The federal agency that runs Jordan’s Principle says it is considering limited changes to accommodate the “unique challenges” of the North.
The program, which offers funding to support the needs of First Nations children, already underwent one set of changes in February.
Officials said at the time those changes were designed to keep the program sustainable in the long term. But schools across the NWT say a consequence is that their funding requests have since gone unanswered or been declined.
Dozens of educational assistants have been told their jobs are going as a result.
Last week, two NWT ministers said they were “deeply concerned about the unintended consequences” of February’s changes and accused Ottawa of leaving families “to fight for services their children need and deserve.”
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In a statement to Cabin Radio, Indigenous Services Canada said it recognized “the unique challenges faced by northern and remote communities.”
The agency said it was “exploring ways to build in more flexibility around the requirements for letters of support from licensed professionals, ensuring our processes are adaptable to local realities.”
“It is important to note that eligibility on who can access Jordan’s Principle has not changed,” ISC added.
What, if anything, would actually change about the NWT’s access to Jordan’s Principle funding through more such flexibility was not made clear.
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ISC has maintained that school-related funding requests “will only be approved if the requests can be clearly linked to the specific health, social or educational need of the First Nation child or if it is required to achieve substantive equality.”
The agency also says supports to school boards off-reserve (or private schools) “will be redirected to territorial school boards, or other existing territorial and federally funded programs.”
ISC could not immediately specify how that applied to the Northwest Territories, where every school board is either fully or partly off-reserve and where the definition of a “territorial school board” is not clear-cut.
Alty issues statement
Meanwhile, two federal officials briefed on internal discussions at ISC – each asking for anonymity to share details related to their employment – said Indigenous services minister Mandy Gull-Masty is expected to revisit the Jordan’s Principle changes in the months ahead.
Since April’s election, the new federal government has more than once characterized February’s changes as an act of a previous government, a statement that implies the current cabinet might soon come to different conclusions.
In particular, new ministers are said to be concerned about some economic outcomes of changing Jordan’s Principle, particularly job losses in the North. However, there is so far no sense of a timeframe in which Ottawa might look to make further changes.
Rebecca Alty, the newly elected NWT Liberal MP, is also the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations. While she does not have responsibility for the Indigenous services portfolio, Alty is the territory’s representative in Mark Carney’s cabinet and has a closely related mandate.
“I am committed to representing the needs and concerns of residents and look forward to working with the Government of Northwest Territories and my colleagues to address this issue,” Alty told Cabin Radio through a statement issued by her ministerial press secretary.
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