APSEDP
Aboriginal Post Secondary Education: Different Perspectives
2006 Legislative Session: Second Session, 38th Parliament
HANSARD
Official Report of
DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(Hansard)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2006
Afternoon Sitting
Volume 7, Number 12
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2006
The House met at 2:05 p.m.
Prayers.
Search terms for Wednesday March 22, 2006:
Aboriginal Education
All Nations Institute
Human Rights
Institute of Indigenous Education
New Relationship Trust Act
Sean Kocsis
Sean Kocsis President IIG-All Nations Institute
John Nuraney Lib MLA-Chair Select Standing Committee on Education
Second Reading of Bills
Hon. T. Christensen: I move that the bill now be read a second time.
I am pleased to move now to second reading. The government is committed to a new relationship with first nations based on mutual respect, on reconciliation and, fundamentally, on recognition of aboriginal rights. In embarking upon this new relationship, we are turning our backs on a legacy of denial in the province.
It's an unfortunate legacy. When we have the opportunity to sit down and look at the history of the relationship between first nations and the provincial Crown in this province, it's not one we come away from feeling proud. We started out all right in the 1850s. We negotiated a few treaties, which have come to be known as the Douglas treaties, here on lower Vancouver Island, and then we stopped.
[S. Hawkins in the chair.]
From the late 1850s for well over a century, the province dug in its heels and consistently denied that first nations had rights, that first nations actually were here before European contact and that there was a need to reconcile the existence of those rights and those title interests with the immigration of so many others to this great province. It's a legacy of denial that was consistent through the late 1800s into the early 1900s.
Quite frankly, the record of history shows that we took extraordinary steps to ensure that first nations didn't have the opportunity to embark upon a debate about those rights and title interests. We went as far as outlawing the ability of first nations to organize themselves, to pursue claims of rights in title. We denied aboriginal peoples the most fundamental opportunity that we all hold dear: the one that gives us the vote. We held on to that denial for a long time.
We outlawed customs that we feared allowed first nations to come together and debate these issues themselves and then come to government and make the case that aboriginal rights and title interests had to be dealt with. For decade after decade we took extraordinary steps to not have to address issues of aboriginal rights and title. It's only really in the past two to three decades that we've started to see a shift.
We've seen an opportunity for first nations to pursue their rightful claims that their aboriginal rights need to be recognized and their title interests need to be recognized. Very slowly, governments have come to recognize that these are issues we need to deal with. Far too often we've dealt with these issues in the context of what amounts to a continued denial rather than trying to work with first nations to recognize what is the most simple fact: the fact that we are all here to stay. First nations aren't leaving, and I don't think any of the rest of us whose families have only been here a century — in some cases a couple of centuries, or in many cases much shorter than that — are prepared to leave.
We have to find a way that we reconcile the existence of aboriginal rights and title with the reality of Crown title and the need for all of us to live here together and pursue the opportunities that are available in this province in a way that benefits both first nations and non–first nations.
We have very deliberately, in embarking upon a new relationship, chosen to turn our back on that legacy of denial of aboriginal rights and title and to embrace an opportunity to work with first nations in trying to find a way that first nations and non–first nations — a way that all British Columbians — can benefit from the incredible opportunities that lie before us in this province, whether those are economic, social or cultural opportunities.
This journey to build a new relationship started in earnest about a year ago. There's a very important organization, a small group that has been instrumental in initiating this journey, and that's the First Nations
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Leadership Council. They've been our partners in this journey. I was incredibly honoured yesterday, when we introduced this bill in first reading, to be joined here on the floor of the Legislature by three representatives from the First Nations Leadership Council. It was an honour to be joined by Chief Stewart Phillip, who is the president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, by Grand Chief Ed John and by Dave Porter, both of whom represent the First Nations Summit.
It's important that we recognize the other first nations leaders who are on the First Nations Leadership Council for the time and energy they have put in over the last number of months, as we go down this path of the new relationship. I want to recognize, as well, Chief Mike Retasket and Chief Robert Shintah, both from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, as well as Chief Doug Kelly from the First Nations Summit and regional chief Shawn Atleo from the Assembly of First Nations.
All of these first nations leaders have been instrumental in getting us to where we are today. That's not to say that there's not a great deal of work still to do. But we have made progress. It was important and, again, an honour that some of those leaders were able to join me here on the floor of the House during first reading to recognize the significance of this initiative.
