First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan's Principle Capital Delivery Guide: Overview
To support the funding of capital and other related costs based on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
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First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program
The FNCFS Program oversees and provides contribution funding to support the holistic and culturally appropriate delivery of prevention services (including early intervention and least disruptive measures), protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services and capital funding in order to prevent and respond to child maltreatment, and to support family preservation and well-being, including cultural and linguistic connections for First Nations children, youth and families on reserve or in the Yukon.
Details related to capital funding under the FNCFS Program can be found in Chapter 1.
Jordan's Principle
Jordan's Principle ensures that First Nations children living in Canada can access the products, services and supports they need, when and where they need them.
Details related to capital funding under Jordan's Principle can be found in Chapter 2.
Objective
This Capital Delivery Guide describes Indigenous Services Canada's (ISC) approach to implementing the 2021 CHRT 41 order on capital and explains how funding requestors can access capital funding to meet their service delivery standards and/or programming needs. The approach for implementing 2021 CHRT 41 was designed to enable First Nations, FNCFS agencies and First Nations authorized Jordan's Principle service providers with access to capital funding in a way that is streamlined, timely, addresses actual needs, and minimizes administrative burden. ISC will exercise a "reconciliation first" approach when receiving, processing and assessing capital requests in a common sense manner that meets the needs of service providers.
Implementation of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders related to capital
Timeline
- On January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) ruled that Canada's provision of FNCFS and Jordan's Principle was discriminatory on the prohibited grounds of race and national or ethnic origin. The ruling specifically noted capital as one area requiring redress.
- On August 26, 2021, the CHRT issued a "letter-decision" pertaining to issues that had been before the CHRT for some time, including major capital.
- On November 16, 2021, the CHRT issued an order related to capital under 2021 CHRT 41 which was amended on January 18, 2022 to reflect an agreement reached by the parties to the CHRT complaint and Canada.
The 2021 CHRT 41 order requires Canada to fund the full cost of the planning, purchase and construction of capital assets needed to support the delivery of FNCFS and/or to support the delivery of approved services under Jordan's Principle. Further details on how to submit a request for services through Jordan's Principle and infrastructure can be found in Chapter 2.
Per the order, ISC will also provide funding to conduct capital planning activities where appropriate, including capital needs assessments, feasibility studies, and any other required documentation as part of the funding determination process.
ISC will fund eligible costs incurred on or after August 26, 2021. Claims for reimbursement related to expenses incurred by the requestor in one fiscal year can be submitted until September 30 of the following fiscal year. Should additional time be required, requestors are asked to advise ISC as soon as possible and provide a justification for that additional time. Requestors can access funding for capital projects that are underway or that the requestor advises are ready to proceed.
This Capital Delivery Guide should be read with the 2021 CHRT 41 order and the terms and conditions outlined in the funding agreement. If there are material differences between the 2021 CHRT 41 order and ISC's terms and conditions and/or your funding agreement and/or this guide and/or any other policy or practice related to the 2021 CHRT 41 order, the order will prevail.
As there are two components to capital, both under the FNCFS Program and under Jordan's Principle, please read each section carefully.
Principles
ISC will apply the following principles when assessing the eligibility of requests:
- capital assets support the delivery of FNCFS and Jordan's Principle funded services and promote substantive equality and culturally appropriate services, given the distinct needs and circumstances of the First Nation, including their cultural, historical, and geographical needs and circumstances;
- the purchase, construction or renovation of the capital asset must be underway or "ready to proceed";
- the costs are generally recognized as necessary to purchase, construct or renovate the asset, or as appropriate to conduct pre-capital planning for a capital asset;
- recognize generally accepted accounting principles, generally accepted public sector procurement practices, and relevant federal, provincial, and local laws and regulations; and,
- a funding approach for the life cycle needs of the capital asset is provided.
Service standards and communication with funding requestors
ISC will send notifications to the funding requestor in writing as their capital funding request progresses through the assessment process.
Upon ISC receiving a capital funding request submission the 30-business day clock will begin and ISC will respect the following service standards:
- Within 2 business days of receiving the Capital Funding Request Submission
- ISC Headquarters will send a 'Confirmation of Receipt' message in writing to the funding requestor
- Should, upon initial assessment, any information be missing from the Capital Funding Request Form or the submission, ISC will notify the requestor in the Confirmation of Receipt message
- As much as possible, ISC will support the requestor in gathering any missing information
- If ISC requires additional information to support a funding decision on the request, ISC will provide the requestor with a detailed list of required information in writing and the 30-business day clock will be placed on pause until the outstanding information is received and the clock resumes.
- ISC will request the additional information in writing via email on three separate occasions at least two weeks apart over a minimum duration of six weeks. Should no response be received by email, attempts will be made by other means (phone, fax, contacting other individuals within the organization) within the timelines indicated above to obtain the requested information.
- Should the requestor fail to provide the information, or communicate their intention to provide the information within four weeks, ISC will close the application and advise that a new capital project can be submitted once the required information is available.
- ISC will inform the requestor in writing via email when the submission is complete and no further documentation is required. This notice will also inform the requestor of how many days remain on the 30-business day clock.
- ISC will notify the requestor in writing of the funding decision.
- ISC may not need the full 30-business days to reach each funding decision – it will vary based on the circumstances of each project.
- If the 30-business day service standard for the full funding decision cannot be met because of the level of project complexity or exceptional circumstances, ISC will notify the requestor in writing, providing the rationale for the needed additional time.
- If ISC is not able to make a full funding decision to move ahead with construction or purchase because the project is not "ready to proceed", ISC will make a funding decision at the current phase of the project life cycle that supports the pre-capital planning and/or design phases of the project.
Assessment process and documentation required to support a capital funding request
- The capital funding request and assessment process outlined in this Guide has been designed to be adaptable to various types of requests that will come forward, their varying degrees of complexity and the different phases of project readiness in the capital project lifecycle.
- Straightforward funding requests (e.g., a vehicle purchase or replacement of windows for FNCFS agencies) and/or requests allowable under Jordan's Principle processes outside of 2021 CHRT 41 (e.g. vehicles) will be assessed and processed through existing internal mechanisms and will not be subject to this Capital Funding Request and Assessment Process.
- Where the funding request seeks support for a major project (e.g., construction of a new building), the project will need to complete the approval phases of the capital project life cycle which includes: Pre-Capital Needs Assessment, Feasibility, Planning (including geotechnical and environmental studies) and Approvals; Design; Construction; and Completion. The number of phases that each capital project must undergo depends on the type of proposal and its level of complexity.
- Where relevant, existing ISC program policies and other federal policies will be used to support the implementation of eligible capital requests. In cases where requests do not fall within these policies, ISC will work with the funding requestor to identify requirements based on industry standards and best practices.
- If a funding request does not fall within the scope of the 2021 CHRT 41 order, to the greatest extent possible, ISC will help the requestor determine if there are other potential federal sources of funding that could be accessed to support the project.
Ongoing guidance available from ISC throughout the process
ISC officials will support funding requestors through the funding request process and the capital project phases to help ensure that eligible capital requests are funded and completed. The end of each chapter in the Capital Delivery Guide contains contact information should guidance or support be needed.