Jordan's Principle
Jordan's Principle is a child-first principle to ensure First Nations children get the services they need when they need them.
To submit a request for services through Jordan's Principle, call: 1-855-JP-CHILD (1-855-572-4453)
Or visit canada.ca/jordans-principle. If you have any difficulties accessing services through Jordan's Principle, please contact your provincial child advocate or ombudsperson or the 24-hour Jordan's Principle line (above).
In the Spotlight:
- New: Back to Basics Approach for Improving Outcomes Under Jordan's Principle information sheet (2023).
- Updated! Summary of the Tribunal's orders on Jordan's Principle Information Sheet updated May 2023. The most recent CHRT orders on Jordan's Principle are:
- 2022 CHRT 8: Orders Canada to assess the resources required to assist families and/or young adults in identifying supports for needed services for high-needs Jordan's Principle recipients past the age of majority.
- 2021 CHRT 41 Amendment: Orders Canada to fund all First Nations or First Nations-authorized service providers for the full cost of the purchase and/or construction of capital assets that support the delivery of Jordan's Principle services to children on reserve, including in Ontario and in the Yukon.
- 2022 CHRT 8: Orders Canada to assess the resources required to assist families and/or young adults in identifying supports for needed services for high-needs Jordan's Principle recipients past the age of majority.
- Updated! Infographic: How to Access Services and Supports Through Jordan's Principle (2023)
- Check out this independent report on Jordan's Principle data released by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD), University of Ottawa.
- For more information on compensation for First Nations children and families impacted by Canada's discrimination in Jordan's Principle and child welfare, visit fnchildcompensation.ca. The Caring Society is not party to the compensation Agreement.
Learn more about Jordan's Principle:
- Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger, a National Film Board documentary by celebrated filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.
- As a party to the Tribunal case, the Caring Society continues to monitor federal compliance with the orders and raise concerns about Canada's implementation of Jordan's Principle. Read about our concerns and suggested remedies here (updated April 2021).
- Jordan’s Principle and Children With Disabilities and Special Needs: A Resource Guide and Analysis of Canada’s Implementation (2021)
- Jordan's Principle Youth Public Service Announcement (PSA): Short version; Long version; American Sign Language
- First Nations Child and Family Service Agency Funding Changes per the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (including information on Jordan's Principle)
Background
Jordan’s Principle is a legal rule named in memory of Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. Born with complex medical needs, Jordan spent more than two years unnecessarily in hospital, waiting to leave, while the Province of Manitoba and the federal government argued over who should pay for his at home care—care that would have been paid for immediately had Jordan not been First Nations. Jordan died in the hospital at the age of five years old, never having spent a day in a family home.
With the support of their community of Norway House Cree Nation and others, Jordan’s family gifted his name to the creation of child-first principle to ensure First Nations children could access the services they need without denial, delay, or disruption.
Unfortunately, despite the unanimous support of the House of Commons in 2007 for a broad definition, the federal government went on to implement Jordan’s Principle in a manner so narrow that few, if any, First Nations children qualified.
In a landmark ruling on January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT or Tribunal) ruled that Canada’s definition of Jordan’s Principle was discriminatory and ordered the federal government to take immediate measures to implement the full and proper scope of Jordan’s legacy.
Canada failed to comply with the Tribunal’s ruling and three months later, in April 2016, the CHRT issued its first non-compliance order against Canada. In all, the Tribunal has been forced to issue more than 20 additional orders, many of them non-compliance orders against Canada. The Tribunal orders have led to over 1.4 million products, services, and supports for First Nations kids through Jordan's Principle. The Tribunal has also ordered Canada to review previous service requests dating from April 1, 2009, whether made pursuant to Jordan's Principle or otherwise, to determine what supports children/youth would or should have received had Canada applied the proper definition of Jordan's Principle.