Latest news with #JordanPrinciple
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Hundreds of Indigenous students to lose dedicated educational assistants under changes to Jordan's Principle
Social Sharing School boards say hundreds of educational assistants dedicated to Indigenous students in schools across the northeast are facing lay-offs next year triggered by recent funding changes that Indigenous Services Canada has made related to Jordan's Principle. Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a Manitoba boy with multiple disabilities who died in hospital waiting for the province and Ottawa to decide who should pay for health supports that would allow him to go home. Following a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision, the federal government has provided some $10 billion in funding to ensure that First Nations children get equal access to public services. But concerned about reports of abuse of the funding, the Canadian government made sweeping changes including a review of its policies and procedures starting last February. "This will ensure more consistent and clearer policies and communications about the services First Nations children can access through Jordan's Principle and the required documentation to access those services and supports," it said in a bulletin. Now those changes are trickling down and being felt by families applying for dedicated educational assistants for Indigenous students in northern Ontario with special needs. Some 74 educational assistants may be laid off at the Huron Superior Catholic School Board, based in Sault Ste. Marie. Director of Education Fil Lettieri said that Indigenous Services Canada had informed schools across the country of a change in funding criteria for Jordan's principal applications as of April 1. "The criteria now is that it is no longer intended as an enhancement in support for students, but rather to to address unmet needs," he said. "And so in subsequent conversations with Indigenous Services Canada, they had indicated that school boards do receive provincial funding for special education and therefore unmet needs should be funded through that envelope, which they are, and which has always been our practice as a school board." Lettieri said some families of Indigenous students had applied for dedicated educational assistants through Jordan's Principle to "enhance" existing services. He said he's seen the number of applications for Jordan's Principle-funded educational assistants grow over the last few years from 22, to 74 this year, primarily due to more awareness among families seeking support. Lettieri said he feels for the families who are accustomed to the one-on-one help for their children, but is working with them to determine how best to provide board supports, which may be shared with other students. The union representing educational assistants at the board said the loss of 74 positions will be devastating to students. Crystal Krauter-Maki, the president of CUPE 4148, says this is another case in which Indigenous children are caught in the crossfire between levels of government, and this will worsen the understaffing crisis in schools across Ontario. Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services— the Indigenous child welfare agency for Sault Ste. Marie and the north shore of Lake Huron— says it's trying to help the families. "We are actively working to understand the full implications of these changes and to support families in navigating the updated application process," spokesperson Jonathan Boyer-Nolan said in a statement. "Our priority remains ensuring that Indigenous children receive the services they need to thrive, and we will continue to advocate for policies that uphold the principles of equity and fairness. While applications have always been made by the families on a year-to-year basis, Indigenous Services Canada says existing or previously-approved requests are not guaranteed to be renewed or approved. Melanie Gray, the superintendent of teaching and learning with the Near North District Board,said they've had "lots of conversations" with the federal government trying to understand some of the new requirements for Jordan's Principle funding. But she said a handful of students in their board, which covers the Nipissing and Parry Sound districts, are affected. The Rainbow District School Board, which runs English public schools in Sudbury area, said they had 80 Jordan's Principle-funded educational assistants, while the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has 18. Perhaps the biggest impact will be felt in the English public school board stretching from Hearst to Temagami, including Timmins and Temiskaming Shores. District School Board Ontario North East said there are almost 200 Jordan's Principle-funded educational assistants in their schools. "We are working hard to minimize the impact to students and families and maintain the positive momentum of achievement for students who self-identify as Indigenous," spokesperson Andreanne Denis said in a statement. "We are looking to allocate some additional educational assistants during the 2025-2026 to ease the transition of the reduction of this support from the federal government." As for Indigenous Service Canada, it says the changes are being made to help the long-term sustainability of Jordan's Principle. "Funding for school-related 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 as per the principle of substantive equality," reads a statement provided to CBC News. "Requests for First Nations children, whether on reserve or off reserve, can continue to be made to Jordan's Principle. Each request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis based on the needs of the children involved with the request."
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Pimicikamak Cree Nation wildfire evacuees to sleep in warm beds at Ontario hotel Sunday
Social Sharing 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, F irst 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 also been under an evacuation notice since Wednesday. 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.
CBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Impacts of Jordan's principle funding cuts already evident in N.W.T. community
An N.W.T. MLA says funding cuts to federal Jordan's Principle funding will affect school teaching assistant funding in Łutsël Kʼé. The federal government announced sweeping changes to the program earlier this year. In February N.W.T. educators questioned if the funding changes would impact teaching assistant positions, considering the majority are funded through Jordan's Principle. MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh, Richard Edjericon says schools have since realized that the cuts will in fact affect those positions. "Let me give you a concrete example of how devastating these cuts are. Last week I learned that Łutsël Kʼé Dene First Nation School is losing five full-time education assistants, all of whom were funded through the Jordan Principle program," said Edjericon. Edjericon gave Fort Resolution as a second example, and said that its Deninu School stands to lose a significant amount of federal funding with the new eligibility restrictions. He added that even schools in Yellowknife are at risk of losing funding with around $50 million in serious jeopardy come fall. "For weeks now, schools across the North have watched as their applications for Jordan Principal funding for the fall have come back denied," said Edjericon. "When schools reopen this fall, a crisis of Indigenous education will begin unless this minister takes immediate action to restore the Jordan's Principal funding." In 2024, the education department funded 127 support assistants. The other 205 were funded by Jordan's Principle. Edjericon asked Caitlin Cleveland, N.W.T. Minister of Education, how she is working with community school boards and First Nations to restore funding. Cleveland said she has a close working relationship with the territory's education bodies and education ministers in the Yukon and Nunavut. She said that while conversations are taking place, it isn't possible for the N.W.T. government to carry on the program with funding in place of the federal government. "When this program was introduced and over the last number of years, officials at the Department of Education have reiterated to officials within the federal government that we cannot afford to take on this program should they choose not to continue it," said Cleveland. Edjericon noted how education is a treaty right to be upheld and questioned why the schools in the territory became so reliant on the federal funding. Cleveland said the territorial government accounts for school positions within their funding formula and the federal government has created additional positions through their program, entirely separate from territorial government methods. Cleveland said that she and the N.W.T. Minister of Health and Social Services will be bringing concerns to the federal government and looking to discuss them with Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Federal funding shift strands Indigenous kids without services
Hundreds of Indigenous children on the North Shore will lose services after federal changes to Jordan's Principle funding, forcing Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services to lay off 157 staff and cut programs – with no transition period, leaving families in limbo until late June.
CBC
09-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Swan Valley School Division laying off EAs as federal funding dries up
Swan Valley School Division in western Manitoba has issued layoff notices to about a third of its educational assistants after confirming its funding through Jordan's Principle won't be extended into the next school year.
