Churchill MP Niki Ashton reports she has visited many First Nations communities accessed by winter roads where she takes time to visit the schools. She says she has been struck by just how hard communities, teachers, staff, parents and students are working but it is also clear what impact under funding is having on First Nations schools. Ashton says she saw first hand the appalling conditions in many of the schools, everything from rotting floorboards to a complete lack of running water, the lack of funding for the most basic school supplies and the lack of funding for key curriculum options.
Ashton says she is calling for fair funding for First Nations education and has expressed her deep concern regarding the lack of consultation on the First Nations Education Act.