Three-year plan set for new Attawapiskat elementary school

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan announced that funding has been set aside for the construction of a school in Attawapiskat First Nation.
Duncan and his department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development will be working closely with the community to make comfortable education a possibility, according to a May 19 press release.
Currently, students are attending school in portables after the old school was closed because of an environmental hazard due to leaking diesel fuel that accumulated over 20 years.
“Ensuring that students in Attawapiskat First Nation receive a quality education is a priority of this government,” Duncan said.
He said the federal government would be thorough in their efforts to construct an elementary school.
The work plan for the school has three stages: a school capital planning study, for which $113,000 has been put aside, a detailed design phase and a construction phase.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence expressed appreciation at the government’s interest in education for her community.
“I am pleased to see that the Government of Canada is delivering on its promise to strengthen education in our community,” Spence said.
The finished school will be just over 5,800 square meters in size.
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus welcomed the announcement of the new school. However, he still had choice words for the federal government.
“This community’s fight for a decent school has become a powerful symbol of Ottawa’s negligence towards First Nations children,” Angus said.
Angus helped launch Shannen’s Dream, a campaign aimed at eliminating funding discrimination for education.
“The fight for equal education rights is far from over,” he said.
Shannen’s Dream is in honour of the late Shannen Koostachin, a youth from Attawapiskat. She led a national campaign for a new school in the community. Tragically, she died in a car accident last year.
Attawapiskat has a population of 1,815 people and is located on the coast of James Bay about 220 kilometres north of Moosonee.