Madam Chairperson, it is with great pleasure that Canada offers its statement on the theme of this session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, namely education and languages. Canada believes in the importance of education in a variety of forms, from the formal school education, learning on the job, specialized training, and the learning one derives from the Elders of a community. Equally important to the cultural survival of Aboriginal communities in Canada is the preservation, learning and use of Aboriginal languages. Gathering Strength, the federal government's Aboriginal Action Plan which I outlined earlier recognizes the important role of education in shaping a positive future for Aboriginal communities, with special attention on youth.

Joining us are three experts from Canada, whom I would like to recognize: Dr. Vivian Ayoungman, Director of Education, Treaty 7 Tribal Council, Ms. Marjorie Gould, Executive Director of the Mi'kmaq Kina'matnewey, and Ms. Sandra Lewis-den Otter, Chairperson of the First Nations Technical Institute. These education experts have worked long and hard in the education field and have come here to share their knowledge and experience with other educators and governments in a session organized outside the formal meeting of the Working Group, on Thursday, July 30, 1998 from 1-3 pm in Room XXIII. We also have with us, Mr. Bob Coulter, Director of Learning, Employment and Human Development, of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, who is here to share information about Canada's education programs and learn about the education practises in other countries.

I believe Ms. Gould will agree with me that one of the outstanding developments in Aboriginal education in Canada, was the announcement on June 18, 1998 -- that the Mi'kmaq Education Act received Royal Assent and became law. This new law transfers federal government legislative and administrative jurisdiction for education to nine Nova Scotia First Nations and enables the Mi'kmaq to develop education systems and institutions to preserve and respect the values and traditions of Mi'kmaq culture. The Province of Nova Scotia will introduce legislation supporting this process in the near future.

This legislation is one example of the kind of initiative the government will be focussing upon with respect to its commitment to strengthening Aboriginal communities which was outlined in Gathering Strength - Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. Canada is actively involved in negotiating similar arrangements across the country.

I am also very pleased to advise the Working Group that in June 1998, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced $ 20 million in new funding to preserve, protect and teach Aboriginal languages. The Aboriginal Languages Initiative fulfils a commitment made by government and supports activities to preserve Aboriginal languages recently outlined in the federal government's Gathering Strength - Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. The initiative will be managed and delivered by Aboriginal organizations. It will complement existing school-based Aboriginal languages programs by focusing its efforts on Aboriginal language instruction directly in communities.

Funding of $ 5 million will be distributed annually over four years and will be allocated to support First Nations/Indian languages, Inuktitut dialects and Michif, a language unique to the Métis.

There are more than fifty Aboriginal languages in Canada - most of which are endangered and/or close to extinction. Aboriginal languages must be preserved and protected for future generations of Canadians as precious elements, not only of Aboriginal cultures, but also of Canada's national heritage.

The design of the Aboriginal Languages initiative is based on three principles:

• Aboriginal peoples are the stewards of Aboriginal languages, preserving and protecting these languages for the benefit and enrichment of future generations of Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians;
• Aboriginal peoples are in the best position to design and deliver support for Aboriginal languages that respects and responds to the language retention needs of Aboriginal communities and families; and,
• Each community should choose its own goals and strategy for language renewal and maintenance in the home and in the community.

In terms of work in progress, a critical initiative that has come out of Gathering Strength is education reform. It is the intention of Canada, in partnership with First Nations to work on a series of educational reforms to improve educational achievement for First Nations students, based on broad priorities agreed to with the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs Committee on Education. The long-term goal of the Education reform initiatives is for increased First Nations education management and governance capacities, increased retention and graduation rates, increased labour market opportunities as well as increased job readiness skills and opportunities, for school to work transition for First Nations students.

The prime areas for development will be:

• strengthening First Nations education management and governance capacity;
• improving the effectiveness of classroom instruction;
• supporting community and parental involvement with school; and
• aiding the School to Work Transition.

