Jordan's Principle is a child first principle used in Canada to resolve jurisdictional disputes within, and between governments, regarding payment for government services provided to First Nations children. Under this principle, where a jurisdictional dispute arises between two government parties (provincial/territorial or federal) or between two departments or ministries of the same government, regarding payment for services for a Status Indian child which are otherwise available to other Canadian children, the government or ministry/department of first contact must pay for the services without delay or disruption. The paying government party can then refer the matter to jurisdictional dispute mechanisms.
In Canada, there is a lack of clarity between the federal and provincial/territorial governments around who should pay for government services for First Nations children even when the services is normally available to other children. Too often the practice was for the governments to deny or delay the child's receipt of a service(s) pending resolution of the payment dispute. Jordan's Principle applies to all government services and states that when a jurisdictional dispute arises, the government of first contact with the child must fund the service and then resolve the jurisdictional dispute later. Jordan's principle is reflective of the non-discrimination provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Canadian domestic law that does not allow differential treatment on the basis of race or ethnic origin. Private Members Motion 296 in support of Jordan's Principle was passed unanimously in the House of Commons on December 12, 2007. Some provinces have partially implemented Jordan's Principle in the area of children with complex medical needs, but more work needs to be done to eliminate the impact of jurisdictional disputes on First Nations children's access to all government services.
In June 2015, the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission made Jordan’s Principle the third of its 94 “Calls to Action” for governments in Canada:
3. We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.
Background
Jordan's Principle was established in response to the death of five-year-old Jordan River Anderson, a child from Norway House First Nation who suffered from Carey Fineman Ziter Syndrome, a rare muscular disorder that required years of medical treatment in a Winnipeg hospital. After spending the first two years of his life in a hospital, doctors felt he could return home. However, the federal and provincial government could not resolve who was financially responsible for the necessary home care in order for Jordan to return to his family in his home community 800 kilometers north of Winnipeg. After spending over two years in hospital unnecessarily while governments argued over who should pay for his at-home care, Jordan died in a hospital in 2005.
Alanis Obomsawin's 2016 documentary film We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice argues that the federal government has fought applying Jordan's Principle to such a degree that an $11-million fund set aside to cover its costs wasn't needed.