The international right to health and Jordan's Principle: a comparative analysis of the substantive and procedural differences to Indigenous children’s right to health in Canada
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Date
2024-09-11
Authors
Martin, Ana
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Abstract
The Jordan's Principle plays a significant role in facilitating Indigenous children's access to healthcare services, resources, and support in Canada. It is designed to prevent delays in federal-provincial jurisdiction disputes, ensuring that Indigenous children receive the care they need. The Principle has evolved from its strict restrictive eligibility criteria towards more open criteria, guided by the concept of substantial equality regarding Indigenous children's health. However, Canada's repeated failure to uphold its duty towards Indigenous children within the domestic legal framework of Jordan's Principle is a matter of urgent concern. This failure extends to the Medicine Chest clause of Treaty 6 and Canada's observance of international human rights treaties, particularly in protecting the right to health.
Canada's international obligations to the right to health fall under several ratified treaties. This paper however, focuses on the following three: the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Despite being bound to international human rights mechanisms that mandate Canada to protect, respect, and fulfill the right to health, Canada has yet to guarantee such a right within its domestic legal system. This research will delve into Jordan's Principle to identify the substantive and procedural differences in addressing the right to health for Indigenous children through its legal scope and compare this with Canadian constitutional obligations and Canada's obligations through International Human Rights Law.
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Keywords
Indigenous Rights, Human Rights, Right to Health, Jordan's Principle, Indigenous Health