Those first nations leaders and first nations leaders around this province represent a significant segment of our society: the first nations of British Columbia. Collectively, these first nations are among the most culturally diverse in Canada, the most culturally diverse in the world, and their contributions to our culture and to our history certainly have not been appropriately recognized in the past. The new relationship marks the first time in the history of British Columbia that the provincial government and first nations leaders representing all first nations in the province have come together in a spirit of cooperation to look at changing the status quo for the benefit of all British Columbians and to realize a shared vision for a strong and prosperous future for this province, a province that has the opportunity to lead Canada in social and economic development.
The government's strategic vision for the province of British Columbia is embodied in five great goals, and we've laid those goals out for the public to look at and to help us pursue. Those goals are to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent; to lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness; to build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, persons with special needs, children at risk and seniors; to lead the world in sustainable environmental management with the best air and water quality and the best fisheries management, bar none; and to create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada. But when we look at those laudable and ambitious goals, we quickly recognize that this vision can only be achieved if first nations citizens attain these goals as well.
To achieve these strategic goals, we recognize that we must achieve first nations economic self-sufficiency and make first nations a strong economic partner in the province and the country through sustainable land and resource development, effective shared decision-making and shared benefits that support first nations as distinct and healthy communities. If we do that, if we explore the contributions and celebrate the contributions of first nations to our shared history, all British Columbians will benefit from that richer understanding of first nations culture and from the economic, political and cultural partnerships that we have the opportunity to pursue with first nations.
What we recognize as we explore these ideas, as we look to the future and try to determine how we better walk this path together, is that to reach those goals, first nations need the tools and the skills to become full, active and engaged participants in the social and economic landscape. To make this possible, our government has set aside a one-time, $100 million capacity-building fund for first nations, and that is the bill that is before us this afternoon. Because the fund will support increased capacity for first nations into the future, its benefits will carry on over the long term as first nations increase their ability to participate in the new relationship with government.
I have been asked — actually, quite frequently in the last 24 hours: "What sorts of things will this fund support? When we talk about capacity-building, what do we mean by that?" I think we often throw these terms out there and leave them to hang there, and people can define them themselves. Capacity-building can be a pretty broad concept. We recognize, notwithstanding the incredible success of some members of our first nations communities — and whole communities, in some cases — that in this province over the recent years there is a great need to build strength and capacity within first nations communities, and the ability to better be involved in the modern economy, and that that's going to take a great deal of effort.
It's important to recognize, in identifying the priorities for capacity-building, that it's first nations that need to be doing that. We need to move away from the days where those of us who don't live in those communities, those of us that don't have the opportunity to spend time in the communities and identify first-hand and feel the challenges that are present…. It's not us who should be defining the priorities for capacity-building. We should recognize the need for it, and we should provide assistance as we are able, and we're doing that, but we must allow first nations to choose what their fundamental first priorities are for capacity-building.
The board of directors that will manage this fund will do that, and they will do that in consultation with first nations. But some of the things that have come up in the conversations we've been having over the course of this last year — and, in the context of those conversations, evolving to, "Oh, wait a minute. We need some people to do certain things" — do help inform the types of things that might be funded through this fund.
When we look at opportunities for first nations to be more involved in forestry, for example — and when
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we look at the fact that we now have over 100 agreements in the province where first nations are taking up an opportunity to be involved in the forest economy, to have access to fibre — we find, in discussions with those first nations, that there's a need for greater forest development planning and better engagement of individuals from those first nations communities in that planning. There's a need to develop the business expertise so that first nations can take better advantage of those forest tenures. There's a need for expertise, including forest technicians, financial planning for business expansion and marketing of potential forest products that could be manufactured because there's an access to fibre.
There's a need for skill sets that become relevant when we're looking at trying to address the very difficult circumstances before us when we look at the mountain pine beetle epidemic. We know there's a need to build skills in land use planning and in being able to document traditional knowledge so that can be taken into account when we're looking at land use planning.
Land use planning is a pretty complex exercise in this day and age. There are lots of technological advancements that assist us in that, whether it's geographic information systems or it's other technologies we can take advantage of in land use planning. But there's also a need in working with first nations communities to be able to incorporate some of their traditional knowledge, the knowledge of their elders, in how that process goes forward. We need skill sets within those communities to take advantage of the knowledge that the elders are able to provide, as well as to combine that knowledge with some of the assistance that modern technology can provide.
When we speak with first nations, we see there's a keen interest in opportunities in aquaculture. But again, there's a need for training opportunities, and there's a need for first nations to be able to control their own destiny in respect of some of those economic opportunities.
