Jukasa News Update Monday, December 9, 2019
Ontario’s elementary teachers will soon be ramping up their work-to-rule campaign.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario says it will be starting phase two on Tuesday.
Elementary teachers have said their key issues are more supports for students with special needs, addressing violence in schools and preserving full-day kindergarten. They are also seeking higher wage increases than the government’s offer 1% annual limit.
The Law Society of British Columbia has moved to require Indigenous cultural competency training for all practising lawyers in the province, in response to gaps in legal education that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified.
Law Society president Nancy Merrill said Lawyers and the law created a justice system that discriminates against Indigenous people, noting that it was illegal for a lawyer to take a retainer from an Indigenous person until the 1960s.
Last week, the law society’s board of governors determined that lawyer competence includes knowledge of the history of Indigenous-Crown relations, the history and legacy of residential schools and specific legislation regarding Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Beginning in 2021, all practising lawyers in B.C. will be required to take a six-hour online course covering these areas, as well as legislative changes that could arise from the province’s newly enacted Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
The family of an indigenous teen who committed suicide meters from his group home and whose body remained undiscovered for seven months are asking for an inquest into his death.
16 year old Devon Freeman was last seen alive in October 2017 near his Flamborough group home. His body was found in a wooded area about 35 meters from the home in April 2018.
An official complaint from Pamela Freeman and the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation said key players in the boy’s care were kept in the dark about such crucial details as his mental health history and the length of time he was believed to be missing.
Officials say the passing of Bill 41 in BC, which implements the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, should expedite ongoing treaty negotiations.
The changes could provide a pathway to complete 37 treaty agreements with Indigenous nations who are in the final stage of talks with the provincial and federal governments.
Last month, B.C. became the first province in Canada to pass legislation to implement the UN declaration, mandating the government to bring its laws and policies into harmony with the declaration’s principles.
The declaration was adopted by the General Assembly of the UN in 2007 after 20 years of debate. Canada was originally one of four countries that voted against it. Among other things, the declaration says Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-determination, which means they can determine their political status and pursue economic, social and cultural development.
- Previous Jukasa News Update Friday December 6, 2019
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