Latest news with #Jordan'sPrinciple
CBC
20 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Yellowknife school district bracing for loss of 79 education assistants from change in Jordan's Principle
Yellowknife Education District No.1 (YK1) says it no longer has the funding to keep 79 of the district's educational assistants next school year as a result of recent changes to Jordan's Principle. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) announced earlier this year that it would be narrowing the range of eligible requests for funding through Jordan's Principle, a program established to ensure First Nations children don't face gaps or service denials because of their identities. In a news release Tuesday, YK1 superintendent Shirley Zouboules wrote that the district has applied for Jordan's Principle funding but is still waiting for a reply. Without the funding confirmed, Zouboules said 79 educational assistants in term, or temporary, positions have been told their positions likely won't exist next school year. Zouboules said that YK1's eight schools will adapt and that students previously supported by the 79 educational assistants not returning next year will be reassigned to the remaining educational assistants. "Assignments will be prioritized to ensure safety and promote student success," Zouboules wrote. MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh Richard Edjericon said Łutsël Kʼé is losing five educational assistants as a result of the changes.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pimicikamak Cree Nation wildfire evacuees to sleep in warm beds at Ontario hotel Sunday
Dozens of wildfire evacuees from Pimicikamak Cree Nation checked into a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Sunday after days spent without sleep in a Winnipeg evacuation centre. On Saturday, First Nations leaders from across Manitoba called on the federal, provincial and Winnipeg municipal governments to direct city hotels to make space for community members being displaced by more than two dozen wildfires burning across the province. The Manitoba government declared a provincial state of emergency on Wednesday, with more than 17,000 evacuees expected to be fleeing wildfires in northern Manitoba. Pimicikimak Cree Nation was placed under an emergency evacuation order and thousands were forced to leave home as a wildfire burned out of control near the First Nation. As of Sunday afternoon, that fire was 3,300 hectares in size, according to the most recent fire bulletin from the province. Community members from Pimicikamak, also known as Cross Lake, were first sent to Norway House Cree Nation, which has been under an evacuation notice since Wednesday. Residents there were told to prepare for evacuation but have not been ordered to leave. From there, Pimicikamak evacuees were sent to an evacuation centre set up at a soccer complex in north Winnipeg. Sheena Garrick, who works with Jordan's Principle for Pimicikamak Cree Nation, said conditions at the Winnipeg Soccer Federation North facility are "horrible". "Everybody's crying, moms are crying, their kids, they want to go home. It's very heartbreaking," she said, adding the crying has been keeping tired evacuees awake. When the First Nation had the opportunity to send its citizens to a hotel in Niagara Falls, Garrick worked overnight on Saturday to organize a group of 47 people to fill a plane. The evacuees landed in Hamilton on Sunday morning and each had a comfortable place to sleep that night, Garrick said. "There was so much relief. Everybody was smiling. Everybody was so happy coming here to a warm meal, knowing they're gonna have a warm bed," she said. Denny Scott, an officer with Jordan's Principal, said the Pimicikamak evacuees finally had a chance to rest since they were first ordered to leave the First Nation on Wednesday. "But Cross Lake is coming together as one and we're together as one," Scott said. Garrick said her phone has been blowing up with questions from community members about when the next plane is going to leave from Winnipeg. On Sunday, she said two more planes carrying 119 people each were expected to arrive in Ontario. "The chaos that's going on in Winnipeg right now, it's nothing like that. You're going to come here, you're going to be happy. You're going to be comfortable," she said.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Changes to Jordan's Principle funding requirements could negatively impact Yukon's rural nutrition programs
For the past five years, the Jordan's Principle nutrition program has provided all Yukon First Nations children with two healthy meals a day, but those who run the program say recent changes to the eligibility requirements for Jordan's Principle could change that. Jordan's Principle is a human rights principle established by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to make sure that First Nations children do not face gaps, delays or denials in accessing government services because of their identity as First Nations children. The focus of the program hasn't changed, but the requirements for funding have. "In February, the federal government sent down, for Jordan's Principle [funding], new operational requirements for reporting and applying," said Melanie Bennett, executive director for the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate (YFNED). Bennett said the new requirements call for each individual child's name and status card number to be attached to each funding proposal. She called the new requirements "tedious" and said she doesn't understand what they are meant to accomplish. "Those operational requirements