When we look at social program management, there's no question that we are better engaged with first nations now than we have ever been when we're looking at education for aboriginal students, when we're looking at issues of child development, when we're looking at the difficult issues of child protection and how we best support families.
Aboriginal communities, first nations — they need to be and they certainly want to be directly involved in the development of policy and in the delivery of services in those important areas. Yet we find that there are additional needs for training. There are additional needs for building of capacity to be effectively involved in the delivery of those services.
I could obviously go on, Madam Speaker. There's a good long list, and the skill sets that will be desired and are desired in first nations communities to better engage in the new relationship with government are the same skill sets that government finds it needs in order to engage in that discussion. It will take a period of time to ensure that that capacity builds. It won't happen overnight.
But what we are doing is embarking upon the path of building that capacity over time. We do, I think, often focus on the challenge that's ahead of us, the need to build capacity over a period of time. It's easy for us to say that we need capacity in this area and that we need people with these skill sets or those skill sets.
Sometimes I think we get a bit discouraged in terms of the scope of the challenge ahead, but it's important to recognize the progress that's actually been made over the last number of years in terms of aboriginal participation in post-secondary education, for example, where we have incredible graduates coming out of our post-secondary institutions, returning to their communities and making strong, innovative contributions to first nations communities around the province. So it is important that we recognize those success stories as we look to build and add capacity in the future.
As I've said, building capacity will enhance first nations participation in land and resource planning, in decision-making and in the implementation of agreed decisions. Building capacity will mean that first nations are better able to look much more to their own communities rather than hire outside consultants and specialists for the expertise that's needed to conduct their business and manage their affairs. I think we've tended to say, in this conversation around the need to build capacity, that there's a desire to get rid of the consultants.
That's in no way meant to disparage the work that the very many people do who are working with first nations now but aren't aboriginal. There are many dedicated individuals that are working with first nations around the province and are sincere — incredibly sincere and dedicated — in their efforts to help first nations move forward with economic development opportunities, with the delivery of social programs.
But I think we inherently recognize — I hope we inherently recognize — that those communities are going to be much stronger if they're able to rely on people who have grown up in the community, who intimately know the community, to assist in delivering or in exercising those skills within the community — to look at economic opportunity, to look at social opportunity going forward. That's the reason that we need to build that internal capacity.
Madam Speaker, the legislation establishes a corporation. It's a corporation independent of government but with a requirement to publicly report strategic plans, annual reports and audited financial statements. Seven directors will be appointed to form the first board of directors. They will oversee the corporation, and they will ensure that the purposes and the principles of the trust are upheld. Those principles and those purposes are set out in detail in the act to guide the board of directors in getting this fund up and running.
In looking at those purposes and principles, we must recognize that above all, the directors will ensure that the funding supports the capacity-building needs
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of first nations as identified by first nations. The organizations that make up the First Nations Leadership Council — the First Nations Summit, the B.C. Assembly of First Nations and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs — will be represented by three members on the board of directors. Then, the First Nations Leadership Council as a whole will jointly select two additional directors based on federal and provincial board appointment guidelines. The province will also select two directors based on skills and experience.
The directors will then be responsible for soliciting and considering the advice of first nations to set priorities and to develop a strategic plan that will guide how the funds will be accessed, what the goals are in terms of building capacity, how the corporation and the board of directors will measure how they're meeting those goals and whether they're meeting those goals.
They will develop three-year strategic plans. They will review that rolling plan on an annual basis and publish an annual report so that they can measure whether or not progress is being made in building capacity and enabling first nations to better participate in discussions with government, to better participate in pursuing economic opportunities, to better participate in the delivery and enhancement of the delivery of social programs for first nations.
The directors will also appoint an independent review committee to examine the state of the fund every five years — again, an additional opportunity to review and see whether or not this overarching goal of building capacity within first nations is being reached. The report of that independent review committee's findings will be part of the public record. So it's clear that the legislation is based on sound public accountability measures with the goal of supporting first nations to achieve greater self-reliance in their communities and across British Columbia.
As we put this fund in place, and as we look to the future and the opportunities that the fund might provide, it is important to reflect on what has happened over the course of the last year with the new relationship. I think all of us get frustrated from time to time. We'd like to see what we call tangible results faster. We'd like to go into any first nations community in the province and be able to point to the specific things that we can consider to be evidence of a new relationship. But a relationship, by its very nature, is something that evolves. Certainly, it has evolved very positively over the course of this last year, as we have had an unprecedented level of engagement with first nations in trying to come to terms with what our mutual obligations are to work with one another.
