Recommendations
| Recommendation 1 |
That the Government of Canada, in consultation with First Nations and First Nations educational authorities, develop a First Nations Education Act; that this Act explicitly recognize the authority of First Nations for on-reserve elementary and secondary education; and that it enable the establishment of First Nations controlled second-and-third level education structures; and that the application of this Act to individual First Nations communities be optional, and provide for the repeal of the education sections of the Indian Act for those First Nations that opt into the new Act. |
| Recommendation 2 | That the proposed First Nations Education Act provide statutory authority to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to make payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to First Nations educational authorities, with the objective of providing educational services on reserves; that the methodology for establishing the amount of these payments be enshrined in regulations authorized under the Act, and developed in consultation with First Nations; that these regulations would consider key cost drivers such as demographics and remoteness; and that the formula for establishing payments include, among other things, First Nations language preservation and revitalization programs. |
| Recommendation 3 | That the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, in collaboration with First Nations organizations and the Assembly of First Nations, take immediate steps to develop a Canada-First Nations Action Plan for education reform; and that the joint action plan include a process to ensure that First Nations are able to opt into a First Nations Education Act within agreed-upon timelines. |
| Recommendation 4 | That a task force, jointly appointed by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Assembly of First Nations, be established to oversee and monitor progress related to First Nations educational reform; and that the task force report annually, for the next five years, to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and to the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. |