THUNDER BAY – Continued inequity in First Nations education funding is risking losing another generation of children.
That was testimony from Cindy Blackstock, a child welfare advocate and the executive director of the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, who took the stand Wednesday at the coroner’s inquest into the deaths of seven students who were attending high school in Thunder Bay.
Blackstock testified there is less money spent on a per student basis for First Nations education, which is administered by the federal government, compared to funding for mainstream education, which is provided by provincial governments.
The inquest is examining the deaths of Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Paul Panacheese, Robyn Harper, Reggie Bushie, Kyle Morriseau and Jordan Wabasse, who were all from remote First Nations communities and moved to Thunder Bay to attend school when they died between 2000 and 2011.
Six of the students attended Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, which is run by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council. Wabasse was a student at the Matawa Learning Centre. Both schools are funded by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
Blackstock referenced a report that found funding for First Nations education, once adjusted for population growth and inflation, declined by 30 per cent from 1994 to 2009. A two per cent cap on funding increases was implemented by the federal government in 1995.
A 2009 report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer found there was between a $169 to $189 million annual shortfall in capital funding for First Nations education.
Having limited resources, such as no funding for libraries, or receiving their education in inadequate buildings, which can lack clean drinking water or toilets that don’t flush, creates a sense of hopelessness for the students.
The focus on improving First Nations education should go beyond just bringing it in line with the provincial system
“Equity for kids should be the floor, not the ceiling,” Blackstock said of what the goal should be for funding, adding racial discrimination should never be a form of fiscal policy.
She cited a 2013 report overseen by Don Drummond, which recommended the creation of an advisory committee to create long-term First Nations education funding formulas and to base the funding on comparable educational outcomes, rather than just bringing spending level with provincial schools.
Blackstock said funding should be determined on a community by community basis, rather than starting with setting a national amount and dividing it across the country.
The federal budget, which was announced earlier this month, includes $2.6 billion over five years for First Nations education, though Blackstock said only between 11 and 15 per cent of that money will be spent within the next year with much of the money allocated for after the next federal election.
That means current Grade 8 students will have likely graduated without seeing most of the improvements that could be made from the increased funding.
“It’s a start of the process,” she said, adding she didn’t see a firm, clear plan on how to eliminate the inequality in the budget.
Blackstock also told the inquest studies have found that children who experience four or more adverse experiences, such as living in poverty, domestic violence and difficulty in school, during their formative years are at an enhanced risk of addiction, unemployment and heart disease later in life.
