5 years on, report shows progress with Seven Youth Inquest recommendation, but work remains

A representative for six of the families involved in the Seven Youth Inquest is concerned government funding that allowed many of the recommendations to move forward could expire in a few months.

Aboriginal Legal Services, which served as counsel for all but one of the families in the inquestin Thunder Bay, Ont., released its fifth annual report card last week.

The report grades the named parties in the 145 recommendations from the coroner's inqueston the implementation process.

Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Paul Panacheese, Robyn Harper, Reggie Bushie, Kyle Morriseau and Jordan Wabasse died in Thunder Bay between 2000 and 2011 while attending school in the city, away from their homes in remote First Nations.

The fifth annual report gave an overall A-minus grade. Indigenous education authorities Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, Matawa Education and Care Centre and Keewaytinook Okimakanak all received A-plus grades.

Uncertainty over continued funding

Aboriginal Legal Services program director Jonathan Rudin said there has been continued progress implementing the recommendations, especially by the education authorities, but described it as sobering that it could be at risk of provincial and federal government funding ending in March 2022.

"One of the issues that arose at the inquest that is still with us is that for a lot of these schools, the funding they get is not permanent," Rudin said.

"It's not baked into their funding arrangements until they are very concerned that the progress that they've made could very easily be eroded if funding is not continued."

Rudin said this year's score represents an improvement from the 2020 report card.

'Beyond the ability' of local government

However, the outstanding recommendations will be the most difficult to implement, he added, citing drinking water, broadband access throughout the North, equivalent salaries for teachers working on reserve, and having high schools accessible on reserve or in a nearby community.

"They are beyond the ability simply of a local government, whether it be a First Nations government or a municipal government to implement," Rudin said.

"That [overall] A-minus has been accomplished because the work has been done in the city, in Thunder Bay, to provide services. But the services that people need in the communities are not there."

The City of Thunder Bay, which received an improved gradefrom last year,issued a news release in response to the report card. City officials said only a few of the long-term recommendations it received are not fully implemented, although plans and preliminary actions for all recommendations have taken place.

"An in-depth analysis is also being conducted of each of the recommendations directed to the city to understand the degree of systemic change that has taken place as a result of implementation," city manager Norm Gale said in a written statement.

Need for education facilities

Rudin said there are families who have not sent generations of their children to school because they didn't want them to have to go to Thunder Bay.

Having proper education facilities in communities where people live needs to be a priority, he added.

"That's a very legitimate concern. It's understandable why some people don't want to send their children to Thunder Bay.

"Those families said: 'When are schools going to be available on reserve as we had been promised?' Until we can answer that question, our work isn't done."