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.
Second Reading of Bills
Hon. T. Christensen: I move that the bill now be read a second time.
…
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
