Ontario adopting Jordan’s Principle

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/04/2009 (5984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ontario appears to be following Manitoba’s lead in protecting the healthcare requirements of aboriginal children with multiple medical needs.

Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political territorial organization representing 49 First Nations communities in Ontario, said he welcomed a statement by Brad Duguid, the province’s minister of aboriginal affairs, confirming the government’s commitment to Jordan’s Principle, a child-first principle aimed at resolving jurisdictional disputes around the care of First Nations children.

“Jordan’s Principle will ensure that the health and well-being of First Nations children takes priority over bureaucratic bickering over who should pay the bills. This will ensure that First Nations Children have access to the same level of care and services as all children in Canada without undue delay,” Beardy said.

Jordan’s Principle is named in honour of Jordan River Anderson, an Anishnawbe child from northern Manitoba who was born with complex medical needs and placed in foster care so he could access the services he required. Despite being medically fit to be transferred to a foster home closer to his First Nation, the four-year-old child died in hospital in 2003 while two government parties argued over payment of expenses related to his at-home care.

The Doer government reached an agreement with the federal government last fall to implement Jordan’s Principle in Manitoba.