The head of CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 national Inuit organization is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in to save a program that helps fund services for Inuit kids.

In a letter sent to Trudeau last week, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed called on the prime minister to SA国际影视传媒渃learly signalSA国际影视传媒� his SA国际影视传媒済overnmentSA国际影视传媒檚 commitmentSA国际影视传媒� to continue funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI), which is set to end on March 31.

SA国际影视传媒淲e are alarmed by the growing likelihood of an abrupt curtailing of funding for the program and the consequences this will have for our families and communities,SA国际影视传媒� Obed wrote on Feb. 12.

SA国际影视传媒渓f program funding is not renewed, many families will again be left vulnerable to the systemic racial discrimination that characterizes health and education service delivery in Inuit Nunangat.SA国际影视传媒�

The letter comes after Obed said Inuit treaty organizations have been negotiating with Ottawa on a long-term approach to funding the ICFI, which was launched in 2019 to support JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle.

JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle stems from a human rights complaint filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Family and Caring Society in 2007. They argued First Nations kids were being denied services equal to those available to other children as a result of constant jurisdictional disputes between the federal and provincial governments.

Under JordanSA国际影视传媒檚 Principle, families are to apply for and receive funding as they need it, and the provinces and federal government are expected to sort out jurisdictional battles over who pays for it later.

ICFI funds an array of services in Nunavut alone, including access to speech-language pathologists, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder treatment services and school food programs, said the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation (ACYF), which helps facilitate ICFI applications.

ICFI also helps fund food voucher programs. Eighteen of NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 25 communities are signed up, with more 13,000 kids enrolled. Food voucher programs give families $500 a month per child to help buy food, plus another $250 for kids younger than four.

On Tuesday, the City of Iqaluit warned its residents to prepare for the programSA国际影视传媒檚 end.

The ACYF recently surveyed Nunavut communities on the impact of losing the program and shared the responses with The Canadian Press.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of people depend on ICFI now SA国际影视传媒� If it stops, a lot of children will probably rely on the soup kitchen again,SA国际影视传媒� said one senior administrative officer said in the ACYF survey.

SA国际影视传媒淚 have two kids with anemia. We havenSA国际影视传媒檛 gone to the health centre since the program started. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 a nice change,SA国际影视传媒� said another community member.

ICFI was always set to sunset on March 31, and with Parliament prorogued the government will have only a short window to get appropriations passed to keep the program alive into the new fiscal year.

But Obed said Inuit started worrying about the programSA国际影视传媒檚 survival well before Parliament was prorogued on Jan. 6.

SA国际影视传媒淲e felt as though there was a distancing happening in the last six months that has become more acute in the last couple of months,SA国际影视传媒� Obed told The Canadian Press.

He said Inuit paused negotiations six months ago so they could get a clear direction from Ottawa on what it was willing to take on long-term, and focused on working out what a shared responsibility model would look like.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 been hard, though, to negotiate that shared model when we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the clear terms and conditions from the federal government about what theySA国际影视传媒檙e willing to negotiate and what theySA国际影视传媒檙e not,SA国际影视传媒� Obed said.

Obed said heSA国际影视传媒檚 had good dialogue with Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu but the minister hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been able to give clear direction on the program either.

SA国际影视传媒淚 hope this is not just a cold calculation of political priority, where the country has decided that it has spent too much money on Indigenous peoples, and this is one of the areas where it would need to start tightening the purse strings,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Nunavut Health Minister John Main said heSA国际影视传媒檚 asked Hajdu about the programSA国际影视传媒檚 future but has received no response.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 causing me quite a good deal of concern, not knowing, because ISA国际影视传媒檓 looking at the health aspects to it and all the benefits,SA国际影视传媒� Main said.

SA国际影视传媒淟ike on the nutrition side, we know one of the key things weSA国际影视传媒檙e up against is food insecurity here in Nunavut.SA国际影视传媒�

Newly-elected Nunavut Tunngavik President Jeremy Tunraluk said heSA国际影视传媒檚 also received no response from HajduSA国际影视传媒檚 office on the file.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e reached out multiple times SA国际影视传媒� It really is very concerning that weSA国际影视传媒檙e not getting any responses from her office,SA国际影视传媒� Tunraluk said.

Hajdu was unavailable for an interview Tuesday to respond to ObedSA国际影视传媒檚 letter. The Canadian Press has reached out to the Prime MinisterSA国际影视传媒檚 Office for comment but has not yet received a response.

In a previous interview with The Canadian Press, Hajdu said Ottawa is committed to co-developing a long-term model for the program.

SA国际影视传媒淚 know that thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of anxiety related to where the government is politically right now,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut I can tell you that the commitment of this government is to continue to support not only ICFI, but also the self-determined implementation.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒擝y Nick Murray, The Canadian Press