Garden River protests cuts to education (8 photos)

Garden River First Nation (GRFN) band members gathered at the intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 17B Thursday to protest sweeping cuts to education across Ontario.

“We’re just standing up to say that we stand against any Ford cuts for education,” said Dianne Roach, education manager for Garden River First Nation Education Unit.

The First Nation currently shells out more than $4 million dollars to Algoma District School Board and Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board for over 200 GFRN students attending elementary schools locally, and more than 100 students attending area high schools.

The First Nation says that its 15 Anishinaabe support workers who work within school boards often do their work in crowded classrooms, and further cuts by the province will have devastating impacts on student learning and well-being, especially those living with autism and special needs.

“That’s going to leave our teachers...I can’t imagine what they will have to deal with, because kids with exceptional needs already require extra assistance, and if they’re going to pull that assistance away, then it’s going to affect the whole learning of the class,” said Roach. “All the students are going to be affected.”

“This isn’t just a First Nations issue.”

As protestors in rain gear raised picket signs to traffic, Roach told SooToday that students - whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous - deserve better from the Ford government.

“We’re just hoping all of the rallies that are happening across the province really help convince the Ford government that this isn’t the area to make cuts,” she said. “Our kids deserve better. We’ve built a good system, we have the Truth and Reconciliation - a lot of new curriculum being implemented in the school systems, and it’s time that we invest more, not less in our kids’ education.”