Tag Archives: Kamloops

Failing Grades for Both Canada and Premier Ford

June 8, 2021

A Failing Grade for Canada

Canada has repeatedly failed Indigenous children, their families and their communities. The discovery of 215 children buried in unmarked graves at Kamloops Residential School has highlighted that there was nothing about Canada’s Residential Schools that was safe, healthy or conducive to learning.

NOTE: Several weeks after 215 unmarked graves were found Kamloops Residential School, on June 24, 2021, the Cowessess First Nation announced a preliminary finding of 751 more unmarked graves near the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Southeast Saskatchewan. We expect additional unmarked graves will continue to be unearthed.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was formed in 2007, in response to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action suit in Canadian history. In June 2015, the TRC presented the executive summary of the findings contained in its multi-volume final report, including 94 “calls to action” (or recommendations) to further reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous Peoples.

The following recommendations are specific to Education:

6. We call upon the Government of Canada to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

7. We call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

8. We call upon the federal government to eliminate the discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being educated on reserves and those First Nations children being educated off reserves.

9. We call upon the federal government to prepare and publish annual reports comparing funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves, as well as educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with nonAboriginal people.

10. We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would include a commitment to sufficient funding and would incorporate the following principles:

i. Providing sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation.

ii. Improving education attainment levels and success rates.

iii. Developing culturally appropriate curricula.

iv. Protecting the right to Aboriginal languages, including the teaching of Aboriginal languages as credit courses.

v. Enabling parental and community responsibility, control, and accountability, similar to what parents enjoy in public school systems.

vi. Enabling parents to fully participate in the education of their children. vii. Respecting and honouring Treaty relationships.

11. We call upon the federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education.

12. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families.

So much listening, collaboration, funding, and commitment to do better is needed to address Canada’s hitherto abject failure of Indigenous children, their families and communities. 

A Failing Grade for Premier Ford and his Government 

Premier Ford and his government failed to make the public health policy decisions that could have led to better outcomes for Ontario’s students, their families, teachers, education workers and Ontario’s businesses. In Robyn Urback’s Globe and Mail opinion piece of June 3, 2021 entitled, Doug Ford’s pandemic response has been the worst of Canada’s Premiers, she states,

“nowhere else in Canada have children been out of school so long, have seniors been hit with two equally devastating waves, have outdoor activities been so restricted for months, have personal service workers been forced into such prolonged shutdown and have retailers and other businesses faced such extended restrictions. And in exchange for these sacrifices, the province can boast … average case numbers, and above-average deaths.”  and also  notes, “Along with kids, Ontario’s seniors – particularly those in long-term care homes – have disproportionately borne the burden of Mr. Ford’s aimless, undisciplined approach to pandemic control.” 

Fix Our Schools’ focus continues to be on ensuring that Ontario’s schools are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working. Throughout the pandemic, Premier Ford has claimed that he shared this focus, and that he prioritized Ontario’s students, their schools and education, and their mental health.

However, in our opinion, Premier Ford and his government have:

and in so doing, Premier Ford and his government have ultimately failed Ontario’s students and their families and our economy.

Acknowledging this failure, we must now look forward to ensuring Ontario’s students return to school in September as safely as possible and with as much normalcy as possible, to be sure. To deliver on this goal, Premier Ford and his government must ensure standards, metrics, data and investment are in place as quickly as possible. Success also requires that Premier Ford provides leadership that allows both the education and public health sectors to maintain a steadfast focus on September.

Beyond safety and normalcy, we also need a vision of excellence for Ontario’s schools and education beyond what was considered “normal” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s remember that pre-pandemic, $16.3-B of disrepair existed in Ontario’s schools following decades of provincial underfunding, and we had no standards in place for schools to measure whether schools and classrooms were safe, healthy, well-maintained and provided environments conducive to learning. This vision for excellence absolutely must be developed with input from all education stakeholders. Given that Ford’s government was elected having a scant education policy platform, his government has no mandate from the electorate to determine this vision on its own. Ontario’s children and youth are going to need to be prioritized for many years to come.

Citizen Advocacy Works!

A recent study found that when citizens make direct contact with their local government representative – they do influence decision-making and policy. This same study also found that sharing personal stories is a powerful way to communicate with your local government representatives. So, at a time when many people have started to disengage, feeling a lack of control and a lack of hope at times – we encourage you to dig deep and advocate on behalf of Ontario’s students.

Please email Premier Ford or call him at 416-325-1941
Please email Education Minister Lecce or call him at 416-325-2600
Please also contact your local MPP

Please share your stories with our provincial leaders. Tell them how school closures and online learning have been impacting the children in your life. As two doctors wrote, “we cannot let our children and youth become the pandemic’s collateral damage.” Let’s work together to make Ontario’s children a priority now.