Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2021) - The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is pleased to advise that the Federal Court today dismissed the federal government's challenge to a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling requiring the government to fund and provide services for Indigenous children under "Jordan's Principle".
The Court upheld the Tribunal's ruling that Jordan's Principle services should be offered in some cases to non-status Indian children living off reserve, who have a parent or guardian with status under the Indian Act. Jordan's Principle refers to the tragic case of Jordan River Anderson, who died while federal and provincial governments bickered over who should be responsible to pay for his care. Both the Court and Tribunal found that extending services to non-status children affected by the "second generation cut-off" would prevent future discrimination. The Court described the status rules as "questionable".
"For far too long our children and families have been discriminated against based on status. Jurisdictional bureaucracy should never affect the health, mental health, and accessibility needs of our children. Today, the Federal Court dismissed the governments attempt to ignore the needs of our children yet again, and we consider this to be a positive step in the right direction," said Elmer St. Pierre, CAP National Chief.
The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples intervened in the court case to protect the rights of off-reserve and non-status children in need of services from the federal government.
"CAP intervened in this case as we are the only national organization advocating for the rights, interests, and needs of off-reserve non-Status and Status Indians, Métis, and Southern Inuit Indigenous peoples. This decision will have a direct impact on our communities, and I am grateful the court ruled in favour of our children," said Kim Beaudin, CAP National Vice-Chief.
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For media interviews, please contact:
Jessica Dawson, Executive Assistant
613-747-6022 / j.dawson@abo-peoples.org
The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is the national voice representing the interests of Métis, status and non-status Indians, and Southern Inuit Indigenous People living off-reserve. Today, over 70% of Indigenous people live off-reserve.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98074
