Mr. Speaker, another school year draws to an end, and it's a good time to reflect on Indigenous education in the North. We all want the best education for our children but unfortunately, like all public services, education exists in a long shadow of colonialism and systemic racism, and this means First Nation communities have a different experience with education system in addition to having their own unique needs.
Treaty rights have been trying the rights to education for Indigenous people, and those treaties are themselves enshrined in the Canadian Constitution but work still needs to be done to realize those rights and to the full extent. Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has recently committed to implementing the United Nation Charter of Rights of Indigenous people here in the North, which means bringing their laws into alignment with the rights outlined in that document, including the rights to the improvement of economic and social conditions and implementation of treaties and in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous people.
UNDRIP has a lot to say when it comes to Indigenous education, specifically as well including the rights to establish and control their education system and institution and access to all level and forms of education of the state without discrimination and that particular attention should be paid to the rights and needs of our children. Mr. Speaker, we need to bring our territory education up to standards laid out in UNDRIP in accordance with the rights enshrined in the Canadian Constitution and our treaties because the status quo is not working. It is not getting enough Indigenous children through the high school, and children graduate after six years of high school education. Then the institute of financial systems forces Indigenous students, who graduate high school, to pick between supplementary grants or remissible loans. Either does not meet the needs and the federal CIRNAC money partially funds this program, so they should have access to both and having this supplementary grant is also discriminatory.
Fixing this barrier to Indigenous students and students financial assistance is a shortterm solution but my constituents have brought to my attention that there are many longterm solutions as well. The previous Assembly passed the UNDRIP Implementation Act in this time to bring legislation aligned with UNDRIP and find the solution to education UNDRIP mandates us to implement. I look forward to question the Minister of ECE on some of these solutions later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu NedheWiilideh. Members' statements. Member from the Dehcho.
