Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Feb. 15th, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Would you like to start, Ms. Caron?

[Cassidy Caron]

Yes.

We do have higher education learning institutions that are Métis-specific. They're not necessarily post-secondary institutions, but they are higher education learning institutions that are Métis-specific.

For example, in Saskatchewan we have the Gabriel Dumont Institute, which is Métis-run. They develop and deliver Métis-specific learning tools and a bunch of different programs and services. In the province of Alberta, we have the Rupertsland Institute as well. Those are really great examples of Métis-specific learning institutions that I think this committee should absolutely take a look at.

They're doing some really incredible things. I love the opportunity to go and visit those institutions and learn more myself. I would highly recommend having a look at Rupertsland Institute and the Gabriel Dumont Institute.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mr. Obed.

[Natan Obed]

Across Inuit Nunangat and wherever Inuit live, there are arrangements between Inuit organizations or jurisdictions and southern jurisdictions for particular programs, such as a law program, a bachelor of education or a master's in education. They are one-offs, and usually there are service agreements or arrangements between jurisdictions and southern institutions.

We are hoping to break free of that model as the only model. We are in the process of creating an Inuit Nunangat university. Our board has mandated us to pursue the development of that university. That was in 2017. We hope that by the end of this year we will have a full-scale model proposed to our board for us to then go into that next phase of creating the institution.

It would be the first university in Inuit Nunangat, if it is created. Although there are many programs and university courses that Inuit students can avail themselves of, they are always with a southern-based institution, and many times they demand that those students learn at least partially in the south. We hope to provide another avenue to success along with the already many different avenues the Inuit students can take to be successful in post-secondary education.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mrs. Gill.

Ms. Idlout, you can close us down after two minutes.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut as follows:]

ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ, ᐋ, ᐃᒃᓯᕙᐅᑕᓖᒃ ᓇᑖᓐᒧᑦ ᐊᐱᕆᓂᐊᕋᒪ ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᐋ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕆᖅᑲᐅᔭᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᖏᖃ− ᑎᒌᒍᑎᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ, ᐋ, ᐊᑐᓕᓚᐅᕋᑦᓯᐅᒃᒎᖅ ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑎᓐᖑᖅᓯᒃᑐᓯᐅᒃ ᑖᓐᓇ ᑐᓴᕐᓂᖅᑐᒻᒪᕆᐊᓘᒻᒪᑦ, ᐋᒻ, ᐅᓂᒃᑲᐅᑎ− ᔪᓐᓇᖅᐱᐅᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᒻᒪᑦ, ᐋ, ᐊᑐᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓐᖏᒻᒪᖔ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᑐᓂᓯᔪᓐᓇᖅᐲᑦ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑎᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐱᓐᖑᖅᑎᑕᐅᖁᓪᓗᒍ.

[Inuktitut text interpreted as follows:]

Thank you.

Mr. Chairperson, I have a question for Natan.

You mentioned the education agreement you had with the Crown. I was very happy to hear that.

Can you talk a little more about that? Why is it not implemented now? Can you give us a copy of the strategy or the study?

[English]

[Natan Obed]

Nakurmiik for the question, Lori. We will add the accord to the list of materials that we will provide to the committee.

The accord was signed in anticipation of the release of the national strategy on education. Immediately there were jurisdictional fights between the federal government and PT jurisdictions about the federal government's involvement in any of this.

I believe that the federal government has retreated a bit in its ambition. We've seen a renewal of that interest in working in the Inuit educational space by this government, but we certainly have not achieved the outcomes of the accord in the way that we had hoped and in the way that the words jump out at you from the page.

As I said in my remarks earlier, there is a nonsensical policy divide in this country about the things the federal government does for particular groups of indigenous peoples in education and the things it doesn't do for others, especially when we look at the outcomes for all first nations, Inuit and Métis in this country.

We want them to be on par with the rest of Canadians. We want to build systems that work. Sometimes that means that we go through uncomfortable places to get there and we get beyond politics and into the care of the students of this country.

I'm happy to provide more information and to have further conversations with you, Lori, about these particular issues when we have a moment to speak.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Ms. Idlout.

This wraps up our panel. I would like to thank Ms. Caron, Mr. Obed and Ms. Tierney for coming at short notice.

We will have many more sessions on the issue of education, but you've given us a very good high-level view of the situation, with some specific examples as well. We very much appreciate your testimony today. Thank you very much.

With that, we are adjourned.