now put a significant barrier, in my eyes, on the access to the funds." Impact on rural nutrition programs Bennett said the changes to Jordan's Principle negatively impact First Nations nutrition programs in Yukon, especially in rural communities. She said YFNED fully operates the nutrition program offered in Whitehorse. But in rural communities, YFNED only writes the funding proposals to Jordan's Principle and does a "service co-ordination" that supports the local First Nations that implement the program themselves. Bennett said many Yukon First Nations are already working at full capacity. She said adding extra administrative work puts even more pressure on their staff. "Let's say I have a hundred children and I've now provided information on that, but one month later I have three hundred children. What's the mechanism in place that I'm going to be able to ensure that there will be an adjustment on that funding?" Bennett said that right now, the changes to Jordan's Principle don't come with any straightforward ways to get funding adjusted as programs grow, and there are privacy issues as well. "When you have to identify numbers and names, we have to make sure that that information is being kept confidential and secure. We weren't provided from the federal government any method or path we could use that would ensure that," she said. Bennett said YFNED wants to show Indigenous Services Canada and Jordan's Principle that the way things have been going for the past five years has been working well in the Yukon. The organization is urging the federal government to rethink its new requirements. Bennett said YFNED has secured funding for the nutrition program until the end of July. Yukon MP says concerns are being heard Yukon's Liberal MP Brendan Hanley said the new requirements for Jordan's Principle funding are in place across every province and territory in Canada — not just Yukon. He said they are aimed at improving the tracking of funds, and accountability of those accessing them. "I think what the department is trying to do is have more clarity and consistency around the criteria in general," Hanley said. Hanley said he's heard from YFNED and Yukon First Nations about their concerns over the changes. He said he has relayed those concerns to both the previous and current ministers of Indigenous Services Canada and trusts the message was heard loud and clear. "Minister [Mandy] Gull-Masty is herself Indigenous, and I know Jordan's Principle for her is a large priority," He said. "Of course, there's work to be done. Jordan's Principle will be honoured, and we will let the departments and ministers work out how the funding will be secured, as well as where this personal information that's being required is not a good fit for how the program is delivered through YFNED. "I obviously can't give you a definitive answer but I can tell you that we have relayed those concerns, and I will continue to be a part of that conversation," Hanley said.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Grandmother challenges Ottawa's refusal to apply Jordan's Principle to renovate mouldy home
A woman from Oneida Nation of the Thames is appealing a decision that denied funding to renovate a mould-contaminated home that she says contributed to severe asthma symptoms in her grandchildren. For three years, Joanne Powless who lives on the territory west of London, Ont., has been asking Indigenous Services of Canada (ISC) to cover renovation costs of almost $200,000 to remove mould and fix deteriorating ceilings and walls in her home. She's also asking that six months of temporary relocation costs be covered, plus food and personal hygiene items for the family. The funding request was made through a program called Jordan's Principle, which is designed to ensure Indigenous kids get the medical care and social services supports they need in a timely manner, with the provinces and Ottawa later sorting out jurisdictional battles over which is responsible for the bill. Despite documentation from the children's pediatrician, and contractors explaining the scale of the mould, Ottawa rejected Powless' application twice. It stated that mould remediation services aren't available to the general Canadian public, and so the funding is outside the scope of Jordan's Principle criteria. "It's very frustrating and I feel bad as a grandma that I have to keep living here with these two little girls. I wish I could just pick up and leave and take them to a healthy place but I got nowhere else to take them," Powless, the girls' primary caregiver said. "This is the issue we live with every day and they get sick monthly ... my little girls shouldn't be sick every month. I just can't get anywhere with the application, I keep getting the runaround." On Thursday, Powless and her lawyer will be in a federal court to file for a judicial review hopeful that a judge will order Ottawa to fix the home and make it safe for the children. "Home is supposed to be your safest place of refuge and home is what's making Joanne's granddaughters sick," said lawyer David Taylor who is representing the family. "This started when the children were five and seven and now they're eight and 10, that's a long time that passes in the life of a child to live under such difficult circumstances, and it's the kind of thing we say should be addressed immediately." Powless said ISC's Environmental Public Health Officer told her the house wasn't properly ventilated from the beginning and a ceiling leak during the pandemic caused mould to grow. She said she applied for renovation loans but they were never approved. Decision was 'reasonable': Attorney