Feds’ funding gap has long put First Nations students at disadvantage: PBO
OTTAWA — The federal government has for years failed to address the higher costs of operating First Nations schools, leaving some students at a disadvantage compared with their peers in the provincial system, the parliamentary budget officer says.
The funding divide between educational programming on reserves and in the provincial systems was as wide as $595 million in 2012-13, and could reach $665 million in 2016-17, says a new report from the fiscal watchdog released Tuesday.
That said, about $3.7 billion in financial commitments made by the Liberal government over the next five years could begin to narrow the gap starting in 2016-17, and eventually eliminate it by 2020-21, the report says.
Educational funding in Canada is primarily a provincial responsibility except for on-reserve schooling, which is financed by Ottawa.