The case of a disabled teenager who has been denied extra funding from the federal government is a case all First Nations parents who have children with special needs should be monitoring, according to the Liberal critic for Aboriginal Affairs.
Carolyn Bennett calls the case of Jeremy Meawasige shocking.
The teenage boy is from the Pictou Landing Reserve in Nova Scotia and suffers from cerebral palsy, autism, spinal curvature, and a debilitating accumulation of spinal fluid on the brain.
His mother cared for him up until 2010 when she had a stroke.
After that additional caregivers were called in, but the band was forced to foot most of the bill.
Legal challenges were launched and according to Bennett, Ottawa has so far spent more than $200,000 fighting the case in court.
She questions both the logic of that decision, as well as the question of why Jordan’s Principle is not being followed.
The term “Jordan’s Principle” was coined after a young First Nations boy in Manitoba was left in hospital until he died, because of squabbling between the province and federal government over who should pay for his care at home.
Bennett says the government should pay for Jeremy’s care now, and worry about who foots the entire bill later:
“It’s a doubly egregious act not to apply Jordan’s Principle and just pay what it costs to provide the care for what young Jeremy requires.”
She adds the entire situation facing First Nations children who live on reserve is tough on everyone.
Bennett says many families are automatically forced to seek out a city that can accommodate their child’s needs because specialized services are often not found on reserve:
“And then it becomes almost a postal code, geographic fight instead of the fact that these services could never have been provided on-reserve. And therefore, it is the job of the federal government — and when appropriate the provincial government — to get these families what they actually need to survive.”
According to Bennett, the amount of money the government has spent fighting the case would have paid for two-and-a-half years of care for Jeremy.