Calls grow to extend Inuit Child First Initiative
ITK president Natan Obed, Nunavut Health Minister John Main among leaders calling for answers
Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in and extend funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative, which provides health and education support for Inuit children. Funding expires March 31. (File photo)
Nunavut Health Minister John Main added his voice Wednesday to the growing chorus of Inuit and Nunavut leaders calling on the federal government to clarify the future of the Inuit Child First Initiative.
In the legislative assembly Wednesday, Main said health and nutrition programs supported by the program are having “a huge, positive impact” on Inuit families and called for the government to clarify whether it will be extended.
“Many families and organizations have questions regarding Indigenous Services Canada’s path forward for the initiative,” he said.
The Inuit Child First Initiative is funded by Indigenous Services Canada. It’s intended to help Inuit children and youth access government-funded health, social and educational services.
One of the most familiar programs to Nunavummiut is a food voucher program that gives families up to $500 a month for each child under 18, and an additional $250 for each child under 4, to help them buy groceries.
Funding is set to expire March 31, the end of the government’s fiscal year. Federal leaders have said no decision to extend the program can be made until March 24, when Parliament resumes.
Main said people want to know whether the Inuit Child First Initiative will continue and if there will be changes to administration or eligibility requirements for the program.
“As minister, I have posed these questions to Indigenous Services Canada but have yet to receive a response,” Main said.
Two MLAs also spoke against the potential loss of the program Wednesday in the legislative assembly.
Uqqummiut MLA Mary Killiktee said school attendance has improved and vandalism is down, which she credited to the funding families have received through the initiative.
She thanked the federal government for the funding, but said mothers have told her they are concerned about the program ending.
Families in Iqaluit are also concerned, said Adam Arreak Lightstone, the MLA for Iqaluit-Manirajak.
He said he was “putting the Premier on notice” and will ask Premier P.J. Akeeagok directly what work he personally has done to advocate for the Inuit Child First Initiative.
Last week, Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization, wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to extend funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative.
“We are alarmed by the growing likelihood of an abrupt curtailing of funding for [Inuit Child First Initiative] and the consequences this will have for our families and communities,” Obed said.
He called on the government to take “urgent action,” in his Feb. 12 letter.
“It is unacceptable that the ability of Inuit families and children to enjoy basic human rights remains contingent on a volatile federal budgetary process,” Obed said.
The government has ignored Obed’s concerns as well as those from leaders across Nunavut on the issue, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said in a letter Monday to Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu.
“Your silence is unacceptable,” Idlout wrote.
I know I shouldn’t complain and I am thankful that I’ve had the JP. For it to end end of next month, I don’t know how we’ll survive 😫 I’m on a single income, homeowner, CRA is on my ass so I don’t get child tax, I pay for my baby’s daycare fees (another dead beat father) I really hope they do extend it. And because of my mental health, I missed a lot of work and been getting shit pay
Have you tried making better decisions?
Stop waiting for handouts and get your arse to work
There is a need to support the most vulnerable. A well fed child is a successful child. There is no reason for this program to single out non-indigenous children who live in poverty and there is no reason to include upper and middle class families in this program either. This program should only continue if a massive review is undertaken. It needs to be means tested.
According to a Global news investigation:
“Ernest Anderson, the father of the late Jordan River Anderson, took to social media Tuesday in a video condemning abuse of the program named after his son meant to help First Nations children with certain needs.”
“The boy’s legacy is Jordan’s Principle, which was to ensure that on-reserve First Nations children get their health, social and educational needs met the same as off-reserve and non-Indigenous children.”
“…Some of the requests for funding made through Jordan’s Principle, including for modelling headshots, a zip lining kit, trampoline, music lessons, private school tuition and uniforms, snowmobiles and gaming consoles.”
“Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu says nearly $9 billion has been spent on goods and services through Jordan’s Principle since 2016.”
So I have a pretty good income. Over 100k. I am also a single parent home owner in Iqaluit. I have mortgage, utilities, insurance, property tax ect… so after all the costs, my income would be considered lower class,/poor. Can’t even afford yearly maintenance or house up grades.
According to your comment, I wouldn’t be eligible for this support. Basing a benefit on income without taking expenses into consideration is bs. I’m house poor. I am grateful for the support we receive and hoping it will continue.
This is true for a single father or mother of all races then? You have an income of over 100k, and if you are poor after your bills, you might need to evaluate if you do need a gas guzzler truck or even that Netflix subscription. Time to learn to budget?
“After expenses” is not how socio-economic level is calculated. It is done before expenses.
If Obed thinks that the ICF food voucher program is a basic human right, then why is it not available for non-Indigenous people?
When has Natan ever said he doesn’t support other people having food security?
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My understanding is that different regional ISC office decided, after consulting with local Indigenous groups, to address food insecurity differently. Does any other Inuit region have a food voucher program? I believe they use their funding to address food insecurity through programs other than food vouchers.
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It would be shocking if the Liberals allowed this program to die after being in place for just over one year. And just when low income families in my community, whose well-being has been helped tremendously by this program, have adjusted to it. Where will they turn to for help? GN Family Services?
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Does the Governor General not have the authority to extend programs if their funding is going to expire because parliament isn’t functioning and therefore can’t vote to extend them? If so, why are the Liberals waiting to ask her to do so?