Care providers say Ottawa takes far too long to pay for health services for First Nations kids

Some health care providers say bureaucratic red tape at the federal level is holding up vital therapies for First Nations children, causing some kids to experience further developmental delays and leaving their businesses in financial distress.

Several speech-language pathologists interviewed by CBC News said their clients are waiting six to 12 months for funding approvals from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to begin sessions under the Jordan's Principle policy.

That policy states that when federal and provincial governments disagree over which government is responsible for providing services to First Nations children, they must help the child first and argue over the bills later.

The speech-language pathologists told CBC News it can take even longer for the department to pay for their services. Some say they have been waiting for payment for over a year.

They said that most other third-party payers approve funding in 10 to 30 business days and pay out within 30 days. 

Rachel Pessah, owner of Bright Spot Therapy Services in Timmins, Ont., suspended services for 22 First Nations children this month. She said she hasn't been paid by the department for the sessions and needs to pay her employees.

"It's been an incredibly stressful year so I've had to consider laying off staff," Pessah said. "I've had to consider actually closing my business because of the delays."

Gail Tippeneskum's six-year-old daughter Olivia — one of Pessah's clients — can't access speech therapy sessions until ISC pays Bright Spot Therapy Services.

"I am concerned about my daughter now ... what if she doesn't learn or doesn't talk as well now because she's not having that one-on-one time with the workers?" Tippeneskum said.

Service providers say the delays are pushing many independent operations to the brink of bankruptcy, while causing children to face further developmental challenges and fall behind in school.

"I love the program and what it was designed to do … But I feel like it's really failing their primary objective of not having children fall through the cracks," Pessah said.

"The longer kids wait for these services, the wider the gap is between where they're at and where they need to be for their age."

Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson of the Norway House Cree, who died in 2005 at the age of five in the midst of a two-year disagreement between Manitoba and Ottawa over who would pay for his care.

In 2017, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to process requests to First Nations children within a 12 to 48 hour timeframe and stop imposing service delays before funding is provided.