We are having very constructive discussions with the First Nations Leadership Council and, in doing so, are trying to address some of those very difficult issues around fulfilling the government's obligation to consult when we're making decisions that impact aboriginal rights, including aboriginal title interests. Those discussions will continue to have more meat brought on to them.
We have had some incredible successes in the course of the last year. One that I certainly want to highlight and one that I think will benefit ultimately from this New Relationship fund is the transformative change accord that was signed with the federal government, which the Premier and members of the First Nations Leadership Council signed at the conclusion of the first ministers meeting in Kelowna back in November of 2005.
That transformative change accord came about…. It's important to recognize that B.C. is the only province that actually signed an accord with the federal government at the end of that first ministers meeting. And it's critically important that we recognize that it was a tripartite accord — that it involved both levels of government as well as the First Nations Leadership Council. It came about because first nations in British Columbia and the province of British Columbia, as we approached the first ministers meeting, were working together.
When the Premier was doing the work leading to the first ministers meeting in Kelowna, the consistent question was meeting with first nations leaders and saying: "What is it you hope to see as a result of this first ministers meeting?" It was a historic opportunity to bring together provincial leaders, federal leaders, territorial leaders and aboriginal leaders from across the country.
We had a cooperative effort that I don't think would have been possible but for The New Relationship and the mutual respect we have built in the months since the new relationship as a concept first arose. That allowed us to move away from the first ministers meeting with a transformative change accord that commits us to working together to ensure that we have specific plans in place to close the socioeconomic gaps that exist between first nations and the non-aboriginal population in British Columbia and in Canada. We'll have specific plans in place pursuant to that accord to eliminate the gap that exists in educational outcomes, to eliminate the gaps that exist in terms of health outcomes, in terms of housing and economic opportunity, and it's allowed us a foundation on which we can move forward.
I've mentioned that we've seen significant opportunities, increased opportunities, for first nations to be engaged in forestry activity in the province. We're seeing significant engagement of first nations as we strive to develop the plans necessary to address the mountain pine beetle epidemic. We need to make no mistake about it. That epidemic has horrendous impacts for first nations communities, which in many cases have been there for thousands of years living off that land base that now is being so tragically impacted by the mountain pine beetle.
We're engaged with first nations, and while we don't always agree — we don't always disagree either — and while we recognize that there are challenges we have to confront as we move forward and try to develop the plans to address the mountain pine beetle,
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the simple fact is that we're doing that together. That is what is new, and that is what is critical.
We've made significant progress on the treaty front. We now have six agreements-in-principle that have been signed since 2003. I'm hopeful that we're getting close to another, and our task ahead is to make sure we're making progress towards final agreements. Again, I'm hopeful.
I've moved away from trying to put time lines on those things because that's a recipe for being wrong, but we are making progress, and we are engaged with first nations in how we try to break through some of the final barriers that are there to getting to final treaties. I am confident that we will get to final treaties and that some of the goodwill and the trust that is being built through the new relationship will assist us immeasurably in getting to those final treaties.
But we need to build on these successes. Looking forward, we recognize that we have a long way to go for our relationship to be the constructive one we envision. But it's clear that we are committed to walking this path together — this path of promise, really a path of prosperity with first nations — now and into the future.
In establishing the New Relationship fund, we're providing a significant, tangible example of how we can work together in terms of how this initiative has been developed, but also a very significant and tangible tool that will be available to better enable first nations to engage with the province in the evolution of the new relationship.
With that, I will look forward to hearing the comments of other members. I know that there is a good deal of interest in this initiative, and certainly my belief is that members across the floor are generally supportive. They may have some questions in committee stage, but I look forward to the comments of all members of the House as we move forward with this significant and historic shift, this new relationship between the province and first nations here in British Columbia.
…
J. Nuraney: It gives me great pleasure to speak today in favour of the New Relationship Trust Act. I believe this act is a landmark in our province's growing relationship with our first nations communities. As a responsible society we need to give all people the tools needed to succeed.
We know that in this country grave mistakes were made with regard to first nations people. Our past is
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tainted with injustices and shameful behaviour towards our aboriginal people. Our government, under the leadership of our Premier, is committed to forging a new relationship based on trust and mutual confidence. I am convinced of the genuine intention of this government to achieve this goal.