General of Canada The Attorney General of Canada has responded to the request for a judicial review. In court documents, it said the request should be dismissed on the basis that the decision was reasonable and procedurally fair, and "the decision-maker provided cogent, clear, and intelligible reasons for the denial." "In this case, ISC is not aware of any existing government service available to the general public that currently funds mould remediation," it wrote. ISC uses substantive equality to assess whether requests should be funded, which requires the responses to be tailored to unique causes of a specific group's historical disadvantage, geographical and cultural needs and circumstances, its website states. "Substantive equality is not an open-ended concept. Jordan's Principle does not create a carte blanche regime where anything requested must be granted, nor does it set up a situation where a pressing need, however valid, generated automatic approval," it wrote in its legal response. But Taylor said the ISC's decision is inconsistent with the Human Rights Tribunal's ruling, which emphasizes that many services Indigenous children require aren't available anywhere on or off the reserve, putting them at a further disadvantage. "The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) does have programs to address these kinds of services. It's just the amount of funding provided is willfully inadequate to meet the kinds of severe needs that we see in this case," Taylor said. Taylor noted a funding cap for such a program through CMCH would have a capacity of $60,000, which wouldn't be enough for Powless's renovation and relocation needs. He added that Powless received a $25,000 loan from the Oneida Nation, but because she is a full-time caregiver living on income supports, it will be a challenge for her to pay it back later. For Powless, the last three years have been an uphill battle and her granddaughters' asthma has resulted in hospital visits, forced them to regularly miss school and activities of a normal childhood, she said. "There are several homes in this community that are all boarded up and some people have abandoned their homes because they couldn't get loans and there's no money to fix these houses, so our people don't have healthy places to live," Powless said. "I hope the judge will look at the case with open eyes and see the unjust happening. I just need help for my grandchildren." Oneida Nation of the Thames has had a housing shortage for many years, with issues of overcrowding an ongoing issue. It's also had a boil-water advisory in effect since September 2019 that became long term in September 2020.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Twelve Manitobans named to Order of Manitoba
The 12 people who will receive Manitoba's highest honour include an expert on hypothermia, the co-owner of a production company, the head of St. Boniface Street Links, an Indigenous elder, a business executive and philanthropist, and a former senator. 'I am very honoured. I didn't really expect it,' said Trudy Lavallee, who is one of the 12, on Monday. Lavallee was the child and family advocate for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs when she began helping Jordan River Anderson. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Trudy Lavallee, executive director of Animikii Ozoson CFS, is being honoured with the Order of Manitoba for her advocacy for First Nations children and for developing the concept of Jordan's Principle. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Trudy Lavallee, executive director of Animikii Ozoson CFS, is being honoured with the Order of Manitoba for her advocacy for First Nations children and for developing the concept of Jordan's Principle. Jordan was born with a rare medical condition that kept him in hospital for the first years of his life. His family lobbied to get funding for home care so he could go home. That funding was locked in a jurisdictional dispute between the federal and provincial governments. Jordan died at age five, never having left the hospital. Lavallee wrote an article about his case that became the basis of Jordan's Principle. That, along with her longstanding advocacy for First Nations children, is why she will be inducted into the Order of Manitoba. Jordan's Principle was established by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to ensure First Nations children have the same government services as non-Indigenous children. The inductees will receive the honour at a ceremony at the legislature on July 17. The distinction celebrates Manitobans 'who have demonstrated excellence and achievement, thereby enriching the social, cultural or economic well-being of the province and its residents.' JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Gordon Giesbrecht. a.k.a. Professor Popsicle, beside water tanks in his office and research lab at the University of Manitoba in December 2023. Giesbrecht, who retired soon after, is being appointed to the Order of Manitoba. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Gordon Giesbrecht. a.k.a. Professor Popsicle, beside water tanks in his office and research lab at the University of Manitoba in December 2023. Giesbrecht, who retired soon after, is being appointed to the Order of Manitoba. Gordon Giesbrecht, known as Professor Popsicle, is another recipient. The retired University of Manitoba professor is a leading authority on hypothermia, ice safety, and cold-water immersion survival. He has demonstrated the techniques needed to increase the chance of survival on television shows hosted by comedians David Letterman and Rick Mercer. 