INAC minister tells Attawapiskat First Nation youth he can't change their forever changing priorities
Native students go away disappointed - No money in budget for new elementary school, Indian affairs minister tells Attawapiskat children
Linda Diebel - National Affairs Writer - May 30, 2008
During a visit with Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl in his Parliament Hill office yesterday, young Shannen Koostachin says she looked him straight in the eye and told him: "I wish our school looked like this."
Unfortunately, it doesn't.
Instead, school for Shannen, 13, in the Cree First Nation of Attawapiskat on James Bay is a string of eight portables, where doors and windows don't seal, the only washroom is in a classroom and 400 children must brave the winter cold to change rooms, often getting sick in the process.
Still, Strahl told the Grade 8 student and her classmates – who came with their parents from the northern James Bay coast – there's no money for a new elementary school in her community.
"He left pretty fast after that. It was so disappointing," Shannen said later, in an interview from Ottawa, where she met with the minister and took part in ceremonies marking the aboriginal national day of action.
"We keep getting sick because we have to run outside. And it's pretty awful that people can hear you when you're in the bathroom," she said. "I always turn on the taps."
These conditions have existed since 2000, when the elementary school, built on contaminated ground, was deemed unsafe and closed. On several occasions, previous federal governments promised a new school.
Negotiations progressed until, last year, the Conservative government suddenly froze funds for new schools on First Nations reserves.
Yesterday, Strahl insisted in a statement the portables "are not a health and safety issue" for the children.
He said the community wants a permanent school, "and understandably, that's what they'd like."
But Ottawa has already paid about $5 million on portables, said Strahl, as well as spending money on an adjoining high school so elementary students can use the gymnasium.
The minister said he prioritizes infrastructure needs of First Nations schools, starting with health and safety – and "the facilities in Attawapiskat are not as high up as some unfortunate schools that are in worse shape."
Shannen challenged the minister's comments during her speech at an afternoon rally, telling about 1,000 people it's not healthy for the kids. She added: "I don't think he should be saying they're safe until he has walked in our moccasins."
NDP Charlie Angus, from the northern riding of Timmins-James Bay, has dogged Strahl about the issue during question period in the House of Commons, even making a YouTube video about their exchanges.
Another video he made about Attawapiskat, set to John Lennon's version of Stand by Me, has been watched by more than 59,000 viewers, sparking a letter-writing campaign by students across Ontario, B.C., Quebec and New Brunswick.
"Even if Charlie Angus puts out a YouTube video and gets publicity, I still can't change the priorities," said Strahl in his statement. "I have to be fair to everyone."
However, Phil Fontaine, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said yesterday the school is just another example of the "too often tragic and unfortunate circumstances" that plague First Nations communities.
He stressed yesterday's day of action, with activities across Canada, was peaceful because its goal was to educate Canadians about the difficulties faced by First Nations communities.
Fontaine agrees with Strahl about conditions in other schools, noting that 39 First Nations communities are without schools of any kind and "many, many more are in terrible shape."
But Fontaine sees no reason the Conservative government doesn't make First Nations children a priority and fix the schools, whatever they need. To leave conditions as they are in Attawapiskat is "completely unfair to the kids," said Fontaine. "These children are being short-changed and it can't be allowed to continue."
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