A vice-chief at the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations says he hopes a new bilateral agreement with the provincial government will speed up implementation of a report on Indigenous education and employment.
The joint task force report, which was released in April, contains 25 recommendations aimed at closing the education gap and providing better employment opportunities for Aboriginal students.
Vice-Chief Bobby Cameron says not much has happened since the report’s release.
He says one positive change has been the province’s decision to provide student driver training on-reserve but much more needs to be done.
“The one thing they followed up on and carried through was the driver education on reserve schools and we say thank you to the province for that but that is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says.
Cameron says the new bilateral agreement between the province and the FSIN provides a vehicle to get moving on the report’s other recommendations.
He says the sooner this happens, the better.
“There is an urgent need for action, not for more research because we have done that for the last year and a half or so,” he says. “We don’t need more reports that sit on a shelf while another year goes by and our First Nation children’s needs are not addressed.”
Yesterday, the FSIN issued a release expressing disappointment that the education department was putting the brakes on curriculum and education changes until it talks with parents and students.
This morning, however, a senior official in the department says no aboriginal programs are on hold whatsoever.