Thank you for inviting us to appear. Allow me to apologize for the absence of our Regional Chief, Ghislain Picard. He is very busy these days organizing the First Nations Socio-economic Forum, as most of you already know. However, I would like to pass on a brief message from Ghislain with respect to post-secondary education for First Nations students.
Ghislain believes it is important to make you aware of a devastating fact. First Nations still lag far behind every other segment of the Canadian population with respect to education. In 2004, the Auditor General reported a gap of 28 years. That gap continues to widen and has repercussions on access to employment and socio-economic conditions in general.
With respect to post-secondary education specifically, all the studies show that the higher a person's level of education, the better his or her chances of obtaining meaningful employment. There is no doubt about that. However, opportunities are very limited for the vast majority of First Nations people, since access to post-secondary education remains extremely limited. And this has been the case for many years now. Public figures will never say that First Nations people attending a post-secondary institution face the challenge of successfully completing their education in an environment that is structured, designed and developed by and for a dominant culture. As a result, the obstacles facing First Nations people who attend post-secondary institutions are numerous.
I would just like to conclude Ghislain's message by saying that First Nations are absolutely convinced that there are solutions. We have particular expertise when it comes to education for First Nations people. It would be unfair to design or develop solutions without involving us, because this has a direct impact on our future. It is likely that having one or more post-secondary institutions that are designed for and by First Nations would be a viable solution, in terms of allowing young First Nations people to receive a better education.
That is basically the message that Ghislain wanted to convey to you today. Of course, I gave you only a summary, but I believe I have conveyed the essential points of his message.
Very quickly, I would like to introduce the First Nations Education Council. As an organization, we have been around for more than 21 years and we represent some 22 communities across Quebec, in all areas of education. We have proven ourselves when it comes to managing and administering programs. Of course, our successes are certainly not the kind of thing that would likely make the headlines these days. I think we should be considering what can be done to turn things around as regards the messages conveyed by the media about the successes or particular situation of the First Nations.
These days, we hear a lot about cases of mismanagement or administrative problems, when in actual fact, there are tremendous successes out there and people capable of properly managing, administering and developing programs for First Nations people.
An organization such as ours, which represents 22 communities, has developed expertise over the years which is just as valuable as that of certain departments. It's important that this be recognized. As well, the studies we have conducted on the funding of post-secondary programs should be considered valid.
I will now turn it over to my colleague, Gilbert, who is our senior education advisor and has been working in the educational field for more than 30 years.