Ontario's Approach to Federal Cannabis Legalization

Background
On April 13th, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-45, or the Cannabis Act, which is new legislation that will establish the legislative framework for cannabis, identifying permitted and prohibited activities. Generally speaking, the federal framework is less extensive than that of alcohol and more extensive than tobacco while maintaining its criminal law effectiveness (see figure 1). The Government of Canada's goal is to keep cannabis out of the hands of Canadian youth, and to prevent organized crime from continuing to profit from the illegal cannabis market. Canadians continue to use cannabis at some of the highest rates in the world. In 2015, 21% of youth and 30% of young adults reported using cannabis within the last year [1]. A baseline study still needs to be established in order to better capture how prevalent cannabis use is among youth and at-risk people in First Nation communities. The concern of abiding to OCAP principles during such data collection have been raised.

Ontario’s First Culture Strategy, 2016

In 2016, the Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sport (MCTS) released the province's first ever Culture Strategy.

The strategy is broad: it is based on working in partnership with Ministries government-wide, as well as in partnership with Indigenous communities. Particularly related to First Nations peoples, the Culture strategy is informed by the principles articulated in the 2015 Political Accord, and in the commitments included in the as-of-then unreleased provincial response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in The Journey Together. In fact, many of the commitments in The Journey Together are fulfilled through the Culture Strategy.

The Strategy is guided by six guiding principles in order to achieve four key goals. Of those guiding principles, one is "respect for Indigenous peoples." The four key goals are:

1. Promote cultural engagement and inclusion;
2. Strengthen culture in communities;
3. Fuel the creative economy;
4. Promote the value of the arts throughout government.

During consultations in the lead-up to the release of the Strategy, MCTS heard from Indigenous communities that the most important need was for access to culture for Indigenous children and youth, which is reflected in the action plan that follows the report.

Ontario Indigenous Education Strategy

In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education (EDU) released its new Aboriginal Education Strategy (since renamed the Indigenous Education Strategy) to guide the province's school boards as they worked to close the achievement gap in education. At the time, the province estimated that 50,312 First Nation, Inuit, and Métis students attended provincially operated elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. Of those, 18,300 students were First Nations. This strategy has been renewed several times, and recently was invoked in The Journey Together as a key tool to close the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

The strategy has two primary objectives:

1 - Improving student achievement and well-being among First Nation, Métis and Inuit students; and

2 - Closing the achievement gap between Indigenous students and all students.

This strategy applies only to First Nation, Inuit, and Métis students who attend provincially run schools. However, First Nations hold a treaty right to education, and therefore providing for education is a federal responsibility. Therefore, First Nation students who attend a First Nation or federally run school on reserve do not fall under the Ontario Indigenous Education Strategy (though proposed reclassification of First Nation Schools under the Education Act may change that).

Child Care and Early Years On Reserve

Background

Ontario currently provides $30.8 million in total funding for on reserve child care. Of the 133 First Nations in Ontario, only 57 have licensed child care for a total of 3,169 spots (as of March 1 2016). In addition five First Nations deliver their own child and family programs (M’Chigeeng First Nation, Nibinamik First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River, Walpole Island First Nation, and Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve). The existing child care supply does not meet the need for First Nation communities.

The single largest line-item included in the one-year update to The Journey Together was children and family programs. This included $93.5 million over two years for child care and family programming on and off reserve, with up to $23.5 million over the next two years budgeted for new and enhanced child and family programs delivered by First Nations. This also came with a commitment of up to $12 million in ongoing annual operating funding beginning in 2018-19. Although this is an important investment, there are few publicly available details concerning implementation. The purpose of this blog post is to fill in those gaps on how the money is being allocated for children and family programs on reserve.

Bill 57 - Katelynn's Principle Act (Decisions Affecting Children), 2016

Status: Ordered referred to Standing Committee 

Summary: This Act was created to serve as a guiding principle for decisions affecting children. Triggered by a tragic event where a seven-year-old, Katelynn Sampson, died after being brutally abused over many months by her legal guardians, the Bill set out guiding principles to direct decisions concerning children.

