Catholic board seat still vacant

FORT FRANCES—There’s an empty seat on the Northwest Catholic District School Board that it is hoping to see filled soon.
One seat is reserved for a First Nations representative. But it has been empty since December, following the municipal election, as local First Nations attempt to come to an agreement on who will represent them on the board.

“We’re still waiting for them to make a decision,” said Mary-Catherine Kelly, the board’s education director.
“We want them to resolve it so we can have their voice at the table,” she added.
All bands that have tuition agreements with the Catholic board, including Couchiching, Rainy River, and Stanjikoming First Nations, must agree to a single board rep.
The board sent correspondence to the bands back in the fall, asking that they choose a rep before its inaugural meeting in December.
Couchiching First Nation offered to support Ralph Bruyere, who has been the First Nation rep for the past several years. But since Bruyere only had the support of one band, the board could not accept the proposal.
Kelly said provincial legislation calls for a consensus among the local First Nations—and that only one representative could sit on the board due to the small population of the area.
She has since followed up with all the chiefs and asked them to come to a consensus as soon as possible.
Rainy River First Nations Chief Jim Leonard said the bands are working on it but that, to his knowledge, no meeting has been held yet to discuss the issue.
“We expect it to be resolved soon,” he said.
“It’s really unfortunate it’s taking them so long,” Kelly noted. “There are important decisions to be made in the next little while.”
There currently are 58 students with tuition agreements with the local Catholic board. The majority of them are from Couchiching, Kelly said.
She noted district bands also have another avenue to voice their opinions on matters relating to the school board.
The board has a Native Advisory Committee, which is made up of representatives from area First Nations along with one trustees, board staff, and a representative of the Seven Generations Education Institute.
The committee’s mandate is to “make reports and recommendations to the board relating to matters affecting the establishment and development of programs, services, and facilities in respect of native pupils.”
It meets whenever there are issues of concern to the bands, Kelly noted.