Thank you.
I'm a guest on this committee. I appreciate the opportunity to participate.
This is an important study. Thanks to the committee members for putting this study forward.
My interest in first nation education and graduation rates began in my days as Yukon's chief medical officer of health, when I recognized and wrote about the relationship between first nations graduation rates and future opportunities in health and well-being.
In the Yukon, there was a critical—you might even say scathing—2019 Auditor General's report that I'm sure you're familiar with, which showed little progress in graduation rates amongst Yukon first nations. That gap was not only between first nations and non-first nations; there was also an urban-rural gap. I think one of the most significant developments we've seen since that report was the creation, with a real sense of urgency, of the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate, and then, just a year ago, in February 2022, a First Nation School Board with elected trustees.
To maybe answer some of Mr. Zimmer's questions, I think there is an example here of some real partnerships with first nation governments and first nation people in the Yukon that really take things in a different direction. Hopefully these augment and accelerate progress towards better outcomes.
With that overall context, I think my first question is for Ms. Savill.
I know you're based in the Yukon. I wonder if you can just briefly tell me your role vis-à-vis first nation education writ large and perhaps specifically as it relates to what's going on in the Yukon.