Abstract
There are analogous challenges when it comes to the management and provision of health services and drinking water in First Nations reserves in Canada; both represent human rights and both involve complex and multijurisdictional management. The purpose of this study is to translate the tenets of Jordan’s Principle, a child-first principle regarding health service provision, within the broader context of First Nation drinking water governance in order to identify avenues for positive change. This project involved secondary analysis of data from 53 semi-structured, key informant (KI) interviews across eight First Nation communities in western Canada. Data were coded according to the three principles of: provision of culturally inclusive management, safeguarding health, and substantive equity. Failure to incorporate Traditional Knowledge, water worldviews, and holistic health as well as challenges to technical management were identified as areas currently restricting successful drinking water management. Recommendations include improved infrastructure, increased resources (both financial and non-financial), in-community capacity building, and relationship building. To redress the inequities currently experienced by First Nations when it comes to management of and access to safe drinking water, equitable governance structures developed from the ground up and embedded in genuine relationships between First Nations and Canadian federal government agencies are required.
Highlights
Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle that was created from the tragic story of Jordan RiverAnderson
All authors identify as non-Indigenous allied researchers
Irvine is in the early stages of her academic career and has undertaken several research roles within First Nations community-based research projects in the areas of primary care and has recently started a PhD working on a First Nations community-led water-related health project
Summary
He spent his entire life in a hospital due to jurisdictional funding disputes that led to inequitable access to government services [1]. The three pillars of Jordan’s Principle are providing culturally appropriate services, safeguarding the best interests of the child, and substantive equality [2]. The intention of these three pillars is to offer a guiding framework that aims to ensure that the needs of the child are adequately considered and that there are no “denials, delays, or disruptions” in service provision due to jurisdictional disputes over funding [3]. The premise of Jordan’s Principle is embedded in international obligations (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) which are mirrored in domestic
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