LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATION 1
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada report to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in confidence on an ongoing basis on its progress in defining its roles and responsibilities. In particular, the Department’s draft statement of roles and responsibilities must be completed for presentation to a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee planned for the end of September 2005.
RECOMMENDATION 2
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada report on its progress in drafting its roles and responsibilities in its report on plans and priorities in the spring of 2006 and on its progress in developing a final version of its roles and responsibilities in its departmental performance report in the fall of 2006. Once the roles and responsibilities are defined and in the public domain, they must be published regularly in both the Department’s report on plans and priorities and its departmental performance report.
RECOMMENDATION 3
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada complete a set of performance indicators for its elementary, secondary and post secondary education programs by the end of 2005 and report on these in its 2006 report on plans and priorities. These performance indicators must be used in future departmental performance reports.
RECOMMENDATION 4
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada keep the Standing Committee on Public Accounts abreast, on a semi-annual basis, of its progress in establishing performance indicators through periodic submissions.
RECOMMENDATION 5
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada improve the quality of its Estimates documents by defining the objectives and expected results of all its educational programs and the Post Secondary Student Support Program in particular. It should report on costs and performance and clarify how the programs are making a difference in narrowing the education gap between First Nations and the broader Canadian population using comparable indicators.
RECOMMENDATION 6
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada immediately take steps to ensure that school evaluations are completed and that recommendations flowing from these evaluations are addressed. The Department must report on its progress in its departmental performance report.
RECOMMENDATION 7
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in consultation with First Nations, immediately take steps to ensure that all tuition agreements between it, First Nations and provincial school boards are in place. The Department must also provide its regional offices with sufficient guidance and training to ensure that its responsibilities are understood and applied consistently. The Department should report annually on its progress in its departmental performance report.
RECOMMENDATION 8
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in consultation with First Nation communities, set a timeline for closing the education gap between First Nation students and the broader Canadian population. The Department must report on its progress, or lack thereof, in closing the educational gap in its departmental performance reports.
RECOMMENDATION 9
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provide a copy of its report on the cost of a basic First Nation education to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by the end of September 2005 for presentation to the Committee along with a separate report outlining costs specific to providing First Nation education.
RECOMMENDATION 10
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada update Parliament annually on the detailed cost of First Nations education in its departmental performance reports.
RECOMMENDATION 11
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada review its post-secondary funding mechanisms, including the use of flexible transfers, to ensure that they are delivering equitable funding to as many eligible students as possible. This review must be conducted within the context of the Department’s roles and responsibilities, which are expected to be completed by December 2005.
RECOMMENDATION 12
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada immediately collect the necessary data to determine which communities receive a proper amount of post-secondary funding with regard to the number of eligible students. It must use this data to further its study of post-secondary funding mechanisms.
RECOMMENDATION 13
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provide accurate information and avoid the use of misleading language in its Treasury Board filings on the way in which the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) operates. The Department must also provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with a rationale for the information supplied to Treasury Board with respect to PSSSP funding.
RECOMMENDATION 14
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada immediately review the strengths and weaknesses of the Mi’kmaq Education Agreement and the British Columbia First Nation Education Steering Committee and develop strategies to expand the best features of both initiatives to other First Nation communities. The Department must report on its progress in this work in its departmental performance report beginning with the report for the period ending March 31, 2006.
RECOMMENDATION 15
That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada ensure the clarity of its policy documents so that they can be understood by a wide audience.
RECOMMENDATION 16
That the government take immediate measures to retain deputy ministers at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for at least three years to ensure policy continuity and coherence, as recommended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts in its 10th report.