Call to Action # 8

Why “Stalled”?

The official government website “Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action” as of Mar. 11, 2022 still does not directly address education funding for Indigenous students who are off-reserve other than a minimum amount allocated in Budget 2018.

Budget 2021 invests $1,188M over 5 years with $181.8M ongoing funding across three priority areas: COVID-19 support, funding mechanisms and First Nations control over education and adult education. 

Only 69% of the $2.6B in Budget 2016 of funding dedicated specifically to Primary and Secondary schools is available from 2016 through 2019. Budget 2018 applied a distinctions-based approach to the $2B funding including for urban/non-affiliated streams:

• $1.1 billion over five years, and $235.7 million per year ongoing, for a First Nations stream
• $325 million over five years, and $67 million per year ongoing, for a Métis Nation stream 
• $161.2 million over five years, and $32.6 million per year ongoing, for an Inuit stream 
• $213.4 million over five years, and $45.2 million per year ongoing, for an urban/non-affiliated stream

The budget allocations for post-secondary student support, however, ($815M in Budget 2019 (5 years for First Nations and 10 years for Métis and Inuit plus an additional $61.8M per year after for the Métis and Inuit) is actually LESS than the previous budget allocations for 2017 and 2018 of $90M per year. The Budget 2021 funding of $150.6M over two years ($75.3M/yr) is also LESS.

Jan. 21, 2019 – The Government of Canada and the AFN announce new policy and funding approach for First Nations K-12 education on reserve to take effect as of April 1, 2019 to support First Nations control of First Nations education, and ensures more predictable and sufficient funding.