Demonstration in Ottawa
Underfunded Schools

Nathalie Tremblay in interview
with the Chief of the Assembly of
First Nations of Quebec and Labrador.
(french)

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Radio Canada / Ottawa Gatineau
Some 300 First Nations people demonstrated in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon to make federal MPs aware of the crisis situation that their communities are experiencing. They believe that their schools are underfunded and that this means that they cannot provide quality education for their children.

They are asking the government for more money to guarantee their children an education that is on par with that provided for other children in non-Aboriginal communities

“In just a few years from now, we will be faced with a situation of crisis proportions,” declared Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. He believes that First Nations schools lag far behind, for example on technological matters, and that there is a lack of funding for their libraries. « 

First Nations schools receive their funding from the federal government, unlike non-native schools which are of course funded by the provinces. The funding formula used by Ottawa has not been changed since 1988, and was only indexed on a single occasion, in 1995.

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PRESS RELEASE

Important Demonstration on Parliament Hill
OTTAWA MUST END ITS UNDERFUNDING OF FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION

Ottawa, September 19, 2007– Some 200 people took part earlier today in an important demonstration intended to denounce the underfunding of the First Nations education system, where schools (funded by the federal government) are severely disadvantaged compared to the majority of schools that are funded by provincial governments. “We know what challenges are important for our peoples; we know the issues and the problems; we also know the solutions. All that we are asking today is that the federal government change its funding policy for First Nations education so that it matches our realities and allows us to invest adequately in the future of our peoples,” stated Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL).

The Chiefs of a number of Canadian First Nations, including the Regional Chiefs of Ontario and Saskatchewan, took part in the gathering, which was immediately preceded by a 3km mini-marathon in the streets of Ottawa. Over seventy runners answered the call, including many young students, and there were more than a hundred spectators present from different communities in Quebec and beyond. “Running is good for your health. Today we ran for the health of our peoples, for our youth and for our future,” said Grand Chief Conrad Polson from the community of Timiskaming.

First Nations hope that original activities like this one will be able to convince the Conservative government to use the upcoming Speech from the Throne, as well as the new parliamentary session, to make clear its intention to change the funding formula that has been used by the federal government since 1988, and which has not even been indexed since 1996. “The formula is completely outdated and cannot meet current needs in education. How are we supposed to lower the dropout rate when there is no money for sports programs, vocational training or the running of school libraries?” asked the Director of the First Nations Education Council (FNEC), Ms. Lise Bastien.

Over the last few months, the FNEC and a number of Chiefs from Canada’s First Nations have been urging the federal government to look again at funding for First Nations schools. First Nations are able to count on the support of organizations such as Amnesty International, Kairos and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) from the civil society, all of whom publicly demonstrated their support today.

The FNEC is a not-for-profit organization, which defends First Nations interests in education. For more information, please visit the Web site www.avenir-future.com.

Source: Thanissa Lainé, Communications Officer
             First Nations Education Council
             Tel. (418) 842-7672
             Cell. (418) 932-4351

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Wednesday September 19, 2007
First Nations in Ottawa demonstration

Photo CP

Canadian Press
Ottawa

Quebec and Labrador’s First Nations demand Ottawa increase funding for their schools by 100%

The First Nations Education Council has been campaigning on this matter for a number of months and on Wednesday afternoon they were in Ottawa to hold a 3km run followed by a short demonstration.

Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, attended the rally and used the opportunity to demand that the Harper Government include the issue of First Nations education in the Throne Speech on October 16.

There are some 14,000 First Nations children in Quebec and Labrador and a funding formula (unchanged since 1987) gives their schools approximately $6,000 per child.

Lise Bastien is Director of the First Nations Education Council and she believes that this amount is completely insufficient for funding libraries, for example, or for providing teachers with a salary that is comparable to that offered in the Quebec public education system.

Chief Picard will be presenting this message to the new Indian Affairs Minister, Chuck Strahl, when he meets him for the first time on Thursday.

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