Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services is axing 157 employees due to sweeping changes in funding requirements for Jordan’s Principle — a program designed to ensure that First Nations kids get the care and services they need when they need them.
The mass termination includes 129 salaried and 28 hourly employees at the Indigenous child welfare agency, which delivers a wide range of services for children and families in seven First Nations across the north shore, including Batchewana and Garden River, both on and off reserve.
It remains unclear exactly how much funding Nogdawindamin had been anticipating for the 2025 fiscal year prior to the changes in funding criteria, which were announced by the federal government this past February.
“Nogdawindamin acknowledges the profound impact this situation has on not only our staff but also the communities we serve,” Nogdawindamin interim CEO Karen Kennedy said in a statement issued to SooToday on Friday.
“We deeply value the contributions of our employees and recognize the ripple effects these changes will have.”
The changes that were announced by Canada included barring funding approvals under Jordan's Principle for home renovations, sporting events, international travel, non-medical supports or school-related requests unless required to ensure equality with kids who are not First Nations.
They come almost a year after the federal government argued before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that requests were being made for a number of non-urgent things including modelling head shots, gaming consoles, bicycles and a zip line kit.
The government also argued that the scope of Jordan's Principle had become too broad and contributed to a backlog of requests.
But the new funding criteria implemented by the federal government is affecting the “eligibility and scope of certain funding applications” for services at Nogdawindamin, Kennedy said.
“Unfortunately, this has had a substantial impact on our ability to sustain some services and programs that deeply benefit Indigenous children and their families,” she said in the statement.
“While waiting for formal approval of our funding request, our senior management team is actively conducting risk management assessments to identify ways to minimize service interruptions. We are also working closely with families, other service providers and community partners to ensure a smooth transition of current service users to alternative programs and providers.
“Despite significant waitlists in some cases, we are making every effort to limit the disruptions in the care and support our families receive.”
Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a Manitoba boy with multiple disabilities who died in hospital waiting for the province and Ottawa to decide who should pay for health supports that would allow him to go home.
It stems from a human rights complaint filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Family and Caring Society in 2007. They argued First Nations kids were being denied equal services to other children as a result of the constant jurisdictional disputes.
Those disagreements often stemmed from whether a child was living on-reserve or not, as the federal government is typically responsible for funding for on-reserve residents and provinces responsible for funding for those living off reserves.
Nogdawindamin said it’s committed to advocating through “all available channels” to the federal government to ensure the original intent of Jordan’s Principle is upheld.
“At its core, Jordan’s Principle is a means to provide equitable access to services for Indigenous children, and it is crucial that these supports remain robust and accessible to those who need them most,” Kennedy said.
In March, the federal government announced that it will continue to fund Jordan's Principle to support First Nations children through 2026, after spending more than $8.8 billion on the principle dating back to 2016.
Nogdawindamin is calling upon the federal government to prioritize the funding and resources it needs in order to uphold “the principles of equality and support that Jordan's Principle represents.”
“Our duty remains unwavering — to promote the well-being and mental health of our Indigenous children while ensuring their equal right to thrive,” Kennedy said.
Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma MP Terry Sheehan told SooToday that he has reached out to Nogdawindamin and plans on meeting with management early next week, and is committed to working with the agency and to ensure that all First Nations kids in his riding are "looked after."
“The bottom line is, it doesn't matter what envelope that it comes from. The most important thing is that the needs of the First Nation children are looked after by the appropriate service provider,” Sheehan said.
Garden River First Nation Chief Karen Bell told SooToday that her First Nation was “saddened” to hear that funding cuts were being implemented on services offered to the community’s most vulnerable children.
“As a nation receiving services from Nogdawindamin we will be impacted by the delivery of services leaving our parents and caregivers in frustration, and with little to no alternatives to obtain supports,” Bell said in a prepared statement issued Monday.
Garden River has reached out to Sheehan, First Nation governing bodies such as Anishinabek Nation and Chiefs of Ontario, along with both federal and provincial governments in response to the sweeping cuts to funding through Jordan’s Principle.
“This type of unilateral decision will have lasting effects on behaviour which will transcend into many other areas of First Nation people and communities such as mental health, family dynamics, interaction with the police, high levels of incarceration, substance overuse or abuse,” Bell said.
“Right at a time when major distributions are being dispersed through a per-capita disbursement of the Robinson Huron Treaty Settlement, our generationally disadvantaged people could be susceptible to negative influences and not have the skills to manage them.
“This ought to be moved as a call to action to the federal government to be mindful of the impacts and consequences of drastically severing funds for such a marginalized population, and to reinstate the funding.”
- with files from The Canadian Press
This story was updated on May 12 to include comments from Chief Karen Bell.