The Canadian government has lost in court — again — to a First Nations grandmother fighting to fix extensive mould at her home on Oneida Nation of the Thames, near London, Ont.

The legal battle concerns Joanne Powless’s request for $200,000 through Jordan’s Principle for remediation work, which Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) denied, despite a doctor calling the service a “life-saving necessity” for Powless’s two grandchildren for whom she is the primary caregiver.

In a decision released Monday, the Federal Court of Appeal says ISC’s denial was unreasonable because it was neither justified, transparent nor intelligible. Worst of all, ISC failed to grapple with the potential consequences for the two young sisters with severe asthma made worse by mould, writes Justice K. A. Siobhan Monaghan.