A federal appeal court has rebuked the Department of Indigenous Services for refusing to fund critical housing repairs on a First Nations reserve, despite evidence the unsafe conditions were making children seriously ill.Blacklock's Reporter says in a ruling that cuts against Ottawa’s courtroom strategy, the Federal Court of Appeal found the department wrongly rejected repeated requests to fix a deteriorating home on the Oneida First Nation of Southwold, Ont., where two school-aged girls suffered worsening asthma linked to mould and structural decay.“At the heart of this appeal are two school age First Nations girls who suffer from poorly controlled moderate to severe asthma,” wrote Justice Siobhan Monaghan, noting the children’s grandmother had repeatedly sought federal help to repair the house.Court records showed the home was plagued by “significant mould contamination,” rotting insulation and a cracked foundation. Federal lawyers conceded inspectors found mould on the ceiling and walls and confirmed the house was in poor repair.Medical evidence before the court showed the girls experienced frequent nosebleeds and breathing difficulties blamed on environmental factors inside the home. Doctors recommended mould remediation, warning the conditions were exacerbating asthma and causing broader health and social problems..Repair estimates put the cost at a minimum of $186,639 for what was described as a “total gut job,” including stripping drywall, cabinetry and rotting exterior siding. Monaghan noted the department did not dispute the cost and that its own inspectors backed up the findings.Despite that, the department refused funding, arguing major renovations fell outside its responsibility to care for indigenous children. The court rejected that position outright.Monaghan said officials adopted an “unreasonably narrow” interpretation of their duty of care and failed to consider the health risks to the children or the possibility of child welfare intervention due to unsafe living conditions. She ordered the department to reconsider the case and pay $10,000 in legal costs..The ruling also pointed to Parliament’s 2007 endorsement of Jordan’s Principle, which holds that children should receive needed services first, with governments sorting out jurisdictional disputes later. The principle is named after Jordan Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation, who died at age five after bureaucratic wrangling delayed his care.Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has publicly pledged to put children first. Speaking in the Commons on November 20, she said Ottawa must act with urgency. “Find a path forward and respond to the urgency that is needed in this file for solutions that will deliver the proper care for children surrounded by their families, in communities, with their own language and by those who care for them the most,” she said.
