Shannon Cross, whose eight-year-old son Jaxxon Phillips is non-verbal and has autism. Cross said she has relied on Jordan’s Principle for support multiple times.

The program covered the cost of a specialized stroller for Jaxxon which helps to prevent him running into dangerous situations, as well as for an iPad and communication software, which enables him to communicate via personalized visual symbols.

“These are items that Jaxxon needs. It’s not just something that he wants, he literally needs this to communicate,” Cross said. “These items are expensive, and I just can’t afford them on my salary.”

Being approved for the services was life-changing for Cross and her family.

“You could actually see the relief on his face that we were finally understanding his needs. It wasn’t a guessing game between parent and child anymore. It made him so happy, it was a godsend,” she said.

The last time Cross needed to request support from Jordan’s Principle was two years ago. Back then, the longest she had to wait was just a few months for the specially made stroller to be created. She said that delays would have made the process much harder for her family.

“It’s been an essential service for my family, and it is for a lot of families with special needs,” she said.

“I could not live without that program with Jaxxon.”

In a response to a request for comment from The Eastern Door, ISC spokesperson Eric Head said the government is currently reviewing the CHRT ruling.

“We remain focused on making sure First Nations children can have equal access to the services they need,” he said. He noted the government’s Jordan’s Principle spending since 2016, with over $8 billion announced for the program in that time and nearly eight million supports approved, adding that parents and guardians should still submit requests as usual.

“We are working to develop processes and operations to meet the growing volume of requests,” he said.

Picard said that now there’s around 180 requests from the community that have not been responded to. She’s seen high volumes of tuition and tutoring requests, as well as requests for mental health support and psychoeducational evaluations.

“These are things that are critical and timely. Kids who are in school that get flagged who need assessments need those now, so that a plan can be put in place early to support them through the school year,” Picard said. “These are things that are really being affected.”

Picard said that going forward, she’s hoping for more communication about progress within Jordan’s Principle in light of the CHRT decision.

“All we can do is sympathize with parents right now and do all that we can on our end to escalate it,” she said.

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