Education: A historic agreement for 22 First Nations communities in Quebec
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First Nations Education Council Regional Education Agreement
Building for the next generations: First Nations Education Council Regional Education Agreement.
FNEC video: Regional Education Agreement
On July 14, 2022, Grand Chiefs and Chiefs of the 22 member communities of the First Nations Education Council (FNEC) and Indigenous Services Canada assembled on the Mohawk territory of Kahnawà:ke to sign a historic agreement: Regional education agreement.
The agreement funds a formula designed entirely by and for the FNEC's First Nations members. For nearly 5,900 students from kindergarten to grade 12, the agreement adequately addresses the real needs of each community and represents a better chance of thriving at school.
Photo credit: FNEC
Photo credit: FNEC
A rigorous process
It took nearly 10 years of research and analysis to reach this agreement. Indeed, the FNEC first conducted a comprehensive assessment of the real needs of First Nations students. This assessment takes into account the cultural, linguistic, social and geographic circumstances of the communities. The FNEC also identified barriers to student success, including:
- lack of consistent education funding for communities
- a significant increase in the number of students registered in the First Nations registry
- provincial education system not responding to communities priorities and vision
- the high labour shortage in schools
Using the data collected, the FNEC and member communities were able to develop a financial proposal that formed the basis of negotiations with the department.
The agreement in brief
Approximately $1.1 billion over 5 years is being provided to help communities create strategies to increase student achievement.
- The agreement affects 25 elementary and secondary schools distributed among 8 nations in Quebec
- It ensures the equitable financing of educational operations
- The agreement came into effect on April 1, 2022 and will end on March 31, 2027
A performance evaluation of the agreement is scheduled to take place as of 2027 to update the basis for its renewal
The Regional education agreement will allow:
- complete jurisdiction over schools by member communities
- sufficient funding for First Nations kindergarten to grade 12 education services by the communities
- access to quality education that meets the real needs of communities
- the hiring of hundreds of new qualified professionals in the communities
- education focused on the culture, language, social and geographic realities of the communities
- a sufficient environment that promotes learning in the territory
- increased techno-pedagogical capacity of teachers
When negotiation is reconciliation
Denis Gros-Louis, Director General of the FNEC, believes that the success of these negotiations depends on the willingness of the parties involved to work in a true spirit of reconciliation.
For Indigenous Services Canada, this meant listening and being flexible, recognizing FNEC's expertise and following its recommendations.
"In my career, this was the first time I had seen an Indigenous organization explain its substantive work to the federal government, and the federal government accepted that First Nations were further along in their analyses than the department," says Gros-Louis, happy with the positive environment in which the negotiations took place.