The jury in the coroner's inquest into the death of Katelynn Sampson put forth  173 recommendations that would mitigate risks to children and prevent similar situations in the future. The first recommendation, referred to as Katelynn’s Principle, places children at the centre of decisions affecting them. The jury requested that all parties to the Coroner’s Inquest ensure that Katelynn’s Principle apply to all services, policies, legislation and decision-making affecting children.

Bill 73 - Representation Amendment Act (Wahnapitae First Nation), 2016

Status: The First Reading Carried as of November 23, 2016.

Summary: Wahnapitae First Nation is currently in the provincial riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane, and Bill 73 would alter the districts so it would sit in the Nickel Belt riding, at the initiative of Wahnapitae First Nation. The central issue is of access to representation.

The problem is geographic. The Nickel Belt riding office is a half-hour drive from Wahnapitae First Nation, while the Timiskaming-Cochrane office is three hours away. Since both MPPs are currently Liberal, Wahnapitae First Nation citizens have been informally represented by the Nickel Belt MPP, but this informal solution is not sustainable and could become problematic should electoral distribution change in the future. The legislation solves this potential problem preemptively.

Likewise, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas proposed amendment to Bill 45 - The Election Statute Law Amendment Act, to have the riding boundaries of Nickel Belt to include Wahnapitae First Nation

Full text of the reading can be found here.

Full text of the topic in CBC News article can be found here.

Educating Canadians on the Legacy of Residential Schools

When the Ontario government released The Journey Together, its response to the TRC Calls to Action, a significant focus was on educating all Ontarians regarding the legacy of Residential Schools. This responded directly to Calls to Action 62 to 65. The Journey Together committed up to $20 million over three years to educate Canadians concerning the history and legacy of Residential Schools. New commitments towards this end include restoring Mohawk Institute in Brantford Ontario, the construction of a commemorative structure in Toronto, and creating an anti-racism strategy informed by Indigenous peoples.

Aboriginal Institutes Policy

Aboriginal Institutes are First Nation owned and operated schools that form part of the Ontario post-secondary education system. The Aboriginal Institutes Consortium (AIC) was established in 1994, and is made up of nine Indigenous owned and controlled community-based educational institutes.

These Institutes are important resources for their communities and for Ontario generally, but historically they have had inadequate and unreliable funding. They therefore partnered with local colleges and universities to secure accreditation. For example, Six Nations Polytechnic has developed effective partnerships with McMaster University and Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. Still, poor or unstable funding has resulted in unpredictable course offerings, the inability to effectively plan for the short and long term, hire and retain quality faculty and staff, maintain technology, library, and other resources, and to provide effective student services. Therefore, the AIC has worked towards securing sustainable funding, obtaining independent credit-granting authority (so Institutes do not require other institutions to accredit their offerings), and recognition as an integral part of Ontario’s postsecondary and training system.

Chiefs of Ontario supports Aboriginal Institutes as mandated in Chiefs in Assembly resolutions 98/16 (Aboriginal Institutes' Consortium Post-Secondary Education Recognition), 15/10 (Support for the Aboriginal Institutes Consortium Roadmap to Recognition for Aboriginal institutes), and 39/17 (2017 Post-Secondary Education Position Paper).

Classification of First Nation Schools within the Education Act

In The Journey Together, the Ontario government committed to “explore the possibility of creating a new classification for First Nation/federally operated schools.” In Canada, education is a matter of provincial jurisdiction, but the federal government is responsible to provide education to First Nations as part of their treaty obligations recognized under Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act (1982).

The problem is that Ontario’s Education Act only recognizes two kinds of schools: provincially funded public schools and private schools.

This creates a unique position for First Nation and federally run schools, where they are publicly funded schools that are recognized as private schools. While there have been productive relationships between First Nation schools and the province, legislatively First Nation students on reserve do not have access to the resources that exist for the provincially funded system. Creating a third classification for First Nation and federally operated schools could give these schools access to the resources they need.