Public Health Eduction is a key element of any program addressing the serious health issues of Aboriginal people today. Aboriginal peoples of anada have been actively involved in developing public heath and related programs. This has been reported on over the past two years, by our colleague from Health Canada, Mr. Paul Cochrane. In the context of education, there have been a number of further developments in the health field:

• the funding for the Aboriginal Head Start Program which is designed to enhance Aboriginal child development and school readiness, has been extended to First Nation communities, with an additional $ 25 million in new funding annually; and
• the Indian and Inuit Health Careers Program has experienced a steady increase in health studies enrolment since we awarded four bursaries in 1984/85 - in 1997/98, 77 bursaries and 50 scholarships were awarded to support training and development in the health field.

Training and skills development are also the themes of an important five-year Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy which is to provide Aboriginal groups with tools to increase employment. Under the strategy government will work with its partners to establish a private sector Aboriginal Human resources Development Council which will focus on ways to address human resources challenges such as access to the labour market.

Training, Madam Chairperson, is an integral part of the work underway for the creation of Nunavut. Near the end of 1997, Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) signed an agreement to provide $ 11.9 million for training for Inuit to help them take advantage of employment opportunities generated by the creation of Nunavut in 1999. The federal funds will help Inuit achieve a 50 per cent representation rate in the Nunavut Public Service by April 1999.

Madam Chairperson, I will now describe some of the work that is underway to address the serious concerns of Aboriginal youth in Canada - which range from low levels of academic achievement which lead to a decreased access to job opportunities, as well as high incarceration rates and serious health and social concerns.

On-reserve and urban Aboriginal youth benefit from a variety of federal youth employment programs sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, the Department of National Defence and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Since 1996, over 13 federal departments have taken part in the Youth Employment Strategy. Known as YES, this Government of Canada action plan dedicates $ 315 million for the creation of new youth employment opportunities. Examples of initiatives include:

• a Aboriginal Youth Business Initiative (AYBI), an on-going initiative of Aboriginal Business Canada, in Industry Canada;
• a national Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention which is under the auspices of the Department of Justice, will be working with provincial and territorial counter parts to establish Joint Management committees (JMS) and set up procedures for identifying, reviewing and recommending funding for community crime prevention proposals; and
• A Science and Technology Camp Program, from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development for example, includes the study of traditional herbal medicines and helps to create a link between technology and cultural identity.

Madam chairperson, in addition to these recent initiatives, Canada has been providing support in the area of Aboriginal education and languages through a number of on-going programs. The main programs funded by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development are: the Elementary/Secondary Education Program, the Post-Secondary Education Program, and the Cultural/Educational Centres Program.

In general, the Department's funding for instructional services for status Indians residing on-reserve includes provision for these services in on-reserve schools, the covering costs for on-reserve students attending provincial schools and funding for student support services which include transportation, counselling, accommodation and financial aide.

The objective of the Elementary/Secondary Education Program is to ensure that eligible Indians and Inuit have access to education programs relevant to the First Nations and Inuit students and comparable in scope and quality to those available in public schools in the province in which the reserve is located. $ 929 million has been allocated in 1998-1999 for this program. There are currently 455 schools on-reserve; 446 are under First Nation management and nine are still under federal government management. In addition to instructional services Canada also supports the construction of education facilities.

The Post-Secondary Student Support Program includes the University College Entrance Preparation Program which assists First Nations students with the cost of tuition fees, books and travel and provides living allowances when applicable. Support is also provided to Post-Secondary Education institutions for the development and delivery of special programs. Between 1981 and 1996, the proportion of Aboriginal people aged 20 to 29 with a post-secondary degree or diploma improved from 19 to 23 percent.

The Cultural/Educational Centres Program provides financial assistance to First Nations, Tribal/District Councils and First Nation/Inuit non-profit corporations to preserve, develop, promote, and express their cultural heritage -- culture is here understood to mean the language, religion, philosophy, institutions, inventions, arts, skills, instruments, and behaviours which distinguish one group from another. The 1998-1999 budget of $ 8.2 million funds two national associations and 77 Indian/Inuit centres.

In April 1996, the administration of 44 First Nation cultural/education centres was transferred to the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural/Education Centres, a national First Nations organization whose mandate is to preserve and promote First Nations cultural heritage and identity.

This ends Canada's overview of Aboriginal education and language development, Madam Chairperson. Thank you for the opportunity to make this statement. I do hope that people in the room will take the opportunity to meet our education experts and to view the materials we have on display.

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