OTTAWA — The Federal Court says Indigenous Services Canada acted unreasonably to deny funding for mould removal in a house for two First Nations children with asthma under its Jordan's Principle program.
The principle 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.
It’s named after Jordan River Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba who died at five years old without ever leaving the hospital because federal and provincial governments couldn’t decide who should pay for his at-home care.
Joanne Powless, the children's grandmother, has been trying to get the department to fund mould remediation in their on-reserve home since 2022 under that principle, but was repeatedly denied despite the health effects on the two children.
She requested a judicial review of the funding denial, and for Indigenous Services to fund mould remediation and temporary accommodations.
The Federal Court instead ordered the department to reconsider the funding request, saying it took an "unreasonably narrow approach" by considering it as a housing renovation, rather than to meet the health needs of the two children.
"This narrow approach fails to reflect the purpose and intent of Jordan’s Principle," wrote Justice Ann Marie McDonald in a July 10 decision.
"The condition of the home where the children reside is not in dispute and is described as unhabitable and harmful to the health of the children."
The decision says Indigenous Services continuously pointed to the cost — nearly $200,000 — that the repairs would cost in its denials, despite there being no financial limit on individual requests under the principle.
"Nor is there evidence to suggest that the quotations provided were excessive or unreasonable. In the absence of financial parameters on Jordan’s Principle requests, the quantum alone was not a reasonable basis for denying the request," the decision says.
Ottawa's handling of Jordan's Principle is continuously of concern for First Nations, who decry long wait times for decisions and a narrow application.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to address a backlog of requests under Jordan's Principle in November, and highlighted the need for a "credible and independent national and effective" complaints mechanism.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
