First Nations Education Act rollout paternalistic, say teachers, aboriginals

OTTAWA – Aboriginal groups say the Harper government risks repeating the mistakes of the past by the way it’s proposing a new First Nations Education Act.

A draft of the controversial bill is expected to be released as early as Tuesday.

The government says the legislation is aimed at giving First Nations control over their own education.

But Tyrone McNeil, president of the Vancouver-based First Nations Education Steering Committee, says his province already has an accountable, functioning education system.

He says British Columbia aboriginals don’t need Ottawa dictating changes that could jeopardize or undermine that system.

McNeil says what is needed is not reform, but rather adequate and sustained nationwide funding to support an already comprehensive and responsive system.

The bill comes as major unrest and discontent continues to simmer among First Nations communities.

The Harper government released a so-called blueprint document this summer that promised to give First Nations authority over and accountability for their education programs.

But since then, groups including the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation have urged Ottawa to abandon the blueprint, saying it doesn’t meet standards set out by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Shawn Atleo wrote earlier this month that the legislation is being forced onto aboriginal communities without proper consultation.

And he suggested the way it’s being handled is akin to how the government tried to assimilate aboriginal children through residential schools.

Members of the Vancouver committee met Monday with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt to receive a briefing on the proposed bill.