Jordan's Principle and the Funding of Child Welfare Services for Indigenous Children and Families

Jordan's Principle is a "principle" (something the government says it will follow in making decisions) adopted by the House of Commons in 2007. It is supposed to make sure that First Nations children have the same benefits available to non-First Nations children. It was adopted by the Government of Canada after First Nations brought a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, arguing that the government was discriminating against First Nations children by not properly funding child welfare services. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal agreed.

Jordan's Principle says that First Nations children must be able to get the same services as non-First Nations children and should not have to wait for those services while governments figure out which government will pay for those services. If a service is required (like home care, speech therapy or an educational program), a First Nations child should be able to get the service right away from whichever level of government or government department they contact first. Disagreements about who should pay should be sorted out after the service is provided.

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal agreed that the government was discriminating against First Nations children and families and ordered the government to expand its application of Jordan's Principle. It also said that the government had not been providing proper child welfare services to First Nations children. It later made many decisions and orders telling the government how to do better and also ordering compensation for children and families. Class action cases about compensation were also brought to the Federal Court. 

You can read more about compensation and how you can find out if you may be eligible under The Cases.