Changes to Jordan’s Principle expected in coming weeks

Changes to Jordan’s Principle will be announced in the coming weeks, Indigenous services minister Mandy Gull-Masty says, though it isn’t yet clear how the changes might affect those in the NWT.

Gull-Masty said she has been talking with partners and services users to inform program reform, something she previously said could be a “transformation” of the service.

“The message has been very clear from users that it is challenging with the amount of paperwork that has to be done with the timelines and re-application, and we want to remove those burdens,” said Gull-Masty in a Saturday interview with Cabin Radio.

Schools across the territory have been calling for greater supports since an operational bulletin, issued a year ago under the Trudeau government, changed the way Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative are administered.

Jordan’s Principle is a legal obligation under which the federal government must ensure First Nations children have equal access to essential government services. ICFI is a parallel program that offers the same services to children recognized by an Inuit land claim organization.

The update clarified that requests for non-medical supports such as clothing, child care, home renovations, international travel, sporting events and requests from schools located off-reserve would not be approved unless required by “substantive equity.”

For years, some NWT schools have relied on Jordan’s Principle to pay for some positions like educational assistants or providers of specialist support services.

Since these changes were announced, more than 200 positions in schools across the territory have been lost or jeopardized, with more losses possible at the end of this academic year.

‘Profound shifts’ in NWT schools

Earlier this month, two Yellowknife school boards wrote a letter to Gull-Masty and the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, NWT MP Rebecca Alty, asking for funding to bridge the gap left by changes to Jordan’s Principle.

“The federal decision has resulted in profound shifts in the stability and safety of classrooms in YK1, and illustrates what YCS can expect when those reductions take place at the end of this school year,” the letter read. (YK1 and YCS, or Yellowknife Catholic Schools, each operate multiple schools in the city.)

Gull-Masty said she had received the letter and would analyze its contents.

“While the challenge is probably felt more at the board level, individual families still have the opportunity to make these kinds of requests,” said Gull-Masty.

“While it is maybe not immediately responding to what the school boards are looking like, our intention is to make sure that the offer of service is still readily available to the children that are using that program.”

She said she was looking forward to connecting with the school boards to discuss next steps.

‘Short-term extensions not enough’

On Thursday, Gull-Masty announced an extension of – and $115 million toward – the Inuit Child First Initiative.

In response, the NWT’s education minister released a statement on Friday saying that while she welcomes the ICFI extension, it alone isn’t enough to bridge the gap in services that was created a year ago.

“While this announcement provides short-term certainty in terms of funding for Inuit Child First, that certainty has not yet been extended to Jordan’s Principle, and there has been no indication that the guidelines for Inuit Child First or Jordan’s Principle have changed in a way that improves access in the Northwest Territories,” minister Caitlin Cleveland stated.

“The federal changes to Jordan’s Principle and Inuit Child First have real impacts: fewer adults supporting students with complex needs, fewer services available in schools, added strain on educators who already give so much of themselves and, as a result, lower education outcomes for Indigenous students. Short-term extensions and temporary fixes are not enough.”

Gull-Masty acknowledged Thursday’s announcement only bridges ICFI funding for another year, though she said the next step is to look at a medium-term plan.

“What does that look like? I don’t know,” said Gull-Masty, “because I am in the game of learning and really collaborating with my colleagues to make sure that whatever needs we identify for Inuit children and their families in the North is strengthened, is one that is going to build capacity, is one that is going to be based on culture and identity, and it is reflective of how we are going to improve the quality of life and living in the North.”

Cleveland called for a distinct arrangement with the federal government that recognizes the unique needs of children in small and isolated northern communities, as well as the realities of administering these programs in a territory rather than a province.

Asked if upcoming changes to Jordan’s Principle and ICFI would reflect some of those differences, Gull-Masty said that while the operational bulletin affected school boards across the country – not just in the North – addressing the NWT’s needs will take collaboration and creativity.

“What do we do in the context when these services are offered in a more remote or isolated, or [a] location that does not have consistency of availability of service staff to an individual basis?” Gull-Masty said.

“How can we kind-of try to find a solution within that space? I think that starts with conversation,” she continued, adding that she will have that conversation with Cleveland.