Last September our government made the commitment to build this new relationship of reconciliation based on mutual respect and recognition of aboriginal Canadian constitutional rights. The goal is to ensure that aboriginal people share in the economic and social development of British Columbia, in line with the five great goals of the golden decade.
In order to achieve these five great goals, it is imperative that we take into account the important objectives, which are: to restore, revitalize and strengthen first nations and their communities and families to eliminate the gap in the standard of living with other British Columbians and substantially improve the circumstances of first nations people in areas which include education, children and family, and health, including the restoration of habitats to achieve access to traditional foods and medicine; to achieve first nations self-determination through exercise of their aboriginal title, including realizing the economic component of aboriginal title and exercising their jurisdiction over the use of the land and resources through their own structures; to ensure that lands and resources are managed in accordance with first nations laws, knowledge and values and that the resource development is carried out in a sustainable manner, including the primary responsibility of preserving healthy lands, resources and ecosystems for present and future generations; and finally, to revitalize and preserve first nations cultures and languages and restore literacy and fluency in first nations languages to ensure that no first nation language becomes extinct.
We are working very hard to help our aboriginal partners meet these objectives. We will advance the national goal of eliminating the inequities that have plagued the indigenous people throughout our country and in our history. Our province was also a leading party in helping achieve last November's Kelowna accord — still in progress, with many details that still need to be worked out.
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Earlier this month we announced $40,000 in funds to support the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association's annual Youth Entrepreneur Symposium. This funding will help the young people become exposed to leadership, networking and financial opportunities at the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation.
One might ask: what is the overarching purpose of this act? Quite simply, it is to assist first nations to participate in land and resource management and to manage their own social programs in and for their own communities. In other words, it is to empower them and to help them be self-reliant.
Capacity-building will help indigenous people reduce the need to hire non-aboriginals and will afford them the opportunity to build and create their own skill sets. Again, this is all about presenting the people with the opportunities to enhance their lives and communities. It is our hope that this will lead to more institutional leadership and the human resource capacity to undertake social, cultural and economic priorities and needs.
The New Relationship Trust Act is also about accountability. The appointed seven-member board of directors will publicly be accountable. With $100 million of the taxpayers' money, this is a significant and a necessary component. I am pleased to hear that the audited financial statements and the publicly available annual report are also requirements. Also, like all good businesses, proper financial planning is required.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending the opening of a new academic facility at the IIG–All Nations university , which is now located in my riding of Burnaby-Willingdon. Briefly, the IIG–All Nations is a different kind of university, and I think their concept is rather revolutionary.
As the Chair, also, of the Select Standing Committee on Education, I have a strong desire to advance literacy right across the province. Unfortunately, the indigenous people suffer from exceptionally high illiteracy rates. This is something that needs to be addressed and rectified. Thankfully, the vision of the all nations university is one part of the solution to this problem and worthy of our praise. Their mission is to provide quality and university-focused programs from an indigenous perspective in an optimistic, opportunities-oriented environment leading to growth, enrichment, self-sufficiency, self-respect for all members of the school community. "To aspire, to dig deep and grow" is their motto.
IIG–All Nations is an entrepreneurial organization and was recently selected as a finalist by the Burnaby Board of Trade for excellence in business management. They are fulfilling the very important role of providing an opportunity to indigenous and all students who might not be given the opportunity otherwise to enrol in other universities.
Despite an open-door policy and fully qualified professors, the All Nations boasts the lowest overall post-secondary fees in British Columbia. Not only that, they are the fastest-growing university in the province, yet still manage to maintain small classes. This is truly an amazing achievement.
In my mind, all nations university is a working and flourishing example of what capacity-building is and should aspire to be. This Relationship Trust Act will allow the board of directors the flexibility to define who is considered to be a member of British Columbia's first nations community. Based on my experience in meeting with the students, professors and elders, I think this is a very important concept.
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Flexibility is a must if our first nations are able to thrive. As we all know, indigenous people are more than one single entity, and it is important to consider the needs of all — on and off reserve, urban and rural, and Métis. We are on the right path, and we must per-
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sist in order to help our brothers and sisters of the first nations achieve their goals and their dreams.
Search terms for Wednesday March 22, 2006:
Aboriginal Education
All Nations Institute
Human Rights
Institute of Indigenous Education
New Relationship Trust Act
Sean Kocsis
Sean Kocsis President IIG-All Nations Institute
John Nuraney Lib MLA-Chair Select Standing Committee on Education
