Liberals mull compensation for Jordan’s Principle family

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This article was published 03/06/2020 (1412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals seem to agree with a tribunal’s call to compensate the family of a Manitoba boy whose 2005 death changed how governments are supposed to treat Indigenous children.

Jordan River Anderson’s death sparked a legal principle of fairness for First Nations children that is the basis of an ongoing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal case on discriminatory underfunding of foster care.

Jordan was born at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre with multiple disabilities, and died there at age five — after two years of the Manitoba and federal governments squabbling over who would pay to provide home care at Norway House Cree Nation.

Parliament ratified “Jordan’s Principle” in 2007, which holds Indigenous children should receive care upfront and let governments fight over payment afterward.

Using that principle, the tribunal has found Ottawa racially discriminated against Indigenous children for years, by funding child-welfare systems at far less than kids in provincial foster care. The funding structure incentivized removing children from their homes, instead of rectifying issues such as cramped housing.

The tribunal is overseeing negotiations on how Ottawa should compensate families caught up in that system.

In an interim ruling last week, the tribunal said it “strongly encourages Canada to provide compensation to Jordan River Anderson’s estate, his mother’s estate, his father and siblings, as a powerful symbol of reconciliation.”

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller was not immediately available for an interview, but his spokeswoman suggested Ottawa would be indeed offer a payment.

“We appreciate the unique suffering of Jordan River Anderson and his family; we will continue to work with the parties to explore timely, compensation for his family,” wrote Vanessa Adams.

Norway House leaders and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak both said that gesture would help shore up faith in Ottawa making the changes needed to treat First Nations children fairly.

The federal government administers health care and child welfare for First Nations living on reserves, while off-reserve residents fall under provincial health systems.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca