Regina math tutoring service asking Indigenous Services Canada for answers after backlogged funding

WATCH: A Regina math tutoring service is asking Indigenous Services Canada for answers after backlogged funding. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

The organizers of a Saskatchewan math initiative for Indigenous children say they have not received funding promised through Jordan’s Principle, despite being approved over eight months ago.

Before starting tutoring, Cadence Parley’s math skills were at a Grade 4 level, about four years behind where he should have been.

“It wasn’t really my favourite subject, I didn’t understand a whole lot,” he told CTV News.

A year and a half later, the Grade 9 student is close to bridging the gap.

“We’ve seen a huge jump in his overall understanding when it comes to math. His grades have improved and I think just his overall confidence,” Cadence’s mother Michelle explained.

His family credits his progress to Project Kakim.

The Mathnasium program in Regina focuses on helping Indigenous youth improve their learning. “Kakim” is a Cree term - translating to “him.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The three-year project received funding for its first year under Jordan’s Principle, a federal initiative created to address gaps, delays or denials in accessing government services for Indigenous residents.

Despite receiving funding to cover the program’s first year costs, the owner of Mathnasium in North Regina said he is still waiting on more than $150,000 from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

“The application went in February of last year. The project was supposed to start three or four months later. We didn’t actually receive an approval until September,” owner Ash Noureldin explained.

“[Getting approved] was after a lot of back and forth and asking members of Parliament to follow up and do just the basic groundwork … It was always, ‘We just haven’t gotten to it yet,’ which is frustrating because we designed it with Jordan’s Principle representatives, and they ensured that what we were applying for was checking literally every box.”

In a statement to CTV News, ISC said it cannot provide information about specific funding requests due to privacy reasons.

“Out of respect for the privacy of children and youth receiving products and services through Jordan’s Principle and in compliance with privacy legislation, we cannot provide detailed information about funding requests pertaining to specific individuals in need,” the statement read.

“Every request differs in the time and effort required for review, as well as in complexity. When a decision cannot be made at the regional level, the request is escalated to national headquarters who are trained to review more complex Jordan’s Principle requests.”

Although the program is still in place, Noureldin said it continues to affect the business financially.

“It’s not sustainable. I’m now incurring a massive cost personally,” he said. “… [This] has everything to do with the mission and the objective which is to change this narrative of educational outcomes for Indigenous youth.”

Regardless of the program’s financial woes, many families have been able to reap the benefits. They include Malikai Cameron, who was assessed at a Grade 2 level and now sits at a Grade 6 level about a year and a half later.

“I feel more confident and more focused because of the program I’ve gotten,” Malikai said.

His mother, Kylie Lizotte, said without the program being covered federally their family would not be able to afford the service on their own.

“As a parent, I didn’t know how much he was struggling until we got into the program. Not only did it open our eyes, it’s helped him progress so much,” she shared.

“Without the program and without the funding, I just don’t think we would be where we’re at academically in his math career.”

Currently, a total of 40 children utilize the project as the organization waits for answers on the federal funds.

“I hope that we can figure out something with the government with the funding,” Lizotte added. “Because I think a lot of students will unfortunately suffer negatively academically if we can’t figure out a funding situation, which it was promised in the beginning.”