Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle to ensure First Nations children get the services they need when they need them.

Jordan’s Principle was established by First Nations in response to the death of five-year-old Jordan River Anderson, a child from Norway House Cree Nation, who suffered from Carey Fineman Ziter syndrome, a rare muscular disorder that required years of medical treatment in a Winnipeg hospital.

After spending the first two years of his life in a hospital, doctors cleared Jordan to live in a family home near the hospital in Winnipeg.

However, the federal and provincial governments could not resolve who was financially responsible for the necessary home care.

For over two years, the Government of Canada and Manitoba provincial government continued to argue, while Jordan remained in the hospital.

In 2005, at the age of five, Jordan died in the hospital; he never had the opportunity to live in a family home.

Private Members Motion 296 in support of Jordan’s principle passed in the House of Commons, on Dec. 12, 2007.

May 10 is Bear Witness Day, an annual observance dedicated to Jordan’s Principle.