A Northern moment: Minister Vandal chats with the new Northern Post-Secondary Education Task Force (video)

Transcript

Text on screen: A Northern moment: Task Force on Northern Post-Secondary Education

Text on screen: Across Canada’s north, critical gaps remain in accessing post-secondary education and skills training as identified in the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework. An open discussion with Minister of Northern Affairs Daniel Vandal and Parliamentary Secretary Yvonne Jones talking with members of a 13-member post-secondary education task force on identifying ways to improve education opportunities in Canada’s north and Arctic.

Hon. Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs: A lot of the work that you will be doing is already guided by the work that has already been put in place, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. As well, the historic co-development of the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, which was launched in September 2019 with the participation of Indigenous, territorial and provincial partners. This task force and the collaborative work to implement the ANPF, our Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, are important items of my mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And it’s something that I’m very happy to be moving forward on.

Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs: I know that the work that you’re going to be doing is going to be very important as we look beyond COVID-19 and the pandemic. And we need to ensure that there are measures to enhance education opportunities and those outcomes. We have a great group of people here that are certainly going to be able to take your experience and the vision that’s been created around this for the country and for people who need it and do the great work that needs to be done.

Malerie Bayha, youth member of the Délı̨nę First Nation, Northwest Territories: I’m very honoured to be here and I hope to bring a new perspective to the table, especially in matters of health and wellness of the youth in the north. Because it’s not just the lack of proper education resources that’s keeping youth from the post-secondary education.

Melanie Bennett, teacher from Dawson City, Yukon: We have recently had 2 very difficult Auditor General reports for the K to 12 education system and our students are not faring very well in the system. And we somehow have to figure out a better path and/or bridge for them into the post-secondary education and I think this is an opportunity that we can do that.

Ashlee Cunsolo, Dean of the School of Arctic and Sub-Arctic Studies, Memorial Univ. St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: It’s really exciting to be a part of this group. I’m really looking forward to learning and learning what’s happening across the north and making these strong connections. In particular, learning from youth such as Malerie, as you were talking about. To see, you know, what we can do and what post-secondary education can look like and what you want it to look like.

Jodie Lane, Director of Education, Nunatsiavut, Newfoundland and Labrador: I’m a part of the Inuit post-secondary strategy that was released recently with budget 2019 as well. So, that’s great news on the post-secondary front for Inuit students that we can support them even more. But this task force is something that we need for sure to look at all areas of Indigenous education: why our students aren’t performing where they should be, what are the supports that we’re not providing because we are all doing our best and there’s still gaps.

Erika Marteleira, Manager Inuit post-secondary education secretariat, Inuit Tapirriit Kanatami: What the secretariat is striving to do, and this is its first year, is to support Inuit across Canada. And not just in providing financial supports for students to pay for tuition, but to also try to identify other needs, other types of support that might be called "soft supports" but the things that often can make a huge difference in whether a student stays in school or whether they think that school is a place for them. I’m really excited to be on this task force.

Tosh Southwick, Chair of the Yukon Training Policy Committee, citizen of Kluane First Nation, Yukon: I have worked in education in the north for 20 plus years. I did a short stint in health and education and justice, and then very quickly realized the long-term answers to both of the issues we see in social welfare and justice is education. I really am impassioned about the transformative nature that education can bring, but I temper that with an honest and I think pretty strategic critique that the world of academia needs to have some pretty big shifts in it in order for it to be relevant and accessible for Indigenous people.

James Takkiruq, law student from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut: Right now my biggest priority, I want to say my biggest talking point, would be housing: how stressed out, how stressful it is looking for housing right now, anywhere in Nunavut. And I’m sure that a lot of other students in many other northern post-secondary institutions feel the same way.

Kelsey Wrightson, Executive Director of Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: So 1 of the things that I’m really hoping to bring to the task force is really emphasizing a strengths-based approach to the work that we’re doing. I think, you know, we are all very well-informed and have experienced a lot of the barriers that folks face when trying to access post-secondary education. But I think that 1 thing that I’ve really learned is the incredible resilience of northern communities and northern people, especially Indigenous communities and Indigenous people.

Hon. Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs: We’ve all heard the old saying that the key to a better life is education. And I think that we’ve tasked all of you with the important role of giving us some recommendations on what we need to do as a government to improve the education outcomes. And it’s going to be a partnership. We have lots of work to do, and we will be there to support you, so it’s great to meet everybody. Merci beaucoup tout le monde. Miigwetch.

Text on screen: Through engagement and consultation with Indigenous partners, youth, governments, post-secondary education institutions and leaders, the Task Force will make recommendations to the Minister of Northern Affairs on ways to address barriers and make post-secondary education achievable for more Northerners. Thank you to all participants.

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