Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address Bill C-30, an act respecting the powers of the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia in relation to education.
It has been said by some that the Mi'kmaq should blend in with the rest of society and become a part of the rest of the Canadian society. I think interface was a word that was used.
History has recorded very well the results of the attempt to assimilate and have first nations people blend in through the residential school system which robbed them of their culture, history, dignity and heritage. It is time for a change, to face the reality of today's situation.
This bill will be the first of its kind in transferring jurisdiction for education to first nations communities. The royal commission on aboriginal peoples argues strongly that education in all its dimensions be placed under the control of aboriginal people.
On February 14, 1997 the chiefs of nine Nova Scotia bands signed an agreement concerning jurisdiction for education. I emphasize that the chiefs represent their communities. Bill C-30 would allow for the transfer to occur.
The chiefs of Eskasoni, Membertou, Chapel Island, Whycocomagh, Wagmatcook, Pictou Landing, Shubenacadie, Annapolis Valley and Acadia signed the agreement to transfer jurisdiction for education on reserve.
This development is not a new idea. Mi'kmaq have been struggling to preserve and develop their education for a very long time. Marie Battiste, a Mi'kmaq, stated as cultural curriculum co-ordinator for the Eskasoni school board in 1992:
In Eskasoni we do have language instruction going on in the school. We do provide cultural integration into the curriculum and we do a lot of things toward cultural enhancement, enrichment and appreciation. And those have many kinds of positive outcomes.
Throughout the royal commission hearings presenters told the commission and wrote in their reports that education must in part develop children and youth:
As aboriginal citizens, linguistically and culturally competent to assume the responsibilities of their nations. Youth that emerge from school must be grounded in a strong, positive aboriginal identity. Consistent with aboriginal traditions, education must develop the whole of the child, intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
I extend my congratulations and those of my caucus colleagues to all those involved in the negotiations and discussions that have brought us to this point.
The final agreement, signed less than three months ago, sets out the powers, duties, functions and structures of the Mi'kmaq Kina'matnewey, or the Mi'kmaq Education Corporation.
This agreement provides for the corporation to have the ability to pass laws for primary, elementary and secondary education on reserve for band members only. However, the Mi'kmaq under this agreement are obligated to provide equivalent education for primary, elementary and secondary education to non-members. This point will need to be discussed in committee because Mi'kmaq must provide education to non-band members on the reserve under this agreement but there is no capacity to cover Mi'kmaq not on reserve.
One of the highlights of the agreement is that an education standard is transferable between the Mi'kmaq nation and any other education system in the country. If we are concerned about addressing the interface and the reality of Canadian society, this is provided for in the bill.
Bill C-30 will give effect to that final agreement. It is about time. Since schools have been operated by religious missions for over 300 years much of the history of aboriginal formal education has been about so-called educating the spirit, culture and being out of aboriginal youth. One description given to the royal commission is that it has been tantamount to beating the Indian out of the child.
While there are some people who would still advocate that today by their policies and philosophies under the guise of mixing and interfacing, it is important that aboriginal people maintain their heritage, their identity and their culture.
Many schools were explicitly used to break down the transmission of culture, language, history and spirit from one generation to the next. Mi'kmaq educator Marie Battiste said:
Cognitive imperialism—is [the attempt to change] a whole way in which people see things. I think it is important at this point to tell you a bit about the Mi'kmaq language. It is a beautiful language. It has many, many ways of expressing things. There are more ways to express things in Mi'kmaq than there are in English and the language is built around relationships—
The language is the cement and the bonds. It provides the moral communion, if you will, of the community. And when we begin to take that language away from the people, when we tear the people away from the very rudiments of that language in terms of the relationships of people to each other, the relationship to their universe, their relationships to the animals and the plants, we take away their interconnectedness and we leave them empty, lost and alone. This is a tremendous loss the people feel—
This bill, thanks to the resolve and creativity of the Mi'kmaq leaders, sets to change the course of education in a significant way.
One of the recommendations of the royal commission report calls for:
—federal, provincial and territorial governments to collaborate with Aboriginal governments, organizations or educational authorities, as appropriate, to support the development of Aboriginally controlled education systems by introducing, adapting or ensuring the flexible application of legislation to facilitate self-starting initiatives by Aboriginal nations and their communities in the field of education.
This bill is a significant first step in that direction. I know my colleague, the hon. member for Bras d'Or, recently spoke with Chief Lindsay Marshall from Chapel Island about these issues, as did I. I am sure the member for Bras d'Or is proud that this history is being made in her riding.
Just before I conclude my remarks I would like to add a personal note with respect to the value of education for all peoples.
My father had probably less than grade six formal education and my mother had about grade nine formal education, but those two people were very well educated, much more educated perhaps than people who had gone through university. They were very wise in their years. They were self-educated and self-taught.
It was due to circumstances beyond their control that they were unable to complete their education in a formal sense. My father's father died when he was quite young and he had to take charge of trying to help support his family. My mother came from a larger family and had to, because of economic circumstances, take part in trying to help support her family.
The one thing that was of great significance to me as a young person growing up in that family setting was the importance that my mother and father stressed upon education. I can remember my father saying to me “Son, never let any man or any person put you down because of the colour of your skin. Get your education. Pursue education, be proud of who you are and what you are, and work hard to become educated so you can compete in this world”. It is because of those words of encouragement and support that I am here today and I am the person I am.
This was not an attempt to mix or interface with the rest of society. This was being proud of who you are based upon your own personal being, your own values and the mores and the values that came as a part of the family in which I grew up.
Many aboriginal people did not have that opportunity. They were torn away from their families, from their homes and from that kind of support. They did not have that advice because they were taken away from their mothers and fathers who cared for them in the same way as my mother and father cared for me.
I can recall my mother and father going to school meetings, discussing our progress with the teachers of the day and taking great pride in our report cards. Many aboriginal children did not have that opportunity because they were torn away from their culture. They did not have the opportunity to discuss their progress with their elders and the people within their community who meant so much to them and who could have provided the kind of support which I received.
When we talk about moving in the direction of giving aboriginal people control over their own affairs, I feel it is time this was done. We know the message that history has given us of non-aboriginal people trying to take control of aboriginal people's lives. So many people are afraid to move to something different and allow people to change.
I would urge very strongly that every member of this House give serious thought to the principle that is involved in this bill and not the technicalities about how much money is going to be involved and how the taxpayer is going to be involved. Those are incidentals that can be worked out in a different forum. It is the principle and the heart of the bill which are important. The bill will enable people to take charge of their own lives. They will be able to do the kinds of things they should be able to do. They will once again have pride in their heritage. They will have control over their own destiny and their own affairs. There is nothing for people to fear about that concept.
I say to all members that we should think seriously about this bill and lend it the support it has been given by the aboriginal communities and by the province of Nova Scotia, which have signed this agreement with the federal government. We should move forward so that every aboriginal person may take their rightful place in Canadian society.