The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is accusing the federal Aboriginal Affairs minister of using “fairy tale” numbers and “Pinocchio accounting” when it comes to figuring out how much money the federal government is providing for First Nations education.
The FSIN is inviting the minister to Saskatchewan so he can get a first-hand look at the real situation.
Vice Chief Simon Bird says seeing is believing.
He says First Nations education is grossly underfunded, and amounts to about $6,500 per student. That’s a little over half of what Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan is claiming. The number is also about $4,000 less than what the province pays per student in the provincial education system.
Bird says if Ottawa continues to underfund First Nations education, it will only result in bigger problems down the road:
“We will only keep filling up the jails that we have. Why not invest in our youth today to prevent such a disaster in the future?”
The vice chief is hoping the federal minister will take him up on his invitation to come to the province:
“If he doesn’t, then I would seriously ask him to take a look at his numbers again and come up with a solution — something that we can work on together.”
The federal government spends about $1.7 billion a year on First Nations elementary and secondary education.
There are more than 15,000 students enrolled in band-operated schools in Saskatchewan.