Act was as far as Conservatives would go, says educator

The federal government has temporarily shelved First Nations education legislation following the sudden resignation of Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo on May 2.
A prepared statement from the office of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt issued three days later said, “given the recent resignation of the National Chief, following today’s second reading vote (in the House of Commons), any further consideration of this legislation will be put on hold until the AFN clarifies its position.”

Atleo directly linked his resignation to the ongoing battle waged by First Nations leaders and vocal community members in opposition to Bill C-33, the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act, which was announced in February.

“The only credibility with First Nations the bill had was with Shawn and so I think they recognized they can’t ram this bill through without prominent support from Aboriginal leaders. If Aboriginal leaders are divided that’s one thing, but if there aren’t prominent Aboriginal leaders who are in favour of this, then implementation is a problem, whether it’s a good bill or not,” said Mark Selman, of Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business, director, EMBA for Aboriginal Business and Leadership.
Many First Nations leaders are pleased with the government’s decision to put the education bill on hold, although many believe the bill never should have been introduced as no consultation took place. And many  believe it should not have been supported by Atleo as it did not meet the five criteria adopted by consensus at the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly in December 2013, which stated the need for guaranteed funding, First Nations control of education, meaningful consultation, protection of Indigenous languages, and joint oversight of the program. Atleo insisted that his support of the bill remained true to the resolution.

How to move forward now in light of Atleo’s resignation and Valcourt’s indefinite delay of First Nation education legislation will be discussed at a May 27 national Special Chiefs Assembly (after Windspeaker deadline).

“There’s different positions across Canada. Some people want to kill the billÖthere’s that group mounting. There’s other chiefs and leaders that want to modify the bill. And then there’s other chiefs who support the bill the way it is. It’s a matter of bringing together people to collectively plan and strategize the best position going forward,” said AFN Saskatchewan Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde, who himself is opposed to the bill.

On the table is $1.9 billion, which Valcourt said would kick in in 2015 and successive years and the lifting of the two per cent funding cap. It is money that is desperately needed now, said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and associate professor at the University of Alberta.

 “This whole mess leaves me with one key question – if children really are a top priority for the federal government then why are they holding back the money?” wrote Blackstock in an opinion piece to CBC News.

Bellegarde contends that national education legislation for First Nations isn’t required for the federal government to ante up the money. In fact, concerns voiced by First Nations leaders are that education on reserves does not fall into a one-size-fits-all solution box.

“We all want to make sure jurisdiction is not compromised through this legislation and so the position is we’ve got to take the time to do it properly and do it right,” said Bellegarde.
Selman does not have much confidence in what lies ahead for First Nations federal education legislation.

“What (Atleo has) done is stepped aside and cleared the decks for people to come forward and say what would satisfy the requirements and it remains to be seen whether some version of the education act as it was proposed or some quite different proposal comes forward out of it,” said Selman. “But we know that as long as the Conservatives are in power, nothing that’s too much more progressive than the education act as formulated is likely to come forward because this is about as far as you can imagine the Conservatives going.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Atleo joined forces in February to announce the framework that would become the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act. The new act replaced the federal government’s first attempt in October 2013 to federally legislate education on reserves through its failed First Nations Education Act, which was slammed by Atleo, First Nations chiefs and education advocates. It didn’t take long for criticism and then dissension to form around the new legislation.