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First Nations in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan are expressing their concerns to the federal governments Joint National Panel on First Nations education (see below). First Nations in Ontario are establishing a strategy to engage in a parallel process to that of the National Panel and develop a report to be submitted to the National Chief and the INAC Minister to coincide with the National Panel submission.

The Chiefs in Ontario have asserted that a parallel process represents an opportunity to provide a positive contribution to the process of developing options. The parallel process will not be at odds with the National Panel initiative, but will serve to compliment the report produced by the Panel.

Concerns expressed by First Nations representatives in Ontario:

• The marginalization of treaty rights: Treaty rights have been marginalized as non-derogation clauses in the Terms of Reference for the Panel, which means that Aboriginal and Treaty rights are not regarded as assets for resolving differences about policy or process outcomes or as tools for making critical decision-making respecting education.
• The AFN policy paper First Nations Control of First Nations Education clearly states that “the Government of Canada, in partnership with First Nations, take immediate steps to engage in the development of federal legislation that guarantees high quality, culturally relevant First Nations education programs and services”. Unfortunately, the Panel process as reviewed does not meet the principles and values of the sincere partnership required to address the diverse needs and aspirations of First Nations in Ontario.
• Finally, the Federal government’s Reform agenda limits First Nation control by unilaterally imposing programs and systems. The Reform agenda is at direct odds with the UNDRIP assertion that “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning”.
• The Terms of Reference of the National Panel do not adequately:
  o denote the responsibility of the Panel to address the funding inequities of the current funding regime for First Nations education;
  o insist on examination of the inclusion of culture and language as an integral component of First Nations education;
  o reflect the principles of the Assembly of First Nations‟ (AFN) policy document First Nations Control of First Nations Education, including lifelong learning and early childhood education.
  o reflect the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which has been endorsed by Canada and articulates that “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning”.
• There was minimal First Nation involvement in the selection of the panel that has resulted in a lack of First Nation representation on the panel. This in turn generates a lack of confidence in the panel to adequately report on the diverse and intricate concerns of First Nation communities and organizations.
• Federal behavior consistently fails to address the issue of the government‟s obligations to consult on legislative proposals explicitly and clearly, based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent as outlined in the UNDRIP. This behavior has been observed in legislation on Matrimonial Real Property and Bill S-11 on water, where „engagement’ with First Nations is construed as ‘consultation’.
• There are differences between the way Canada and First Nations organizations describe the primary focus of the National Panel‟s work:
  o Federal documents emphasize the need to improve First Nations education “outcomes”;
  o First Nations documents emphasize the need to address the longstanding, and well-documented underfunding of First Nations education on-reserve (particularly inequities in the resources available to support First Nations education on reserve compared to resources provided by provincial governments for Canadians in off-reserve schools).
• There is a lack of clarity as to whether or not legislation is considered a primary component of the National Panel submission.
• First Nations in Ontario have not yet determined the value of addressing their identified education needs through legislation or whether other options have been sufficiently explored

Click here for letter to AFN from COO announcing process

Click here for presentation of issues

Click here for workplan

Click here for the COO Resolution