Matawa First Nations requesting additional funds to support students return to school in September

The Matawa Chiefs Council isrequesting the federalgovernment to provide emergency supplementary funding to support ongoing costs and new measures to ensurethe safe return of students in September, according to a press release on Wednesday.

The chiefs council said the government has not made funding available nor answered questions about COVID-19 mitigation in First Nations schools, despite multiple requests.

Chief Harvey Yesno from Eabametoong First Nation said the request is urgent.

"Time is running out. September is going to come fast, and we don't have the resources in place in order to have functional and safe classrooms for teachers and the students."

Chief Yesno added that many of the educational needs of the Matawa First Nations have been longstanding, and the pandemic has exacerbated issues like small classrooms, lack of consistent internet connectivity and high turnover of teachers.

Matawato prepare education response plan

Yesno compared the response and options available for Ontario public schools as opposed to First Nations schools in northern Ontario.

The Ontario government has offered school boards the optionto choose between full resumption ofin-class instruction, online-only learning, ora blended model. They also announced an investment of $15 million to purchase technology and an additional $10 million to hire mental health workers.

Remote First Nations in northern Ontario however, cannot offer the same quality of online learning because many "don't have broadband," Yesno added. "It's in the works, but it will probably be two years before it's built. In the meantime ... we can't give online learning as an option."

Matawa is in the process of preparing a fully-costed emergency education response plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19, so parents and students can be confident during the return to school in the fall.

The plan will include measures such as upgraded bandwidth so teachers and students can access online resources; additional PPEsupplies; capital costs to make upgrades to facilities; and supports for curriculum modification.

The Matawa Chiefs Council expects to have the plan completed by July 20.