NEWS RELEASE
NDP MPP GILLES BISSON
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QUEEN'S PARK – Today, in an effort to help address the disparity of resources and funding available to on-reserve schools, NDP MPP (Timmins-James Bay) Gilles Bisson introduced the Educational Amendment Act (Regional Aboriginal School Boards), 2016.
“It’s no secret that the quality of education available to our children and youth has a significant impact on the social and economic health of a community. It’s my hope that this bill will help provide on-reserve schools with the same resources available in other places in Ontario,” Bisson said.
If passed, Bisson’s bill would grant First Nations’ communities the authority to negotiate with both Ottawa and Queen’s Park to form regional school boards as an alternative to the single school model.
The boards would be staffed and controlled by First Nation members, with Trustees elected from the respective band membership lists that make up each specific region.
On-reserve schools are often funded on a one-to-one basis by the federal government, using a funding model that lacks the built-in flexibility of provincial funding formulae, a tool that is essential to effectively respond to the needs of students.
The bill also ensures that the boards maintain control over curriculum and content, such as language instruction, as other provincial school boards currently do.
Last summer, Bisson distributed a consultation draft of the bill and received important feedback from stakeholders in an effort to make sure that the proposed legislation appropriately addresses the challenges facing on-reserve students. The bill will be up for second reading debate on September 22, 2016.
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