Council of Yukon First Nations cancels some family support programs due to lack of Jordan's Principle funding

The Council of Yukon First Nations has shut down programs that provided food, children's clothing, short-term housing and other support for families due to a lack of Jordan's Principle funding.

The situation has left at least one mother scrambling to figure out how she'll make ends meet.

More than 450 families received letters from the council (CYFN) last month stating that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) had not confirmed if it would give the council Jordan's Principle funding for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 

"Due to this uncertainty, we cannot guarantee … supports beyond March 31, 2025," the letter states. 

Jordan's Principle, established in 2016, is meant to ensure First Nations children have access to government-funded services when they need them, without jurisdictional disputes getting in the way. Funding is application-based.

CYFN executive director Shadelle Chambers said that ISC usually responds to the council's applications in December or January to confirm how much money it will get for the coming fiscal year. However, this year, the federal government only confirmed on March 22 that Jordan's Principle funding would continue into 2025-2026 but still isn't accepting applications.

With funding from last fiscal year used up, Chambers said CYFN doesn't have money to sustain services like its "necessities of life" program, which provided families with vouchers for things like groceries, children's clothing and baby products, as well as programs for short-term housing and respite care.

"Having to send letters to our families that we work with that we're no longer able to support them in certain areas has been extremely frustrating," Chambers said.

"[It's] just another one of the systemic issues that First Nations and Yukon First Nations families and children have to face in terms of, you know, the practices of the federal government."

'I still feel hopeless,' mother says of losing supports

Ashley Russell, a single mother of two and a Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin citizen, was among the hundreds of people who used the  necessities of life program and said she went into "sheer panic" when she learned it was ending. 

"I still feel hopeless," she said. 

Russell, who's studying to become a social worker, said she used the program for grocery vouchers — $125 every two weeks for each child — and also had a respite worker helping with her younger child, who's neurodivergent. 

She said she hasn't figured out how to manage everything with those supports gone and is on the verge of quitting school. 

"Unfortunately, my family is one of the families that suffers with a lot of trauma and I am the only sober person in my entire family, the only person with a driver's license, the only person with a proper education and job," she said. 

"I'm also a full-time student and trying to work, trying to stay sober, trying to hold my family together…. And then to find out that I'm not going to get help, not even paid help — it feels very alone."

Chambers said CYFN has been working to connect families with community food programs or other rent assistance options while advocating for clarity and action from ISC. 

"The reality is this [situation] has caused a lot of stress for families and children, and it has also caused a lot of stress for our staff and our team," she said. 

"And, you know, we're here to help support families and when one of our main access to supports is cut off for no realistic reason … it's frustrating, right?"

ISC changing how applications are processed

In response to a request for comment about the status of Jordan's Principle funding in the Yukon, ISC spokesperson Eric Head largely repeated portions of an "operational bulletin" the department issued in February outlining changes to how it was processing applications. 

Changes include requiring more documentation for applications and narrowing the items and services that funding would be approved for. 

"ISC is reviewing Jordan's Principle processes and policies at regional and national levels with long-term sustainability in mind," Head wrote, quoting the bulletin.

"There is continued funding for 2025-2026 for Jordan's Principle. In addition, ISC is working to communicate with requestors."

Chambers, however, accused the government of "deflecting" from the "real issues" — including the fact that it has a backlog of 135,000 Jordan's Principle applications to get through — and said the consequences are "trickling down" to the families who were using CYFN's programs. 

Russell, meanwhile, said she'd spoken to other families in the same situation as hers and that while people understand the problem on the federal level, it doesn't make things easier.

"That doesn't take away our pain, that doesn't take away our frustration and just feeling alienated on our own land. Like, it's just very exhausting," she said. 

While Russell said she thought families needed to show grace to CYFN support workers dealing with the fallout, workers also needed to show "empathy and compassion" for families now suddenly struggling with what to do next. 

"It's not the workers' fault, but also like, the clients can't be expected to behave properly — they're in survival mode or in panic survival mode, you know?" she said.

"I hope we can find an answer soon that actually helps everybody."