How First Nations Education Infrastructure is Funded in Canada

Introduction

In 2008, thirteen-year-old Shannen Koostachin of Attawapiskat First Nation stood outside on the steps of Parliament. She had just come from a meeting with then Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Chuck Strahl, who had bluntly told her delegation the federal government simply could not afford to build the new school Shannen’s First Nation had been requesting for three decades. In 1979, the grounds under the school became contaminated due to a massive diesel fuel leak. The only school for Attawapiskat’s 400 children, it was closed in 2000 due to health concerns as a result of the spill. As a solution, the federal government put drafty portable trailers on the playground of the contaminated school site as a “temporary school” until a new one could be built. Eight years later, there was still no sign of a new school.

Addressing the crowd assembled to denounce the federal government’s negligence, Shannen took the mic and said, “Today I am sad because Mr. Chuck Strahl said he didn’t have the money to build our school… But I didn’t believe him. I looked at him straight in the eyes and said, ‘Oh, we’re not going to quit, we’re not going to give up.’ And,” she continued, “I could tell he was nervous.” The crowd roared with approval in response to her determination to keep fighting for the school her First Nation was entitled to. In 2012, Attawapiskat and Canada finally announced a contract to build a new 5,808-square-metre school at a cost of approximately $31 million. It opened in 2014, more than 30 years after the First Nation initially requested a new school to educate their children in a safe environment.

First Nations education infrastructure is notably neglected and underfunded in Canada. How First Nations education infrastructure is funded at the federal level is also notoriously complicated and convoluted. However, sufficient funding for such infrastructure must arguably be considered in the context of Canada’s Treaty obligations to provide such funding for First Nations education infrastructure. The following discussion details the current funding mechanisms for First Nations education infrastructure, how education infrastructure projects are prioritized, and recent updates to the School Space Accommodation Standards (SSAS), as defined by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

A Brief History of Canada’s Treaty Obligations to Support First Nations Education

In Canada, education funding is typically considered the responsibility of provincial governments. However, due to Treaty obligations and the fact the Indian Act enshrines a federal responsibility for “Indians and Lands reserved for Indians,” education funding for First Nations schools remains the responsibility of the federal government, barring specific modern self-governance arrangements established in recent decades. For example, the documents of Treaty 1 state: “Her Majesty agrees to maintain a school on each reserve hereby made, whenever the Indians of the reserve should desire it.” Since Treaties 1 through 7 vary little when it comes to their educational commitment, this established the foundation for the responsibility of the Canadian federal government to provide educational funding and infrastructure. Since the 1970s, various First Nations have exercised their right to own and operate educational facilities in their nations and communities. This has also included managing projects to renovate or build educational facilities to meet the educational needs of their students. However, it remains the responsibility of the Canadian federal government, through Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), to provide funding for such education infrastructure projects.

Funding Mechanisms for First Nations Education Infrastructure

Funding for First Nations’ educational infrastructure primarily flows from the Enhanced Education Infrastructure Fund (EEIF) which is a funding pot part of the broader Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program (CFMP). The CFMP is intended to provide funding for all basic public infrastructure in First Nations, while the EEIF specifically funds infrastructure projects for education. Examples of education infrastructure covered by the EEIF program includes classrooms, gymnasiums, science labs, sports fields, and spaces equipped for vocational training. Within the EEIF there is a specific pot of funding called the Innovation Fund which is intended to fund First Nations education infrastructure projects which are “innovative, promote education reform or achieve cost savings.” As of June 30, 2023, the federal government has spent approximately $1.97 billion on 302 school facility projects in First Nations communities across Canada, which includes the construction of 68 new schools and upgrades to 147 existing schools. While such investments are positive, there is a general lack of fulsome and quality publicly available data on when projects are requested by First Nations and how long any given Nation must wait to receive the funding often desperately needed.

2023 School Space Accommodation Standards (SSAS)

The amount of CFMP funding allocated to First Nations schools is based on a formula to calculate a recommended minimum standard of how much space is required for each school. The most recent version of this standard is the 2023 School Space Accommodation Standards (SSAS). This formula is based on the number of disabled and non-disabled students, in the kindergarten, primary, intermediate, junior secondary, and senior secondary age ranges. The resulting minimum area is expressed as the Total Gross Floor Area (Total GFA) and is comprised of several components. If a First Nation wants to build a school larger than the Total GFA, CMFP funding does not cover the costs beyond this minimum standard. While this formula is an improvement, it notably does not capture all aspects of education infrastructure, an ongoing frustration for communities.

How Education Infrastructure Projects are Prioritized

First Nations education infrastructure projects are prioritized by ISC using the annual First Nations Infrastructure Investment Plans (FNIIP). These plans are written by the First Nation and submitted to ISC for consideration. The FNIIP plans outline the infrastructure investment priorities of the First Nation for the next five years (but can be adjusted in the year following submission). The FNIIP plans are then used by ISC to rank projects to direct funding based on their prioritization framework, called the School Priority Ranking Framework (SPRF). The considerations used by ISC to prioritize funding are said to be consistent across all regions.

Roadmap to Education Infrastructure Funding

1. Submit the annual First Nations Infrastructure Investment Plan to the ISC regional office.
2. Complete feasibility studies (if required).
3. Community engagement.
4. Receive approval from the regional ISC office.
5. Receive approval from the national ISC office.
6. Start project construction.

The above roadmap appears relatively straightforward, but obtaining government approvals for building required education infrastructure is often a painstakingly slow and opaque process. While ISC does list their considerations, there is still a lack of transparency around how project funding is adjudicated and the timeline for when First Nations can expect funding.

As demonstrated with Attawapiskat First Nation, even following the ISC “roadmap” can result in a process beset with dropped promises, delays, protracted approval processes, and lack of prioritization. Furthermore, First Nations note the approval process remains so protracted, that by the time their project is approved and finally constructed, new schools are opening already well over recommended student capacity. The aforementioned can lead to considerable frustration among First Nations, many of whom spends years awaiting a decision while their aging, outdated – and at times, dangerous – schools become increasingly overcrowded due to population growth and changing educational needs.