(Kahnawake) “The communities will finally be able to give themselves the means to fulfill their ambitions,” rejoiced the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL), Ghislain Picard. The agreement signed Thursday by 22 communities and the federal government concludes decades of waiting for funding deemed equitable in education (at the elementary and secondary levels).
Updated yesterday at 6:17 p.m.
“It is a necessary upgrade so that we can offer services that are not only comparable to what is done elsewhere, but which are superior insofar as the need is clear,” explained the Aboriginal leader.
The signing ceremony took place at Kahnawake Survival School, a high school whose classes include the language, beliefs and traditions of this community. It was founded in 1978 in response to the application of the Charter of the French language, better known as Bill 101, to schools in Quebec.
“I saw the celebration, the pride, the young person who spoke just in Mohawk, it came to thrill me because I didn’t have that, they tore it out of me, my tongue, while she attends the Survival School and you can see the results,” said Senator of Innu origin Michèle Audette, who was present at the ceremony.
Pride could be read on the faces of the many people present. Some had traveled hundreds of miles to attend. This regional agreement was negotiated by the First Nations Education Council (FNEC), which represents 22 communities scattered throughout Quebec, from Gaspésie to Abitibi-Témiscamingue. These communities bring together some 5,800 students.
Federal funding
“For the past ten years, we have been assessing education needs as realistically as possible,” explained the director general of the CEPN, Denis Gros-Louis.
We assessed what it took to be able to have education systems that represent the needs of urban, rural and remote communities alike and we compared of course with the budgets that are available at the provincial level.
Denis Gros-Louis, CEO of the CEPN
Funding for education in Aboriginal communities is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government. This regional agreement is accompanied by an envelope of 1.1 billion, including 310.6 million in fresh money, spread over five years. The amounts will be distributed according to an asymmetrical funding formula that takes into account several factors, including the remoteness of certain communities.
This money should allow them to develop a school program adapted to their cultures, recruit or retain 600 teachers and specialists, better finance school transport, improve academic success and increase the number of secondary school graduates.
“It is a concrete gesture of reconciliation [avec les peuples autochtones] said Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu. “It’s up to them to decide how to educate their children and manage their affairs. »
“Colonization has had a negative effect on the academic success of young Aboriginal people,” she added. But what we are starting to see in communities that have regained control of their own education system is that the graduation rate is increasing. »
The signing of this agreement was welcomed by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party. Bloc Québécois MP Marilène Gill, however, asked the federal government to speed up discussions with the other communities that have not yet reached an agreement. The Conservative Party of Canada did not react.
Bill 96: the AFNQL could go to court
The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador does not rule out acting as an intervener in an action against Bill 96 of the government of François Legault. The reform of the Charter of the French language, perceived as a brake on the educational success of Aboriginal children, was denounced during the announcement Thursday of the federal government of the allocation of 1 billion dollars for education.
“It’s an option that we are considering,” said chef Ghislain Picard in an interview. The AFNQL is made up of the chiefs of 43 communities representing 10 Aboriginal nations. Their reactions to Law 96 vary according to their reality.
“The ‘conventionnés’, for example, have a special relationship with the Quebec government,” he explained, referring to the James Bay Crees and the Inuit. “But the Makivik company on the Nunavik side has been very clear that it is against [la loi] 96, he added. Then there are the predominantly English-speaking communities that feel aggrieved by the law. So, we have to navigate through it all. »
The reform of the Charter of the French language adopted in May made French the only official and common language of Quebec. It does not apply in Aboriginal communities, but still affects more than half of First Nations students who, for lack of a school in their community, must attend school in French even if they have English or an indigenous language as a mother tongue. Many of them therefore have more difficulty obtaining their high school diploma, argues the AFNQL.