Nunavut government holds firm on Education Act consultation deadlines

Nunavut Education Minister David Joanasie speaks at the annual general meeting of the Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities, accompanied, on the right, by deputy minister Pujjuut Kusugak. DEA representatives had a lot of questions, and some felt that their questions were not directly addressed during the meeting or at community consultations. (PHOTO BY COURTNEY EDGAR)

Nunavut Education Minister David Joanasie says his government is sticking to its plans to complete community consultations by December on amending the Education Act, with the aim of tabling a bill during the spring sitting of the legislature.

The Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities had called on Joanasie to extend that deadline, following a resolution passed at its annual general meeting, held Nov. 7 to Nov. 9.

The coalition said this extension would give the Department of Education time to meet with the coalition and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to discuss the “value and logic” behind the proposed legislative changes and then work together to make amendments.

But, in a statement to Nunatsiaq News, Joanasie said that the Education Department is following the same “collaborative process” used to develop legislation in the past.

And he said that “delaying the process in favour of institutional dialogue” would mean many Nunavut residents wouldn’t have a chance to participate in these talks.

“We believe it is important for institutional partners to be cautious of our own institutional interests versus the interests of the citizens,” he said.

Past consultations with NTI and the coalition led to the department making “significant changes to many proposals,” said Joanasie.

The Nunavut government held a previous round of consultations in 2016, which led to the creation of Bill 37, an Act to amend the Education Act.

But, following criticism that the bill took power away from DEAs and watered down Inuit language rights, Nunavut’s regular MLAs voted against debating the bill in the fall of 2017, leading it to die on the order paper.

At the coalition’s annual meeting, on Nov. 8, Joanasie and his deputy minister, Pujjuut Kusugak, presented their draft proposal to amend the Education Act.

Kusugak spoke broadly about working together with the DEAs and took questions.

However, some DEA representatives say their most important questions were not directly answered.

Nikki Eegeesiak, the coalition’s executive director, said this is also what happened at community consultations, which the Department of Education had invited the DEAs to attend.

“They only answered some of the questions and not the hard ones,” Eegeesiak said in a phone interview on Nov. 15.

The coalition had previously opposed the government’s consultation plans. Instead, it wanted its own three-day meeting with education officials.

Instead, Joanasie invited the coalition to attend the 24 community consultations across Nunavut between September and November.

But the coalition said it did not get most of the answers they were looking for there.

The department would present for about half an hour to the DEAs and then the members would get 10 to 15 minutes alone time. If they had any questions or issues, the department would come back in, said Eegeesiak.

“Unfortunately, some new members, and even the public, did not know their full power under the Education Act, so there was a lot of silence or no feedback from the DEAs,” Eegeesiak said.

“They got a glimpse of the ways the Department of Education wants to centralize education but they did not get the full picture of how the DEAs would be impacted by this. The DEAs’ voice would be lost, and the department wants to take that away.”

At the coalition’s meeting, Kusugak said that when DEA representatives don’t ask questions or give feedback, the department takes that to mean they are in agreement.

During the Nov. 8 coalition meeting, three DEA members each asked Joanasie and Kusugak how the roles and responsibilities of DEAs would change with the creation of a DEA council.

Joanasie did not answer the question directly. Instead, he spoke about how important education is and how he wanted the organizations to work together. He also said that the proposed amendments are just a draft.

Back in September, Joanasie’s department released a leaflet explaining that DEAs would have less hiring duties and that a DEA council would be created that would be independent from the Department of Education, but would report to it.

At the coalition meeting, one DEA director said she only heard about the details of the proposed changes to the Education Act a day earlier, when the coalition brought a lawyer in to teach the group what the changes meant in practical terms.

The DEA members also said they never received any notification about the draft proposal and community consultations before a public announcement in September.

Joanasie, however, said that his department had sent out a letter to all the DEAs in advance of the announcement and he would have his staff look into it.

“We want to work together with the DEAs in improving education in Nunavut. This is why we are asking for your feedback,” Joanasie said.