Tag Archives: First Nations Schools

$700-M in New Funding Announced for Education Projects

November 3, 2020

Ontario’s provincial budget will be released on Thursday, November 5. This budget was originally planned for much earlier in the year but the COVID-19 pandemic has understandably delayed its release.

As a part of the pre-budget consultation conducted in early 2020, Fix Our Schools sent in this written submission to the Ministry of Education and made this presentation to the Committee of Finance and Economic Affairs. In both instances, Fix Our Schools made the following asks of Doug Ford’s provincial government:

1) Integrate the guiding principles of adequacy, affordability, equity, stability, flexibility, and accountability into your government’s approach to funding public education.

2) Develop a standard of good repair for all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools, which goes beyond logging disrepair to include issues such as: classroom temperatures, lead in water, air quality, washroom & lunchroom conditions; and fund this standard.

3) Commit the additional $1.6-billion/year investment required to eliminate the $16.3-billion of disrepair in Ontario’s publicly funded schools in the coming 7-8 years

4) Continue to collect school disrepair data; and resume the practice adopted by the previous Liberal government of publicly releasing annual updates on this school disrepair data; adding portables to this process.

5) Consider the 2-million children who spend their days in Ontario’s publicly funded school buildings in every decision and interaction you have relative to education. Schools are critical infrastructure that serve not only as places of learning but also places of work, places for daycare, and important community hubs. Your government is in the lead role for working collaboratively to develop the funding solutions needed to solve the massive problem of disrepair and poor conditions in Ontario’s schools.

Once learning that Doug Ford’s government was planning to resume the budget process, Fix Our Schools resent our original submission, noting that the following urgent demands on school infrastructure (some of which have simply been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, while others have been precipitated by it) must also be addressed by this upcoming budget:

  • HVAC and ventilation must be optimized in all classrooms
  • Optimum indoor air quality and humidity must be optimized in all classrooms
  • Technology that has been lent out by schools to accommodate at-home learning must be replaced for in-school learners
  • Safe drinking water must be available in all schools, including First Nations schools
  • Caretaking and operational maintenance must be increased to ensure soap dispensers are always filled, schools are as clean and sanitary as possible at all times, and that routine maintenance of schools that is done by caretakers can also be readily accomplished

Surprisingly, a few days after announcing that the provincial budget would be released November 5, Premier Ford and Education Minister Lecce announced that up to $700-million in funding for education-related projects, to be nominated and administered by the Ministry of Education. This funding is part of the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, so Fix Our Schools is pleased to finally see federal funding released by the Ford government to be spent on school infrastructure. This new funding has been dubbed the “COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream: Education Related (CVRIS-EDU)”. 

We know that good ventilation, physical distancing, and handwashing are all critical aspects of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, Fix Our Schools was pleased to see that CVRIS-EDU funding is intended to support retrofits, repairs, and upgrades to school board facilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting health and safety.

Fix Our Schools does have concerns that the provincial process for school boards to obtain access to this funding is expedient and streamlined. Similarly, we would like assurances that this funding will be distributed equitably between all 72 Ontario school boards. In reading the details issued by the government, there is nothing specified that would ensure any equity of distribution in this funding among Ontario’s school boards.

 

First Nations Schools Scrambling to Safely Reopen

September 4, 2020

Fix Our Schools is focused on ensuring that all Ontario students attend safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working. While the majority of publicly funded schools in this province are funded by our provincial government, the federal government is responsible for funding First Nations schools. 

Mirroring the underfunding of public schools and education by the provincial government, the federal government also leaves these crucial elements of our society chronically underfunded. Ontario’s publicly funded schools currently have $16.3-billion of disrepair after decades of chronic underfunding from the provincial government. Even before we saw the challenges of COVID-19, overcrowding, disrepair, and, unbelievably, something as essential as safe drinking water have all been challenges that schools in Ontario’s Indigenous communities face.

Now, the federal government is very late in providing what appears to be grossly inadequate funding to First Nations schools to ensure a safe and effective reopening of schools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a Globe & Mail article by Willow Fiddler entitle, “Funding delay leaves First Nations schools scrambling to safely reopen”, the federal government just announced $112-million in funding for schools on reserves to help pay for things such as ventilation, personal protective equipment, and cleaning supplies. Fix Our Schools has been quoted as saying, “too little funding, too late” in response to provincial funding for a safe return to school, and this comment certainly applies to this instance as well.

Dobi-Dawn Frenette, executive director of Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, the tribal group that oversees Dennis Franklin Cromarty and Pelican Falls high schools, said that “many of our students may not have access to a learning device, access to [internet] connectivity, they may not have access to a study space, many of our communities don’t have clean drinking water.”

While the rest of Ontario is concerned with what online learning will look like this fall, many Indigenous students aren’t even getting access to that level of education. In fact, according to a CBC report from August 27, some schools serving First Nations students will be resorting to landlines and fax machines to resume some kind of remote learning in September.

Many Indigenous students already make great sacrifices to get the education that every Ontario student deserves. To attend high school, 78% of Indigenous students from reserves in Ontario must leave their communities. Children must live in a residence or board with another family, impacting their mental health, access to community support systems, and inevitably their level of success. Now, because of COVID, the impacts are even greater.

Students who attend Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay and Pelican Falls High School in Sioux Lookout leave their communities to live near these off-reserve First Nations schools. These schools are designated as provincial private schools but receive education funding from Indigenous Services Canada to operate. According to Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, funding for these off-reserve schools is a “jurisdictional triangle”; and they sometimes get caught in the middle of provincial and federal funding delays and confusion.

All of Ontario’s students deserve an education in a safe, well-maintained, healthy building and if that isn’t possible in the short-term, they deserve access to robust online learning, which requires access to wifi and devices. Fix Our Schools worries that our First Nations students may not have access to either of these education options. Unacceptable.

What Are Your Priority Issues for the Federal Election?

October 1, 2019

An issues-based election is always more productive than one filled with personal attacks on party leaders – don’t you agree?

So, if we want to see our priority issues discussed during the next few weeks leading up to the federal election on October 21st, we need to demand that these issues be discussed.

At Fix Our Schools, we continue to prioritize school conditions as an issue in this federal election and the important role that school infrastructure plays in the lives and education of our young people. With this in mind, we will be asking the following questions:

What are your priority issues for this federal election?

  • Childcare?
  • Climate change/Environment?
  • Economy?
  • Gun control?
  • Healthcare?
  • Housing?
  • Immigration?
  • Indigenous reconciliation?
  • Jobs?
  • What else do you prioritize as a key issue for this federal election?

If you’re interested in following the platforms of each of the six main parties, you may find this CBC site helpful. And finally, here are some easy opportunities for you to ensure your priority issues get discussed:

  • Ask your local candidates when they knock on your door campaigning
  • Send your local candidates an email or give their office a call, asking them their position/proposed solution for your priority issues
  • Attend a local candidates debate and ask about your priority issues in that forum
  • Contact media by sending a letter to the editor – either your local newspaper or a national news outlet
  • Talk with your network about your priority issues and find out theirs!