Call centre to help First Nations kids
OTTAWA — Indigenous Services Canada has set up a new call centre to help First Nations children get services and supports under the child-first jurisdictional policy known as Jordan’s Principle.
The centre will provide families with direct access to agents, who will start the intake process and connect them to the Jordan’s Principle representative in their area.
The regional representatives work closely with local service co-ordinators across Canada to identify and address the needs of First Nations children and improve their health and wellbeing, the government says.
Jordan’s Principle is a childfirst policy aimed at overcoming jurisdictional red tape that could delay or prevent Indigenous children from getting the services they need.
It is named after Jordan River Anderson, a five-year-old boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. He died in hospital in 2005 while the federal and provincial governments bickered over who would pay for his home care.
Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott said the establishment of the call centre will offer families quick access to needed services.
The principle has been making headlines in recent months as Indigenous advocates pilloried the federal government for failing to take action despite repeated rulings by the quasijudicial Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
In November, the government withdrew a Federal Court challenge over the delivery of health-care services after reaching an agreement with the parties, which included the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations.