OTTAWA –
Canada has told the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal it can’t say when it will work through a backlog of some 140,000 cases related to First Nations child services.
That has led to a prominent child welfare advocate and First Nations leaders in Manitoba warning about an escalating crisis caused by Canada’s inaction.
Jordan’s Principle is a legal rule that stipulates that when a First Nations child needs health, social or educational services they are to receive them from the government first approached, with questions about final jurisdiction worked out afterward. The tribunal ordered Canada to identify the number of backlogged cases under that rule and return to it with a detailed plan to address them by Dec. 10.
On that deadline Canada told the tribunal the proposed timeline to address the backlog of some 140,000 cases was “not operationally feasible” and could impact the delivery of services to First Nations …