Still no word on future of Inuit Child First Initiative
Federal funds that benefit thousands of young Inuit, due to expire at end of March
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the federal government cannot act to extend funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative at least until after Parliament returns on March 24. Anandasangaree is seen here in Iqaluit on Tuesday announcing $6 million in funding for a hydroelectricity project. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Updated on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 at 2:45 p.m. ET
With federal funding that benefits Inuit children and youth due to expire soon, Nunavut leaders say they aren’t getting answers from the federal government on whether it will be extended.
“I have urged Indigenous Services Canada and the minister to extend the program,” Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said in a news release Tuesday.
“It appears that none of our voices matter to the prime minister and to Minister [Patty] Hajdu, who are ignoring all of us.”
In a letter Monday to the territory’s mayors and Premier P.J. Akeeagok, Idlout said she heard from several municipalities concerned about the future of the Inuit Child First Initiative, and that she shares their concerns.
Currently, funding is set to expire March 31, the end of the federal government’s fiscal year.
The Inuit Child First Initiative is based on Jordan’s Principle, a federal program meant to ensure First Nations children have access to services and products to meet their health and educational needs.
“Eighteen of 25 hamlets [in Nunavut] report over 13,000 Inuit children are enrolled in the program,” Idlout said in Tuesday’s news release.
Most recently, Nunavut hamlets have used the funding for a food voucher program. Parents of children under 18 years of age are provided a $500 voucher to buy food each month. For children up to the age of four, an additional $250 voucher is provided for items like diapers and infant formula.
“I obviously acknowledge the concerns that many members of the community have faced. People have personally reached out to me,” said Gary Anandasangaree, minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations. He was in Iqaluit Tuesday for an unrelated funding announcement.
Ultimately, he said, the Inuit Child First Initiative is the responsibility of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, he added.
“We do have to still go through the budgetary process, and we are hopeful that the program will continue whether it be in the current form or some other manner,” Anandasangaree said. He added Parliament won’t reconvene until prorogation ends on March 24.
Hajdu’s office did not respond to a Nunatsiaq News request for comment on the program’s future, on Jan. 27. Last week, Eric Head, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, could not say whether work was underway to extend funding for Inuit Child First Initiative beyond March 31.
Arviat Mayor Joe Savikataaq Jr. said Tuesday that uncertainty over the funding’s future is worrisome.
“Right from the start of [food voucher] agreement, we knew it was going to end March 31. We were asking immediately [whether] this will continue after March 31,” he said.
He said the mayors have continued to question the federal government and “they go unanswered.”
Savikataaq said there are 1,450 children in Arviat receiving the $500 monthly vouchers. Of those, 350 are under the age of four and get the additional $250.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy. The health of the kids has started to improve,” he said.
With inflation hitting the community, he noticed when the funding was rolled out that grocery store shelves were empty because people were able to buy food.
However, he is critical of how the funding has been handled. Noting the adage, “it is better to teach a man to fish than give him a fish,” he said he wants any future funding to include more than a handout.
“I’d want to see a better plan in place so that we know what to expect in the coming months and weeks,” he said. “That’s a lot of food that kids had access to, and if it ends overnight it’s going to be really felt.”
Note: This story was updated from its original version to include that an Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson offered a comment in an earlier story about the status of Inuit Child First Initiative funding.
I think this program was to feed Inuit and not have 100 employees with company vehicles for each employee so something not right in Arviat they have like 10 vehicles for personal use no need to buy gas ..
Arviat alone is getting over $800,000 a month from federal taxpayers to feed their kids.
That’s not even what Jordans principal is for! JP is for when you can’t figure out who pays for medical care of a kid. Do the care, figure out payment after. It isn’t meant to feed every Inuit child…
It sounds like to me , you are not either inuit or indigenous to canada. You have not faced anything to near what we have faced and what we still face in comparison to those living in the south. You guys have had things for hundreds of years compared to us indigenous peoples. You guys have had electricity and running water and the infrastructure to support your guys population through out the 18-19 and now the 20-21st centuries. Jordans principal is to help us with our health and educational needs because the federal government recognized the vast , i mean very very vast disparity between the quality of life of us indigenous peoples and those people who live in the south in the more built up areas. Its 2025 and there still are places with no running water or electricity in Canada.
This IS a handout. There are still people begging for food on facebook while this program is in place. I looked at the eligible items listed when I was at the store, it was for ALL food. So nothing is stopping a family to buy bags upon bags of chips and pop and then claim they are hungry from this empty calories. Based on the number of people begging leftovers, for Iqaluit, perhaps the city should partner up with NAC kitchen or restaurants so they can pick up ready-made meals for this funding. This way you know the food is going to the kids bellies and not being sold for money? unfortunately, this is what it has come to be, infantilizing the adult recipient because they do not know how to budget. A life skill class that should be in all nunavut schools.
I don’t know where you are but in all the Baffin communities I’ve been to they are allowed chips, pop, and candy are not eligible for this program.
The vouchers issued are exclusively for food; junk food, cigarettes, and gas are not permitted. The individuals distributing the vouchers receive the receipts from the store, which are all consolidated into one account. These receipts are screened for non-food items. If any non-food items are found, the individual will either not receive the voucher or the equivalent amount will be deducted from the following month’s voucher. This same policy applies to any bake sales that occur after receiving the vouchers.
I do know that the funding will not be continuing in the new fiscal year… It is unfortunate but those that rely heavily on it will need to learn to budget.
Very poorly executed program. Just cancel it and start giving it to only those in need. Like I said in my earlier post, there are families making half a million per year are getting this money, which is wrong.
Oops I meant to say they are NOT allowed it.
Millions a month you dummy, it’s more like $800,000/yr, not even the feds would fund a million per month for one town.
> In 2023-24, an additional $167.5 million was provided to extend the program two years.
Off just this funding alone, and this is just *additional funding,* that’s $250,000 a month for each community.
The JP program is misused like all handouts, the money ppl would have spent on food and clothes has been gambled, drank and smoked away because they are relying on this program funding. Come the end of March, these ppl will get a wake up call! My concern is that the stores have inflated their pricing for all of us to pay outrageous prices, setting a dangerous precedent, this program has been a disaster for all, as all of us hardworking tax payers are taxed for this program that doesn’t benefit childless people. Fed up with supporting the welfare minded.
Why did it take the City of Iqaluit until November 2024 to roll out the program?