Program helping thousands of local Indigenous children in jeopardy

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Thousands of Indigenous children in Southwestern Ontario are facing cuts to health, food, housing and other supports because of the looming shutdown of a regional program, sources say.

The Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC) is hours away from shutting down the Jordan’s Principle program, letting about a dozen staff go and ending supports for what sources estimate is about 3,000 children.

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A letter from SOAHAC to clients, posted on the organization’s website, says the program will begin winding down March 31 because of uncertainty with federal funding.

Staff have been told the program was definitely ending that date and they will lose their jobs, said several sources who asked not to be named because of their connections to the organization.

“The clients have been really, really devastated. There are kids that have fallen behind in school and need tutoring support, children with developmental disabilities that need respite support, occupational therapy, physical therapy. There are domestic violence survivors who need rent covered or food covered,” said one source.

“There are families that are in emergency housing,” another source said. “What happens to them? Are they going to be homeless?”

The federal government announced March 22 that funding for the program across Canada would continue through 2026, but there’s still uncertainty for SOAHAC, its chief executive officer Jan Martin said in a email to The Free Press.

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“Currently, SOAHAC is still awaiting more information from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) regarding their most recent decision,” she wrote.

“We will continue to advocate for Indigenous-led delivery of this vital program across the country, including at SOAHAC. As soon as we have additional clarity, we will communicate again directly with our families and partners.”

In the letter to parents and caregivers posted online, Martin said SOAHAC was forced to start shutting down the program.

“Without a confirmed funding agreement in place, we are heartbroken to share that SOAHAC will need to begin winding down Jordan’s Principles programming as of March 31, 2025,” the letter says.

But sources told The Free Press there are other factors in play, including the fact SOAHAC has lost two leaders of the Jordan’s Principle program. The departure of the director and manager of the program are apparent by viewing the previous and current staff lists on the organization’s website.

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There is funding left over from last year to continue the program until new funding arrives, sources also said.

“There’s no reason to cut the program off completely,” one source said.

Martin didn’t respond to questions about the funding or staff departures in emails to The Free Press.

Jordan’s Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a Manitoba boy with multiple disabilities who died in hospital in 2005 while the province and Ottawa decided who should pay for at-home health supports. His death led to the creation of an Indigenous Services Canada fund in his name.

Established in 2016, the Jordan’s Principle fund is supposed to ensure Indigenous children can access government-funded health, social or educational services regardless of where they live and without being stalled by arguments over who should fund those services.

SOAHAC provides health and other supports to roughly 35,000 people in an area from Owen Sound in the north to Windsor in the west and Cambridge in the east.

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The organization acts as a third party to help families apply for and received Jordan Principle’s funding.

There are several advantages to families working through the organization, sources said.

Usually, families have to pay for services and wait for reimbursement, which can take months or even years.

But SOAHAC receives a pot of money each year to pay for services up front once a family qualifies, sources said.

It can be complicated and overly time-consuming for individuals to apply for funding, especially parents or caregivers struggling with poverty, trauma, stigma and other challenges, the sources said.

“Some are in survival mode. They don’t have the capacity or emotional ability to have a phone conversation or an email conversation with an intake officer, if the intake officer responds in a timely fashion, which due to the backlogs, it’s not happening,” one source said. “That’s what we were there for, to help advocate for them.”

Recent conflict between the federal government and Indigenous groups over the scope and backlog of funding requests fueled fears about the future of the Jordan’s Principle program – fears worsened by the government’s late commitment to funding.

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“This situation is not specific to SOAHAC,” Martin told The Free Press. “Like many Indigenous-serving organizations, we are navigating this evolving landscape in real time.

Martin was hired as SOAHAC’s chief executive in November 2024, despite leaving the year before as a manager amid complaints about her behaviour and at least one investigation that concluded she had created a hostile work environment.

Martin has declined to answer questions about the complaints or investigation.

“My leadership is rooted in listening, collaboration, and mutual respect,” Martin wrote to The Free Press in an earlier email regarding her hiring. “I am dedicated to fostering an environment where every team member feels heard, valued, and empowered.”

“She has an impressive track record of leadership within SOAHAC, where she previously served in the role of director, Indigenous relations,” the SOAHAC board posted online when Martin was hired in November. “She secured capital funding for the creation and building of Nshwaasnanong Child Care & Family Centre as well as for the new Dundas Street location in London.”

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Since her arrival, several directors, managers, and health-care and social service staff have been let go or left, sources said.

Soon after her arrival, the director of the Jordan’s Principle program was dismissed and the manager of the program left, sources say. The director’s position no longer appears on the SOAHAC online staff list and the manager position is listed as vacant.

The remaining dozen Jordan’s Principle employees across the region first learned in February that the program would likely be cut and they would be losing their jobs, several sources said.

But it was difficult to get answers about why and how the program would be cut, and they were told not to advise families who would be affected, sources said.

Sources estimated as many as 1,500 families, with about 3,000 children overall, could be affected by the end of the program at SOAHAC.

Some might be able to get help through their band councils or on their own, sources said.

With files from The Canadian Press

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