Jordan's Principle

Jordan's Principle is a measure to ensure that all Indigenous children have access to the services they require. It was named in memory of Jordan River Anderson, an Indigenous child who was born with complex medical needs. Jordan spent over 2 years of his life unnecessarily in a hospital while the provincial and federal governments argued over who would pay for his required at-home care. Jordan passed away in hospital at the age of 5 years old. He never got to spend a day in his family home (First Nations Child & Family Caring Society, n.d.).

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Today, Jordan's Principle has been implemented by most levels of government. This only came into effect after the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued its third non-compliance order to the federal government in May 2017. The order required that the government provide equitable health care for all Indigenous children whether they lived on or off reserve. It also ordered that the government broaden its definition of medical requirements to be eligible (CBC News, 2018).

In February 2019, the tribunal issued an interim order to require the government to apply Jordan's Principle to Indigenous children who have urgent needs but do not hold status under the Indian Act. This order is only temporary while the tribunal finalizes the definition of a First Nations child (CBC News, 2018).