'I am very honoured and very humbled,' Giesbrecht said. 'I'm fortunate the work I did was seen by the media as sexy. I just wanted to get a life-saving message out there and through the years people say I saved their lives or your work is saving lives.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, was surprised to get a phone call from Lt. Gov. Anita Neville even though she knew she had been nominated for the Order of Manitoba. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, was surprised to get a phone call from Lt. Gov. Anita Neville even though she knew she had been nominated for the Order of Manitoba. Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, which helps homeless people and established the Morberg House transitional home for men dealing with addiction and mental-health issues, knew she had been nominated, but was still surprised to get a phone call from Lt. Gov. Anita Neville. 'I feel pretty proud, but I guess my reaction to her would have been a little puzzling. I still don't really understand why,' Willis said. 'I haven't done this on my own. I have an amazing team of people around me.' She said she has spent her life trying to be a change agent. 'I'm glad I've been a rebel with a cause.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Other Manitobans named to the order are: Maria Chaput: She was the first franco-Manitoban woman to be a senator. She was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 2002. She retired in 2016 and was honoured with the Order of Canada in 2022. Before her appointment, she led several fundraising campaigns for organizations, including Cercle Moliere. Rebecca Gibson: She is co-owner of Eagle Vision and an award-winning actor, writer, director and producer. She won the 2023 International Emmy Award, only the second Manitoban to win, for the documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Digvir Jayas, VP at the University of Manitoba. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Digvir Jayas, VP at the University of Manitoba. Digvir S. Jayas: The world renowned scientist, whose research has enhanced grain preservation around the world, was vice-president (research and international) and a professor in the University of Manitoba's department of biosystems engineering. He is currently president of the University of Lethbridge. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Files Glen Kruck, project manager for CHHA Westman. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Files Glen Kruck, project manager for CHHA Westman. Glen Kruck: He was instrumental in the development of Brandon's first homeless shelters and he helped people in need during his 35-year career with Community Health and Housing. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Language keeper Ken Paupanekis teaches Cree at the University of Manitoba. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Language keeper Ken Paupanekis teaches Cree at the University of Manitoba. Ken Paupanekis: The Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation elder has helped to revitalize Indigenous languages. His work at the province's universities will help future generations use culturally relevant learning material. Kristie Pearson: As a fundraiser and volunteer, she has helped raised more than $30 million for various charities and projects, including the Clan Mothers Healing Village, Rainbow Resource Centre, and United Way Winnipeg. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Walter Schroeder speaks at the launch of the Schroeder Institute of Entertainment and Media Arts after the donation of $15 million from Walter and Maria Schroeder through the Schroeder Foundation in 2024. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Walter Schroeder speaks at the launch of the Schroeder Institute of Entertainment and Media Arts after the donation of $15 million from Walter and Maria Schroeder through the Schroeder Foundation in 2024. Walter Schroeder: He grew up in Winnipeg and went to the University of Manitoba, before moving to Toronto where he founded the Dominion Bond Rating Service. He took it from a one-room office to the fourth-largest bond rating agency in the world. After selling the company in 2014, he pledged more than $500 million to the Schroeder Foundation to support educational causes, and has donated $15 million to create RRC Polytech's Schroeder Institute of Entertainment and Media Arts and $1.25 million to help the Ozhitoon Onji Peenjiiee – Build from Within program to help Indigenous teachers. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Charlie Spiring of Wellington-Altus. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Charlie Spiring of Wellington-Altus. Charlie Spiring: He founded Wellington West Capital, which was sold to National Bank Financial for $333 million in 2011, and later Wellington-Altus Private Wealth. He has given millions of dollars to programs including Siloam Mission, Adoption Options Manitoba, and the Health Sciences Centre Foundation. Photo by Brett Nicholls/The Press Felix Walker, CEO of the NCN Family & Community Wellness Centre, which he has been involved with for over 20 years. Photo by Brett Nicholls/The Press Felix Walker, CEO of the NCN Family & Community Wellness Centre, which he has been involved with for over 20 years. Felix Walker: He was elected a band councillor of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation at age 25. He leads programs based on traditional Cree values, including reducing trauma to children in care. He also created a group home for youth. Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
