To: Canada and Ontario

  1. In order to provide an opportunity for students from remote First Nations communities to meet with their Thunder Bay peers and to be introduced to the City of Thunder Bay in a positive, supervised environment, provide sufficient funding to ensure that grade 7 and 8 students from First Nation communities are able to be part of classroom learning or orientation sessions in Thunder Bay so that they and their families can familiarize themselves with the schools and the community prior to beginning high school away from home.

To: Canada, Ontario and NAN

  1. In order to allow students and parents to make an informed choice regarding the school options available to them off-reserve, in consultation with First Nations education providers and public school boards, develop a comprehensive information package, funded by Canada and Ontario, that will include the following information:
    1. description of schools, including curriculum, student base, and staffing
    2. limitations regarding programs offered, including availability of academic stream courses
    3. accommodation arrangements while residing away from the home community
    4. travel allowances while residing away from the home community
    5. after-school activities and recreational resources
    6. community supports
    7. availability of supports for students with special needs
    8. other supports available, including guidance counsellors, nursing staff, social workers, mental health workers, alcohol/drug programs, addiction counsellors, and
    9. contact information, including links to websites and videos, to provide easily accessible information to students, families and their communities.

To: Canada

  1. In order to ensure that representatives from First Nations schools, including DFCHS and MLC, are provided with sufficient time and resources to meet with prospective students and their parents, in consultation with representatives from the schools, NNEC, KO, and MLC, determine the following:
    1. frequency and appropriate timing for representatives to attend remote communities
    2. time required to meet directly with schools, students, parents and education authorities
    3. appropriate composition of representatives, including students enrolled in off-reserve schools
    4. funding and associated expenses for required travel to remote communities to meet with students and families.
  2. order to ensure the needs of students required to attend school off- reserve are identified and addressed while residing away from their home communities, in consultation with First Nations Health Authorities or health providers, ensure funding and resources are provided to conduct comprehensive assessments of all students prior to leaving their home communities. The assessments will be conducted with a view to balancing the safety and well-being of the students with their privacy interests. NNEC, KO, and MLC representatives should be very clear with students, families, schools and education authorities that the information is being gathered to ensure the safety and necessary supports are in place prior to the student’s arrival for their success in high school – not as a basis for denying the student access to an education. Students who do not consent to the testing will not be denied access to schooling off- reserve. The assessments will:
    1. include physical, psychological and emotional assessments
    2. identify any substance or alcohol issues
    3. be shared, with the school, subject to appropriate consent, the nature of the information, and the role of the worker with access to the information (i.e. physician or nurse, vs. prime worker)
    4. funding for these assessments should commence for the 2016-2017 school year.

To: NAN

  1. In order to ensure that consistent information is being provided to remote communities regarding education off-reserve and the issues raised at this inquest, organize a meeting to be attended by NAN community education representatives to discuss the following:
    1. expansion of the role of education counsellors to include secondary school
    2. importance of education counsellors attending schools off-reserve to observe progress of students from remote First Nations communities
    3. purpose and importance of comprehensive assessments of students prior to leaving home communities
    4. purpose and importance of information requested on student application forms.

To: Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) and the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS)

  1. In order to establish positive relationships with students from remote First Nations communities continue to pursue and expand the joint “Grade 8 Visit Program” initiative that will enable officers from the TBPS to travel with members of NAPS to remote communities in the spring and summer months of 2016 to meet grade 8 students who will be coming to Thunder Bay as students in the fall of 2016.

To: Canada, Ontario, the City of Thunder Bay, NAN, NNEC, KO, DFCHS and MLC

  1. In order to provide students from First Nations communities in NAN Territory and their families with firsthand information regarding the community supports and opportunities that are available when they attend school in Thunder Bay, consult with other community partners to encourage and facilitate visits by those community partners to the NAN communities to speak and engage with students prior to their move to Thunder Bay.