First Nations schools in BC continue to wait for adequate funding as jurisdication issues discussed
Feds should make good on First Nations jurisdiction funding over education in British Columbia
We urge the Prime Minister and his new majority government to stop playing political football with our children's future and to finish what it started with an A+ back in 2006 with so much fanfare and promise.
By CHRISTA WILLIAMS - June 20, 2011
VANCOUVER, B.C. Two weeks ago, Canada's auditor general issued a damning report on the government's failure to address pressing First Nations issues, such as education.
If you had asked us at the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) in British Columbia six years ago if the then-new Conservative government would end up with such a terrible report card, we would have been very skeptical. Today, sadly, we are not surprised.
One of the early acts that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's first government passed was enabling legislation to formalize First Nations jurisdiction over education in British Columbia. This was followed by similar legislation from the British Columbia government. The federal legislation (perhaps hard to believe now) received unanimous all-party support in the Commons and the Senate. It was fast-tracked through Parliament in a matter of weeks by then Indian Affairs minister Jim Prentice. It was such an historic moment that students from our jurisdiction schools in British Columbia came to Ottawa to witness the vote in the Commons and meet with Mr. Prentice to thank him.
All that remained at that point was to negotiate appropriate funding to ensure our students would receive comparable funding with the public school systems, and the commitment was made to ensure this would happen.
It would be difficult to imagine a more all-round good-news story. Positive political action on First Nations education, all party-unity on an issue, and the biggest winners of all—our children.
The British Columbia First Nations jurisdiction initiative had already been singled out for praise by the auditor general in her November 2004 report, and has since continued to receive praise from all quarters. Our relationship with the province had, and continues to be excellent. We have worked hard for jurisdiction by building a strong foundation for a quality First Nations education system, which includes relevant curricula, standards, teachers' certification and more. Central to our schools is language and culture to encourage confident and successful First Nations learners.
Our original euphoria began to wane a little when it became clear that negotiating funding with government officials might not be as straightforward as getting political approval for the legislation proved to be.
However, we dealt with issues one by one until we were down to such key matters as funding for language and culture training (which goes to a central reason for a First Nations system and is as core to us as language funding for the French school system in British Columbia) and technology (for example computers and internet access for our mostly isolated schools).
Then, in November 2010, we were told to expect good news and a funding offer that would make us very happy. Unfortunately, when that news came, in the form of a letter two days before Christmas, it was anything but good.
All those years of good faith negations were now out the window. Instead we were presented with three new choices: 1. Take a funding cut; 2. Get a little more money but cede some of our control over our schools to the government; 3. Continue to negotiate jurisdiction funding, but First Nations governments have to agree to accept a federal position on own source revenue funding.
Option one clearly was ridiculous. Option two was equally ridiculous. In passing their respective bills to enable our jurisdiction, the whole point was that we would run our own system, as do the provinces. British Columbia was and remains fully supportive of this, and we even have a letter dated this month from British Columbia's education minister stressing this.
Option three was particularly troubling as it appeared to be a case of Ottawa trying to use our hard-won education jurisdiction as a club to impose policy on First Nations governments in British Columbia. Ottawa knows that the issue of own source revenue funding is one that has to be negotiated with First Nations governments as a part of self-government and revenue sharing agreements, which most in British Columbia do not yet have.
A meeting late last week with Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan and his staff did little to allay our concerns, but we remain hopeful that he and his department will reconsider their positions. We know there are many in the government that still want this to succeed.
We urge the Prime Minister and his new majority government to stop playing political football with our children's future and to finish what it started with an A+ back in 2006 with so much fanfare and promise.
Christa Williams is jurisdiction negotiator for First Nations Education Steering Committee.