Visionary Report Sets Out First-Ever National Goals for Inuit Education

Thursday, June 16, 2011 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Inuit Leader Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, announced a series of bold new recommendations to empower parents, expand early childhood education programs and gather detailed research data this morning on Parliament Hill.

A total of 10 core investments are set out in First Canadians, Canadians First: The National Strategy on Inuit Education, a game-changing new plan to graduate more Inuit students and transform early childhood, K-12 and post-secondary programs throughout the four Inuit regions of Canada, Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador) and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories.

This document is a blueprint for the education system we want,” said Simon, Chairperson of the National Committee on Inuit Education (NCIE). “Our objective is nothing less than to graduate children confident in the Inuit language and culture, and capable of contributing with pride to the emerging opportunities in Canada’s Arctic. This is an opportunity for us to turn the words of the Prime Minister’s Apology for the legacy of residential schools into real action.

The Strategy is the culmination of two years of intense work by the NCIE, which is made up of representatives from federal, provincial, territorial and regional governments, as well as school boards and regional and national Inuit organizations. Immediate action items include securing funding to establish a National Inuit Education Secretariat to implement the recommendations, under the direction of the NCIE, whose members include territorial deputy ministers and provincial assistant deputy ministers.

Other recommendations include investing in curriculum development and language resources to create a fully bilingual system based on the Inuit language and one of Canada’s two official languages, establishing a standardized writing system so that Inuit across Canada can more easily share teaching materials and published texts, and establishing a university in the Canadian Arctic.

We realize that these goals will not be achieved overnight,” said Simon. “Some will be realized only through incremental changes over the long term. But if we are to improve outcomes in Inuit education, we must make critical investments today that build on our best practices and eliminate gaps in services that are keeping our children from realizing their potential.