Mr. Speaker, Jordan's Principle is a federal program that distributes billions of dollars nationwide annually to raise the standard of living for First Nations children. There is no funding cap. The program is on demand and available to First Nations' families, their service providers, and their community governments, so long as the application provided to Indigenous Services Canada identifies the needs of First Nations children which are not currently met or up to the standard enjoyed by their non-Indigenous peers. Therefore, every year a large portion of what the federal government distributes to northern First Nations children through Jordan's Principle goes to our territory's schools. Here in Yellowknife, school boards receive millions of dollars to support First Nations youth. For example, last year YK1 received more money from Jordan's Principle than it did from taxpayers, to the tune of more than $6 million of their annual budget.
These funds are vital for our schools, Mr. Speaker, to hire crucial support staff. However, last month, CBC reported 60 percent of support assistants were paid -- or sorry, and last month CBC reported 60 percent of support assistants were paid for through Jordan's Principle funding. And this can include everything from classroom assistants to speech-language pathologists. Recently, however, Mr. Speaker, Indigenous Services Canada has been struggling with such a massive backlog of Jordan's Principle applications the resulting delays have become so severe to schools across Canada that they're now cutting services due to that uncertainty. Now to make matters worse, the federal government is narrowing the eligibility criteria for Jordan's Principle applications, including the eligibility for school-related applications.
These changes will likely have a serious impact on education in the North, especially if assistant positions are reduced or cut entirely. I know that the Minister is aware of these changes but working families need to know that once the impact on our schools become clear, we will as a government advocate to prevent these cuts from taking place. If those efforts are not successful, then the Minister has no choice but to adjust school funding to compensate appropriately otherwise this will be yet another devastating blow to education for Indigenous children in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from the Sahtu.
