Community engagement key in working through recommendations

Pearl Calahsen, one of Education Minister Dave Hancock’s harshest critics when he disbanded the Northland School Division corporate board, is now leading the minister’s newest team in the northern school district.

Calahasen, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake and former Aboriginal Affairs minister, referred to Hancock’s move last year to dismantle the 23-member board and replace it with an official trustee as “paternalistic” and “heavy-handed.” Now Calahasen is co-chairing a community engagement team with the official trustee, Colin Kelly.
“I still felt that strong about what he did. But it’s a done deal. I can’t say anything about that now,” said Calahasen.

Instead, she will turn her energy toward helping improve the educational outcomes for Aboriginal children in NSD.
The engagement team was appointed early March. It consists of 15 members with representation from Elders, First Nations, Métis, a post-secondary institution and government.

“There is a lot of expertise, a lot of experience, a lot of talent there. I think it could bode very well for this jurisdiction,” said Kelly.

The community engagement team will work its way through the 48 recommendations made by a three-member inquiry team appointed by Hancock in January 2010. Kelly said his group would not be limited to the inquiry team’s recommendations.

“We want to make sure we go through all the recommendations. We want to make sure there is an opportunity to look outside of those recommendations, as well,” said Kelly.

Looking beyond the recommendations put forward by the inquiry team is not a negative reflection on the work chaired by Dave van Tamelen, said Kelly. Van Tamelen also made reference to past reports.

“We have to be able to engage the community in order for them to see the possibilities that exist if students have an education,” said Calahasen, who noted that most of NSD is in her constituency. “There is a negative view of education because of the residential school situation.”
The community engagement team, in whole and in part, began hosting community meetings last month.

The recommendations put forth by the inquiry team ranged in scope and degree. Some were already happening and others needed strategy and the cooperation of other government departments to occur. No funding was allocated to any of the recommendations.

Calahasen believes the work undertaken by her team can be adapted to help other First Nations and Métis students throughout Alberta.

“We want to look at the overall arching Aboriginal education kind of idea within Alberta,” said Calahasen.
The community engagement team has been given until October 2011 to carry out its duties, but Kelly said a possible extension on the time may be necessary.

“If it needs to be extended, it certainly will be extended. There is a significant amount of work to be done,” he said.

It is not the responsibility of the community engagement team to implement the recommendations, said Calahasen.

The team will work closely with the Northland support team, co-chaired by NSD superintendent Donna Barrett. Barrett’s team will be in charge of enacting the recommendations of the community engagement team.