Human rights agreement will allow children on Manitoba First Nations to access provincial disability services

First Nations kids living on-reserve in Manitoba will be able to get provincial children's disability services and home care following a human rights settlement agreement signed this week, over a decade after the complaint that sparked the action was filed.

Harriet Sumner-Pruden filed that human rights complaint on behalf of her son, Alfred "Dewey" Pruden, in April 2010, arguing the then eight-year-old Anishinaabe boy was discriminated against in receiving the provincial disability services he needed because he lived on Pinaymootang First Nation, about 240 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Pruden, who is non-verbal, was born with complex physical, cognitive and intellectual disabilities that required significant supports and services — which the complaint argued were either delayed, withdrawn at some point or denied altogether.

The 2020 decision on that complaint said the province told the family health-care and related services it offered "reflected the constitutional division of powers," and the federal government was responsible for providing health care for people living on First Nations.

The decision found the effect of the government policies amounted to discrimination against the family, who as a result "suffered treatment that was obviously adverse," and awarded them monetary damages.

However, that decision only applied to the one case — not all kids living on-reserve. 

That led to a court challenge of the decision, which the province said in a news release has been resolved by this week's settlement agreement signed by the family, the province and the Manitoba Human Rights Commission at the legislative building on Monday.

Sumner-Pruden, who travelled with her family to Winnipeg from Pinaymootang to sign that agreement, said while it felt like "history in the making," it was also bittersweet — since her son, now 22, no longer qualifies for services for children.

But the fight was never just about him, said Sumner-Pruden, who has been her son's main care provider his entire life.

"It was for other children, you know, in need of these essential services that all other Manitoba children are able to get without any barriers," she said.

Karen Sharma, executive director at the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, said the case sends a message that "when people come around the table and talk about what's needed to make change … good things can come from that."

"At the crux of this complaint really is ensuring that no matter where you live in Manitoba, no matter who you are … you can access the same services that any other Manitoban can have," Sharma said, adding the case was "unique" in how far-reaching its impacts will be.

"And I think a lot of gratitude is really owed to the Sumner-Pruden family, who really stuck with this."

Working group requirement 'vital'

The agreement also includes a requirement to create a working group, with invitations to federal and First Nations governments, to determine the best way to provide the provincial services to kids on reserve — something the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs called "a vital measure to prevent further gaps in care."

The agreement is "a powerful testament to the strength and resilience of Dewey, his family, and Pinaymootang First Nation," the advocacy organization said in a Tuesday news release, and serves as a reminder of how much work still needs to be done to ensure access to essential care for First Nations children.

The statement said the agreement also marks a "significant step towards realizing the full promise of Jordan's Principle," which says the needs of a First Nations child requiring a government service must take precedence over jurisdictional issues around which level of government pays for it.

Joëlle Pastora Sala, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Centre at Legal Aid Manitoba, echoed that sentiment, saying the agreement "will allow First Nations children to access supports and services that they have never been eligible for, that they have historically been turned away by the province from accessing."

"And rather than right away getting Ping-Ponged to [the government of] Canada, which is exactly what Jordan's Principle said shouldn't be happening, they are now going to be eligible to receive these services," said Pastora Sala, who has been involved in the Sumner-Pruden family's case since 2013.

The next step will be to improve access to disability services and supports for adults living on First Nations, she said — an issue she said her office has already filed complaints about with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said in the province's news release the government welcomes the requirements in the agreement and "looks forward to working with First Nations to implement these important changes."