First Nations children with disabilities living on reserves and their families will now be eligible for provincial support services and home care, after a 14-year legal battle waged by an Anishinaabe mother and son ended Monday.
Harriet Sumner-Pruden filed a human rights complaint on behalf of her son, Dewey Pruden, when he was eight-years-old in 2010, alleging he was unfairly denied and delayed access to disability services because the family lived in Pinaymootang First Nation, about 220 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg
Pruden, now 22, has a neurological disorder called Sturge-Weber syndrome, is non-verbal and and has complex physical and intellectual disabilities. Because the federal government is responsible for providing health-care services in First Nations communities, his family was not able to access Children’s DisABILITY Services and home care, which are managed provincially.
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From left: Mother Harriet Sumner-Pruden, son, Alfred “Dewey” Pruden, and father, Alfred Pruden sign a human rights settlement agreement Monday that will remove the “discriminatory” eligibility restrictions for youth disability services/home care for First Nations children living on reserve.
A decade after the initial complaint, an adjudicator ruled the province had failed to provide the family adequate health care, but did not agree systemic discrimination was a factor.
After a judicial review sought by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, a settlement agreement was reached to remove the exclusionary eligibility criteria.
Sumner-Pruden, who is her son’s main caregiver, visited Winnipeg to sign the agreement with her husband and son at the legislative building Monday.
She said she never thought filing that complaint would create change for kids across Manitoba 14 years later.
“This was discrimination towards our First Nation children, it’s systemic discrimination,” she said.
“Now that it’s out in the open, I think, I really would love to move forward.”
Children living in First Nations communities and their families access supports through Jordan’s Principle, which provides care to kids 18 and under. According to Children’s DisABILITY Services documentation, children in First Nations communities were excluded “in order to avoid duplication” with the federal government.
Public Interest Law Centre attorney Joëlle Pastora Sala, who represented Sumner-Pruden, disagreed with that interpretation of the law.
“It is because of the historic relationship between Manitoba, and Canada, playing ping-pong games with the lives of First Nations and trying to hand off responsibility for funding of services,” she said.
Manitoba Human Rights Commissioner Karen Sharma called the case “unique” in how it had, over years, resulted in such far-reaching change across the province.
“I think it was such a reminder to me about why we do this work, that the human rights system can really bring about such value in helping us move systems that almost seemed, for well over a decade, it was a system that was immovable,” she said.
“But this morning … we managed to move a system toward toward being more equitable, toward being more just, and being more inclusive.”
The agreement will also create a working group that will reach out to provincial, federal and First Nations governments on how best to provide Children’s DisABILITY Services and home care to youth living on reserves.
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine commended the agreement Monday.
“We believe that who you are and where you live shouldn’t affect your ability to access the provincial services to which you’re entitled,” she said in a statement.
“Our government welcomes the requirements set out in the Sumner-Pruden settlement agreement and looks forward to working with First Nations to implement these important changes.”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Acting Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy published a statement noting more needed to be done.
“There is an urgent need for culturally appropriate, First Nations-led programs to serve both on- and off-reserve citizens at every stage of life,” she said.
“We must also recognize the critical gap identified by First Nations leadership, families, and workers regarding services for individuals aging out of Jordan’s Principle — a pressing issue that demands immediate action.”
The achievement is bittersweet for Sumner-Pruden, as her son is no longer eligible for the youth support services she fought so hard for.
She said she will continue to advocate for the extension of Jordan’s Principle’s age eligibility.
“You know, my son has the mentality of a young boy. He still listens to Sesame Street, he enjoys cartoons and things like that,” she said.
“Sometimes, I’m afraid, when we’re gone, who’s going to take care of him?”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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