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Assembly of First Nations Welcomes Federal Court Decision on the

Application of Jordans Principle

(Ottawa, ON)Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo

welcomes the April 4th decision by the Federal Court to grant a judicial review inthe case between the Pictou Landing Band Council and Maurina Beadle vs. the

Government of Canada. The decision is the first to uphold the application ofJordans Principle in providing health care services to First Nations children.

First Nation children are too often denied health and social services readily

available to other children in Canada, said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo.This is a historic victory and means Jeremy does not have to be separated from his

family and his community to receive the care he requires. More than five yearshave passed since members of Parliament voted unanimously to support Jordans

Principle and this is a step forward in stopping discriminatory policies andpractices that burden our First Nations families.

AFN NS/NFLD Regional Chief Morley Googoo added, It is unfortunate that

challenges of this nature have to be made in court when the purpose is to ensurethat First Nation children receive the health care services they need, at a level equal

to that provided off-reserve, and that they are not denied when in need. We arefortunate that communities such as the Pictou Landing First Nation stand up for

their community members and are paving the way forward for others in need.

The case of Jeremy Meawasige in Nova Scotia is a contemporary example of the

failure to implement Jordans Principle to protect First Nations children and their

families from inequality of access to needed services, which are otherwiseavailable to non-First Nations children. Jeremy is 16 years old and lives with

complex disabilities in Pictou Landing First Nation. His mother, Maurina Beadle,

cared for Jeremy at home until May 2010 when she suffered a double stroke. As a

result, she became physically unable to carry out the extensive and physicallydemanding work involved in caring for her son, who requires 24-hour monitoring.

Under a Nova Scotia Community Services policy, Jeremy and Maurina Beadle

would be eligible for extra funding because of the familys exceptionallyvulnerable financial position. However, because Jeremy and Maurina are Status

First Nations people, they were deemed ineligible for the extra funding. Jeremywould have to be moved to an institution.

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Given these circumstances, Pictou Landing Band Council and Maurina Beadle

launched a lawsuit against the Government of Canada for this inequality,employing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is the first case in

Canada to cite Jordans Principle in demanding equal health services.

No child should be denied health or medical services because of jurisdictionaldisputes between federal and provincial/territorial governments. The AFN willcontinue to call on all governments to work with First Nations to ensure the full

and proper implementation of Jordans Principle. Every child deserves respect,

care and equitable treatment and First Nations children must not be treateddifferently, added National Chief Atleo.

Jordans Principle is consistent with government obligations set out in the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Charter of Rights andFreedoms, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples andmany federal, provincial and territorial child-focused statutes.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing FirstNations citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Comms,@AFN_Updates.

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Contact information:

Alain Garon AFN Bilingual Communications Officer613-241-6789, ext 382;613-292-0857oragaron@afn.ca

mailto:agaron@afn.camailto:agaron@afn.camailto:agaron@afn.camailto:agaron@afn.ca