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441-01168 (Indigenous affairs)
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Prime Minister of Canada
Whereas:
- Your petitioners took part in an event for residents and staff of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Home in Winnipeg, to acknowledge Survivors Day on September 30;
- We held an hour-long presentation, including a presentation by a Survivor, exhibited some 50 books on First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures, answered questions for several hours, and offered 10 specific actions that seniors can take to support reconciliation;
- Recognizing the words of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that "reconciliation begins with each and every one of us," we addressed the 94 Calls to Action;
- While we applaud the accelerated efforts recently taken by our government, we are deeply concerned that, at the current rate, the 94 Calls to Action may not be fully implemented for some 50 years, which in our view is totally unacceptable, as justice delayed is justice denied;
- Many of the Calls to action are concrete, achievable goals in a brief time frame;
- Your petitioners wish to focus on Action #8, the elimination of the discrepancy in educational funding for Reserve schools;
- Distinguished economist Don Drummond estimates the current gap in funding to be 30% between Reserve and other Canadian schools, and Chiefs of First Nations constantly highlight the discrepancy;
- It is hard to imagine how we can permit such a discrepancy that is clearly racist by its very nature; and
- We would expect that every political party and parliamentarian would support rectifying this situation.
Therefore, we, residents and staff of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Home in Winnipeg, urge the government to:
1. Accelerate the implementation of the Calls to Action; and
2. Rapidly implement Call to Action # 8, the elimination of the discrepancy in educational funding for Reserve schools.
Response by the Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Vance Badawey
The Minister of Indigenous Services would like to thank the petitioners for expressing their interest and concern regarding the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, specifically Call to Action 8 regarding the elimination of discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being educated on reserves and those First Nations children being educated off reserves.
The Government of Canada is committed to working collaboratively with Indigenous communities to fully implement the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report.
In 2019-2020 the department implemented a new, provincially comparable, funding and policy approach which was co-developed with First Nations partners. The transformed approach, which provides stable and predictable education funding, aims to help meet the needs of First Nations students living on reserve and includes additional investments in areas such as language and culture programming, full-day kindergarten for children aged 4 and 5 and support for before- and after-school programming.
In 2021-2022, approximately $2.7 billion was provided for First Nations elementary and education on reserve. In 2021, Canada invested $1.7 billion over five years, and $300 million per year ongoing, beyond existing funding, to improve education on reserve. More information on investments and supports for elementary and secondary education can be found at https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1100100033676/1531314895090.
Further, we will continue to work with all First Nations that wish to pursue a regional education agreement as an avenue for advancing self-determination over their education systems. As of July 2022, nine regional education agreements have been concluded supporting approximately 28,441 students. The regional education agreements advance service transfer and self-determination and respond to the unique needs and priorities of First Nations communities. Budget 2022 provided $310.6 million over five years to support student outcomes through a Regional Education Agreement with the First Nations Education Council, which includes 22 member communities in Quebec.
Updated information on the status of all 76 federal-led Calls to Action can be found at: https://rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1524494530110/1557511412801.
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Terry Duguid
(Winnipeg South)
March 7, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01168) - Government response tabled
- April 20, 2023
Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.