MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2006

Issue No. 8

ISSN 1499-4216

Search terms for Monday June 5, 2006:

Aboriginal Education

All Nations Institute

Human Rights

Institute of Indigenous Education

Sean Kocsis

Sean Kocsis President IIG-All Nations Institute

John Nuraney Lib MLA-Chair Select Standing Committee on Education

Gregor Robertson NDP MLA – Advanced education critic

Murray Coell Lib MLA-Minister of Advanced Education

* John Nuraney (Burnaby-Willingdon L) Chair

Gregor Robertson (Vancouver-Fairview NDP) Deputy Chair

Daniel Jarvis (North Vancouver–Seymour L)
* Richard T. Lee (Burnaby North L)
* Lorne Mayencourt (Vancouver-Burrard L)
* Mary Polak (Langley L)
* John Rustad (Prince George–Omineca L)
John Horgan (Malahat–Juan de Fuca NDP)

* Doug Routley (Cowichan-Ladysmith NDP)
* Diane Thorne (Coquitlam-Maillardville NDP)

* denotes member present

Witnesses:

Shawn Bayes (Executive Director, Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver)

Sue Brigden (University College of the Fraser Valley)

Julia Dodge (University College of the Fraser Valley)

Vaughan Evans

Doreen George (Burnaby School District Parenting and Family Literacy Centres)

Laurie Gould (Vancouver Community College Faculty Association)

Souad Hage-Hassan (Burnaby School District Parenting and Family Literacy Centres)

Penelope Irons (Aboriginal Mother Centre Society)

Ted James (Douglas College)

Stephanie Jewell (Vancouver Community College Faculty Association)

Mardi Joyce (Douglas College)

Sean Kocsis (IIG All Nations Institute)

Ingrid Kolsteren (Vancouver Community College Faculty Association)

Nina Kozakiewicz (Vancouver Community College Faculty Association)

Lyn Lennig (Vancouver Community College Faculty Association)

Bob Logelin (Douglas College)

Wai Ng

Ben Qui (Burnaby School District Parenting and Family Literacy Centres)

Carol St. Jean (Douglas College)

Jim Sinclair (President, B.C. Federation of Labour)

Grace Tait (Aboriginal Mother Centre Society)

[ Page 123 ]

MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2006

The committee met at 10:24 a.m.

[J. Nuraney in the chair.]

J. Nuraney (Chair): Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is John Nuraney, and I am the Chair of the Select Standing Committee on Education.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the Education Committee's public hearing in Burnaby. It is a real pleasure for us to be in this fine city and in this absolutely great riding and to hear from you directly about the important topic of adult literacy.

….

J. Nuraney (Chair): Thank you, Mr. Evans.

Our next speaker is Sean Kocsis. He's from the IIG.

S. Kocsis: Thank you all very much. I know it has been a long morning. I'll make this very brief.

It had actually been my intention just to listen and learn along with you, as well, so I really appreciate that Lorne and Josie both asked if I would be willing to participate, especially in this last time slot. So thanks very much.

I don't believe that there's any clear-cut answer to the issue of adult literacy, especially as it relates to aboriginal people, but I do have four observations and a number of recommendations that I'd like to share with you.

The first observation is that much of our success at the IIG All Nations was based on a philosophical shift

[ Page 149 ]

at the planning level. Rather than behaving as a service provider, we put ourselves in the position of an individual seeking upgrade. This led, then, to the second point, to the question: why would I want to upgrade? In general, the answer is some combination of motive and opportunity or incentive and ease of access.

The other presenters talked a lot about their suggestions. I won't add to them, because they were all very good, I thought. But we did learn some lessons at the IIG All Nations with respect to incentive — institutionally as opposed to individually.

The third point I'd like to make, the third observation — and this is something that you may have come across — is that for many aboriginal people, there's a great deal of mistrust towards the government, and there's a fair amount of cynicism that service providers are simply using us as a vehicle to obtain funding.

This leads to my last point, which are some recommendations that I put forward to you. I think that if the province wants to promote or help promote aboriginal literacy institutionally, it can do so perhaps by doing some of the following.

(1) Create a level playing field. You hear this everywhere you go — that the government's role is to create a level playing field and not necessarily to involve itself in issues. In this respect, I'd say that the province could create a universal set of rules and expectations and apply them fairly across the board.

(2) Don't tell our organizations how to do things. Certainly, I think it's fair to say that the government has a role in saying what is expected — not necessarily how to do it, but what the expectation is.

(3) I think the province has a right to demand apoliticalness from the organizations that it funds — that is, there should be a separation of politics from service delivery. Service deliverers should be delivering a product, not necessarily emeshing politics into that message.

(4) Again, I believe that the province has a role in setting standards and holding organizations accountable to those standards.

(5) The province has a role in determining realistic goals, clearly stated, with an expectation that those goals are to be achieved.

Finally, I think there should be some kind of insistence upon viability, sustainability and economies of scale.

[1315]

There must be a public benefit for what's being funded, with solid evidence to support that expenditure and the achievement of the goals, if they've been achieved.

My last point — I mentioned that I had four observations; I did sort of put it out of order — was that I do believe native institutions are treated differently than other institutions. If some or all of these recommendations are followed, I think we'll then see that level playing field. We'll then see institutions treated similarly across the board, with similar expectations and a sense of accountability.

Anyway, I know that you have had a very long day, so I really do appreciate these few minutes appearing in front of you. Thank you.

J. Nuraney (Chair): Thank you. Before I conclude, Sean, if I may make a request…. As you know, one of the mandates of this committee is to address some of the problems of the first nations. With your being involved so heavily in that segment of our society, if I may make a suggestion: give this matter a little more thought and, with the group of people that you are working with, if you can put forward some kind of a presentation to us in a formal or an informal manner, or submit to us electronically or in writing some of the suggestions, it could be helpful to this committee. I would really appreciate that.

S. Kocsis: Well, thank you very much. We'll do that.

J. Nuraney (Chair): Thank you, Sean. This concludes our hearing at Burnaby. We shall reconvene in Surrey at 3:30.

The committee adjourned at 1:17 p.m.

Search terms for Monday June 5, 2006:

Aboriginal Education

All Nations Institute

Human Rights

Institute of Indigenous Education

Sean Kocsis

Sean Kocsis President IIG-All Nations Institute

John Nuraney Lib MLA-Chair Select Standing Committee on Education

Gregor Robertson NDP MLA – Advanced education critic

Murray Coell Lib MLA-Minister of Advanced Education