Phil Fontaine says a decent education is the solution to many problems that plague First Nation communities.
The former Assembly of First Nations chief told students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School students that with the coming job opportunities from the ring of fire, students need to get an education to take full advantage of what those opportunities can offer.
“(We can) fix many of the things that are wrong in our communities,” Fontaine said.
“You name a social condition that casts a negative pall over a community and we can fix all that. We can address all those things that have compromised the wellbeing of our communities. But the only way we’re going to do all that is to take full advantage of this place.”
It can be difficult for students at the school to come from far away. But it’s important for every school to give all of the support it can to its students.
“That’s not always easy because funding has been limited. This school in my view anyway hasn’t received all that it needs to provide the best possible education programming to every one of its students,” he said.
But with dedication, discipline and commitment, the students at DFC can become anything they want Fontaine said.
“There’s no reason why the students here can’t aspire to be a professional of their choosing.”
Fontaine was at the school as a special advisor to the Royal Bank of Canada, which provided the Red Cross with $10,000 to train students at DFC on anti-bullying so they can teach other students.
He said bullying is a problem everywhere and can be much more difficult when students are far away from home without family to support them.
“They have to leave their families and their homes,” he said. “The separation is not easy.”
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