Education (6-12)

Current Reality

Between 1996 and 2016, a 2 per cent cap on annual increases was in place; between 2004-05 and 2013-14, provincial expenditures increased roughly 2 per cent a year after adjusting for inflation (during this same time period). This is in the context of declining enrolment, meaning students in the provincial education system received INCREASING per capita funding, Indigenous students under federal jurisdiction received LESS per capita funding.

Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates that, nationally, the total funding shortfall for education programming in all band-operated schools in 2012-13 was between $300 million and $595 million. PBO estimates this shortfall grew to between $336 million and $665 million in 2016-17.
“Federal Spending on Primary and Secondary Education on First Nations Reserves”: Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Dec. 6, 2016
http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/dpb-pbo/YN5-113-2016-eng.pdf

• Budget 2021 invests $1,188 over 5 years with $181.8M ongoing across three priority areas: COVID-19 support, funding mechanisms and First Nations control over education and adult education.
• Budget 2022 invests $310.6M over 5 years to support better student outcomes through a Regional Education Agreement with the First Nations Education Council , which includes 22 member communities in Québec

May 3, 2023: Key Recommendations from “A progress report on Indigenous education in Ontario’s publicly funded schools” by People for Education

• Mandate the NBE/NBF3U Indigenous studies course in place of Grade 11 English/French at the provincial level and increase the number of elementary and secondary schools offering Indigenous language programming.
• Hire Indigenous education teachers/workers.
• Provide Indigenous professional development for educators.
• Improve data collection and reporting outcomes of Indigenous students.
• Provide funding to support Indigenous language programs and holistic ways of knowing for K-12 students.
• Create an Indigenous task force to support the Ontario Ministry of Education and the 72 publicly funded school boards in response to the calls to action.