No Higher Priority: Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education in Canada
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HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA NO HIGHER PRIORITY: ABORIGINAL POST- SECONDARY EDUCATION IN CANADA Report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs And Northern Development Colin Mayes, MP Chair FEBRUARY 2007 39TH PARLIAMENT, 1ST SESSION The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Communication Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 NO HIGHER PRIORITY: ABORIGINAL POST- SECONDARY EDUCATION IN CANADA Report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Colin Mayes, MP Chair February 2007 39th PARLIAMENT, 1ST SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT CHAIR Colin Mayes, MP Okanagan-Shuswap, British Columbia VICE-CHAIRS Jean Crowder, MP Nanaimo-Cowichan, British Columbia Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP Nunavut, Nunavut MEMBERS Harold Albrecht, MP Kitchener-Conestoga, Ontario Steven Blaney, MP Lévis-Bellechasse, Quebec Rod Bruinooge, MP Winnipeg South, Manitoba Marc Lemay, MP Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec Yvon Lévesque, MP Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou, Quebec Gary Merasty, MP Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River, Saskatchewan Hon. Anita Neville, MP Winnipeg South Centre, Manitoba Todd Russell, MP Labrador, Newfoundland Brian Storseth, MP Westlock-St. Paul, Alberta CLERKS OF THE COMMITTEE Roger Préfontaine Bonnie Charron LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICE Mary Hurley Tonina Simeone v THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT has the honour to present its SIXTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied Aboriginal post-secondary education in Canada. After hearing evidence, the Committee agreed to report to the House as follows: vii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSALS ..........................................xi GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................xvii CHAIR’S FOREWORD..................................................................................................xix NO HIGHER PRIORITY: ABORIGINAL POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION IN CANADA ............................................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 A. The Committee’s Decision and Process........................................................... 1 B. The Context...................................................................................................... 1 II. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................... 3 A. General ............................................................................................................ 3 B. Summary History of the Department’s Post-Secondary Education Program ... 4 C. Some numbers................................................................................................. 5 1. Demographics .......................................................................................... 5 2. The Gap ................................................................................................... 6 3. Post-Secondary Funding.......................................................................... 6 4. Students Funded ...................................................................................... 6 D. Previous Reports on Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education ............................ 7 III. WHAT THE COMMITTEE HEARD ....................................................................... 8 A. Creating Positive Outcomes............................................................................. 9 B. Continuing Challenges ................................................................................... 12 1. Post-Secondary Student Support Program ............................................ 13 a. Student Funding ..................................................................................... 13 b. Data Collection and Tracking about First Nations Learners ................... 18 ix c. Allocation and Delivery of Post-Secondary Student Support Program Funding ...................................................................................................... 20 2. Other Key Issues.................................................................................... 22 a. Indian Studies Support Program and Aboriginal-controlled PSE Institutions .................................................................................................. 22 b. Access to Post-Secondary Programming............................................... 24 c. Skills Training ......................................................................................... 26 COMMITTEE’S CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................. 28 Creating Positive Outcomes ............................................................................... 31 Student Funding ................................................................................................. 32 Data Collection and Tracking.............................................................................. 34 Allocation and Delivery of PSE Funding ............................................................. 36 Other Key Issues ..................................................................................................... 37 Indian Studies Support Program......................................................................... 37 Access to Post-Secondary Programming ........................................................... 40 Skills Training ..................................................................................................... 41 CLOSING REMARKS .............................................................................................. 41 APPENDIX A: ACHIEVEMENTS IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION...................... 43 APPENDIX B: REPORTS CONSULTED BY THE COMMITTEE .................................. 51 APPENDIX C: LIST OF WITNESSES ........................................................................... 57 APPENDIX D: LIST OF BRIEFS ................................................................................... 59 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE............................................................. 61 x SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSALS RECOMMENDATIONS Creating Positive Outcomes 1. The Committee recommends that the Department, in collaboration with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders, develop a national database web site, accessible via the Internet, for the purpose of making information about successful programs and initiatives in Aboriginal post-secondary education widely available to Aboriginal organizations, communities, learners and Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal institutions; that the database include information about successful initiatives developed by First Nations, Inuit and Métis segments of the Aboriginal population; and that the Department ensure information about the database, and annual reports outlining its contents, are widely disseminated. Student Funding 2. The Committee recommends that the 2% annual cap on spending increases for the Department’s Post-Secondary Education Program be eliminated immediately; that the Department’s spending increases for PSE programming be based on actual costs associated with program components and not be subject to discretionary caps; that the Department make it a priority to provide adequate funding under the PSE Program to every eligible First Nations and Inuit learner and put in place a plan to achieve that priority by the end of 2007, said plan to include implementation measures with clear target dates; that the Department ensure financial assistance for eligible First Nations and Inuit learners under the Department’s PSE program is based on actual costs incurred for tuition, travel and living expenses, xi and indexed annually to reflect rises in both tuition costs and the cost of living; and that the Department review the categories of eligible expenses under the PSE program in order to ensure that the real expenses routinely incurred by individual eligible First Nations and Inuit learners are covered. Such expenses may include, but are not limited to, child care, special needs, and special shelter. This review should occur immediately, and at regular intervals thereafter. 3. The Committee recommends that the Department’s budget, in the 2007-2008 and ensuing fiscal years, be increased to reflect increased expenditures associated with providing more funding to more eligible First Nations and Inuit learners. 4. The Committee recommends that the Department take immediate steps, together with its regional offices and First Nations and Inuit administering organizations, to ascertain, by the end of 2007, the identities of eligible First Nations and Inuit learners who have been denied PSE funding owing