EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally stated the First Nations Health Consortium (FNHC) would advocate for indigenous people from 11 First Nations in three treaty areas in Alberta. This was incorrect as the FNHC says it will serve all First Nations children across Alberta, both on and off reserve. The article was corrected on Feb. 17, 2017.
A new health partnership was launched in Alberta on Tuesday with the goal of improving the coordination of health care service delivery to First Nations children in the province.
The First Nations Health Consortium is a partnership between the Bigstone Health Commission, the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council, Maskwacis Health Services and Siksika Nation.
“This consortium will be the link between those families and connecting with the services,” said Tyler White, CEO with Siksika Health Services and president of the First Nations Health Consortium. “Our responsibility is to support, advocate and provide referrals… for First Nations children in the Alberta region.”
White added the consortium is the first initiative of its kind in Canada.
The First Nations Health Consortium is made up of people from 11 First Nations in three treaty areas in Alberta. However, the consortium will advocate for all First Nations children across Alberta, both on and off reserve.
The idea behind the consortium was born out of a landmark ruling from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal last January. It found First Nations are adversely affected by inadequate funding which was found to be discriminatory and in some cases, indigenous people were denied services because of government’s involvement.
READ MORE: Human Rights Tribunal finds Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children
The ruling also called on the federal government to implement Jordan’s Principle – a policy designed to ensure First Nations children are able to access health care services without getting caught in red tape.
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Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott announced the federal government will provide the consortium with about $5 million over the next three years.
“Helping First Nations children get the care and support they require is of utmost importance to the Government of Canada,” she said in a statement. “Enhanced service coordination will make it easier for families to access vital services.”
Alberta Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee also attended the consortium announcement in Edmonton on Tuesday. She said her government was not funding the new consortium but was committed to working with it.
“Our First Nations children are Alberta’s children as well and it’s essential that we work together with the federal government, with our First Nations… to ensure that we can move forward with the kind of collaboration that will make sure that First Nations kids do receive the same level of service.”
The inspiration behind Jordan’s Principle is the tragic story of Jordan River Anderson, an indigenous boy with a rare disorder who had to be hospitalized as soon as he was born. A dispute between Ottawa and the Manitoba government about who should pay for his care in a medical foster home was never resolved and Jordan died in hospital before he could ever be moved to a home.
READ MORE: Ottawa slammed on First Nations funding for child welfare, suicide prevention
A private member’s motion, which became known as Jordan’s Principle, was put forward to call for an end to bureaucratic wrangling when it comes to health care for First Nations children. On Dec. 12, 2007, the House of Commons unanimously supported the motion.
“Sadly, we’ve had many different Jordan River Andersons before him and still after him so the battle is still ongoing,” White said on Tuesday.
Larivee said Jordan’s Principle is essentially to put the interest of child first and that whomever (federal government or provincial government) encounters the child first is to provide them with the services they need, on and off reserve.
“There are substantial jurisdictional issues in terms of who’s responsible and that’s exactly what happened with Jordan,” she said.
READ MORE: Ottawa’s failure to act is putting children’s lives on the line: First Nations advocate
Watch below: In January 2017, Cindy Blackstock with the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society spoke to Vassy Kapelos about First Nations child welfare.
Sheldon Kennedy, a prominent advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, was among those who attended Tuesday’s announcement. He said he was happy to see more being done for children in Alberta.
“These things don’t happen without tenacity, persistence and a willingness to do better, to fight for our kids,” Kennedy said. “At the (Sheldon Kennedy) Child Advocacy Centre, we were always told that it couldn’t be done. Our systems just don’t work that way.
“Well, we proved them wrong.”
The First Nations Health Consortium will now begin developing a “child-centered service coordination model that will effectively and efficiently” ensure the health care needs of indigenous children are met. The group says it wants to be “the link between the child and the needed program (or) service.” It plans to implement its plan in the spring of 2018 and begin evaluating its effectiveness in spring of 2019.
-with files from Tom Vernon and Amy Minsky.
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