Local school divisions impacted in EA layoffs under federal Jordan’s Principle reform & backlog

The changes and pause of a federal program called Jordan’s Principle has led to several layoffs of educational assistants from local schools, Northern Lights Public Schools being the latest this past week.

Jordan’s Principle, established in 2016, focuses on closing gaps for First Nations children, and also avoids delays in funding for urgent needs because of jurisdictional battles.

One of its most common uses has been for Indigenous students education, and this funding has been used by Lakeland Catholic School Division and Northern Lights Public Schools to help fund educational assistants, and other programs for special needs students.

On Thursday, NLPS said in a statement that without this funding, staffing changes will be made over the next two weeks.

“These services are essential for our students, and we have done everything possible to continue them for as long as we could,” said Superintendent Rick Cusson in a press release.

“However, without confirmation of funding from the federal government, and with our financial reserves depleted, we can no longer sustain these services on our own.”

Lakeland Catholic went through a similar layoff period in January, unable to sustain with certainty from the feds on this program.

Questions of misuse, spirit of program

The program’s popularity has exploded over the last few years, with a total of $8.8 billion in federal spending since its inception, according to a February statement from Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu.

It is named after Jordan River Anderson, a Manitoba boy with multiple disabilities, who died in hospital at five years old waiting for funding, as the provincial and federal government argued about whose responsibility it was to provide support.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to address this backlog of reportedly 140,000 applications in 2024, as urgent requests are supposed to be processed in 24 hours.

This created a pause in approving applications.

An argument has ensued about whether the program has strayed from its original intent, as Canada showed that things like gaming consoles, modelling headshots, glow sticks, amongst other non-urgent items, were being approved in the program.

However, multiple news sources since February have outlined concerns about these delays, citing closures of family support services and suicide-prevention programs, just to name a few, across the country.

Sweeping changes were then announced two months ago that would narrow criteria.

This would mean funding approvals under Jordan’s Principle for non-urgent matters would be denied for home renovations, sporting events, international travel, non-medical supports, or school-related requests unless required to ensure equality with kids who are not First Nations.

Jordan Anderson’s dad Ernest was quoted in January condemning “abuse” of the program, saying children like his are facing delays because of misuse, tarnishing the legacy of a program named after his son.

Application uncertainty

NLPS says that access to specialized services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy, and resources such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, have been covered using Jordan’s Principle funds, on top of hiring EAs.

The school division says that over 280 students currently receive a variety of services through Jordan’s Principle, and that costs in 2024-25 was budgeted at $7 million.

They say they followed the same criteria when submitting their application in July, but due to changes in the approval process, were uncertain about whether they’d be given the green light.

Saying their usual response would come between December and February, and remaining hopeful, they went ahead with their “regular practice” of hiring EAs and contracting services for this school year.

Superintendent Rick Cusson says they recognize the tremendous impact this will have for students. The press release did not state how many layoffs there are.

“Despite multiple requests, NLPS has not received confirmation of whether our application will be approved or when a decision will be made. By the end of March, we had spent over $3.6 million on these services,” the press release says.

“With provincial restrictions on school board reserve funds and a planned $4.7 million deficit for this school year, we are no longer in a financial position to continue without confirmation we will be receiving federal funding.”

The last update from Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu was right before the election was called on March 22, confirming Jordan’s Principle funding would extend into 2026.