Ottawa – On May 28, 2020, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal delivered an additional ruling on compensation for First Nations children and their families who were subjected to Canada’s discriminatory policies regarding Jordan’s Principle and First Nations Child and Family Services. The latest ruling provides clarification on the following definitions related to compensation regarding Jordan’s Principle: essential service, service gap, and unreasonable delay.

The Tribunal upheld several issues related to the definitions that the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) put forward, including that a service did not need to be requested to be considered “essential,” and that definitions must be grounded in the principle of substantive equality. The Tribunal provided recommendations on the definitions of these terms, and the AFN, Canada and the other Parties involved with the case will collaborate on definitions to finalize the Draft Compensation Framework.

“The latest Tribunal ruling is a step forward to ensure that First Nations children and their families receive fair compensation for the pain and suffering they endured because of Canada’s discriminatory approach to Jordan’s Principle and child and family services,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. “I am encouraged by this progress and hope that the Parties collaborate effectively on these outstanding definitions so that the compensation process can move forward.” I ...