Premier R.J. Simpson feels Ottawa should consider the territories as its own category when it comes to qualifying for federal funding under the Jordan's Principle initiative.
Earlier this month, Simpson met with Prime Minister Mark Carney for a one-on-one meeting in Ottawa that included discussion on a wide range of topics, including Jordan's Principle funding.
Jordan's Principle was established by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that ensures First Nations Indigenous children both on and off-reserve have equal access to adequate public services.
"When the federal government makes decisions, and I really noticed this with Jordan's Principle, they look at provinces and territories, and they look at reserves," said Simpson. "What they need to do is instead of the two categories, they need three categories: provinces, territories [and] reserves."
According to section 91 of the Constitution Act, the federal government has exclusive legislative authority for "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians," referring to Indigenous people.
CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 responsibility can overlap when it comes to provinces however, whose authority extends to areas including education and policing.
And according to the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, provinces and territories typically fund service deliveries to Indigenous people living off-reserve.
SA国际影视传媒淭he nature and extent of services provided to First Nations off-reserve and other Aboriginal peoples varies from province to province,SA国际影视传媒� reads .
Simpson argued the NWT would benefit if it was seen more like a reserve in Ottawa's eyes when it comes to Jordan's Principle. When he met with Carney, Simpson said he listed off differences between the NWT and other provinces.
Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) superintendent Shirley Zouboules told SA国际影视传媒 on Thursday that it's important the NWT be considered its own entity.
"If there were advantages for considering the Northwest Territories separately, we too would benefit," she said.
Carney has pledged to follow up with federal Finance Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne about concerns that Yk1 may not receive funding to keep dozens of educational assistants for next year. The public school board is facing a funding shortfall for the 2025-26 school year because of changes to the Jordan's Principle program that could mean a loss of almost 80 educational assistants.
Health and Social Services Minister Lesa Semmler and Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland issued a joint press release earlier this month urging Ottawa to reverse track and ensure funding for the NWT through Jordan's Principle continued uninterrupted.
Simpson said that whether it is a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister or a press release, it's all part of the same approach to let Ottawa know about the territory's issues.
"I didn't expect this would be a trip where we would go and we get a bunch of commitments and things like that," said Simpson, noting Carney's government is still new and some of his ministers are either new to federal politics or politics altogether. "I wanted to go there to get our points across at the beginning of that work, so when they're starting that work, that's always in their minds."
JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, an Indigenous child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba who died in 2005 from a rare muscular disorder after the federal and Manitoba governments disagreed over who should cover his treatment.
