Yukon non-profit sues feds after defunding of meal program for First Nations kids

By Canadian Press on March 24, 2026.

OTTAWA — A Yukon non-profit says the federal government is wrongfully dragging its feet on reconsidering a decision to cut funding for a program that delivered nutritious meals to hundreds of First Nations children in rural areas of the territory.

The Yukon First Nation Education Directorate Society says its rural nutrition program served about 900 First Nations children, delivering food to rural communities for around $15 a day per child since 2019.

The society says in a Federal Court application that Indigenous Services Canada last year denied its funding request for 2025-2026, and has failed to decide an appeal, missing a 30-day deadline by several months.

The non-profit’s application says it’s now going to court to compel Indigenous Services Canada to make a “timely appeal decision,” claiming First Nations Children in Yukon are being “irreparably harmed by the ongoing delay.”

It says the funding denial spelled the end of the program, and its absence has impacted “Yukon’s most vulnerable children … who regularly go hungry.”

Indigenous Services Canada has not filed a response to the application, which says the federal department has committed to delivering a decision by June 2026, citing a “significant increase” in demand for its services as a reason for the delay.

The Yukon First Nation Education Directorate Society, its lawyers and Indigenous Services Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2026

The Canadian Press