Actions and Commitments

Call to Action # 9: Education (6-12)

Grants and Contributions to support First Nations Elementary and Secondary Educational Advancement

December 7, 2020

Start date: Ongoing

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Grants and Contributions

Type of appropriation: Transfer payments are voted unless otherwise denoted with an (S) in below Financial information table.

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2017–18

Link to department’s Program Inventory: Education

Description: Elementary and secondary education is one of the essential services that is funded by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) for First Nation communities. The federal government has provided support to First Nation education for almost 140 years, addressing commitments in the numbered treaties and providing for the delivery of services authorized under the Indian Act and various policy decisions.

Results achieved: Performance results for this program are available in GC InfoBase

Findings of audits completed in 2019-20: An audit was not completed in 2019–20.

Currently, there are no future audits planned for this program.

Findings of evaluations completed in 2019-20: An Evaluation of the Elementary and Secondary Education program was in progress in 2019-20 and is expected to be completed in October 2020.

Expected completion date for future evaluation:

  • To be determined in 2021 as part of the next Five-year Departmental Evaluation Planning Exercise

Engagement of applicants and recipients 2019–20: In 2019-20, the department worked with Indigenous partners to implement the co-developed elementary and secondary education framework aimed at fundamentally improving the way funding is provided to First Nations and First Nation education organizations. The department continues to support First Nation partners with building institutional capacity and developing and strengthening partnerships through its Education Partnerships Program. In 2019-20, the department signed two Regional Education Agreements, three are awaiting signature and three more are near completion.

Type of transfer payment 2017–18
Actual spending*
2018–19
Planned spending
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities available for use
2019–20
Actual spending (authorities used)
Variance
(2019-20
actual minus
2019-20 planned)
Total grants9420150,00000(150,000)
Total contributions666,506,1121,884,256,9981,707,068,0822,050,274,5762,050,274,576343,206,494
Total other types of transfer payments000000
Total Program666,507,0541,884,256,9981,707,218,0822,050,274,5762,050,274,576343,056,494
Explanation of variancesThe difference between 2019-20 Planned Spending and Actual Spending primarily reflects an internal reallocation of resources:from the New Fiscal Relationship grant due to lower than anticipated recipients number for the grant. The unused grant funding is returned to the programs to be made available to First Nations via other funding mechanisms; andfrom other programs to meet departmental priorities.
* ISC was established on November 30, 2017. Therefore, the 2017-18 actual spending column represents a partial year from November 30, 2017 to March 31, 2018.
Grants and Contributions to support the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy

(Previously titled “Grants and Contributions to support First Nations and Inuit Post-Secondary Educational Advancement”)

Start date: Ongoing

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Grants and Contributions

Type of appropriation: Transfer payments are voted unless otherwise denoted with an (S) in below Financial information table.

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2019-20

Link to department’s Program Inventory: Education

Description: Terms and Conditions have been established for making grant and contribution payments for ISC’s First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy. While previous versions of these Terms and Conditions have outlined programming that supported both First Nations and Inuit post-secondary students, ISC’s new distinctions-based approach to Indigenous post-secondary education provides for new strategies to support both Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary students. These Terms and Conditions have therefore been renamed Grants and Contributions to Support the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy and are intended to establish provisions for making grant and contribution payments to Registered Indian (First Nations) students under Post-Secondary Education (PSE) Programs. The department’s suite of First Nations PSE initiatives consists of three program elements: the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, the University and College Entrance Preparation Program and the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program.

Results achieved: Performance results for this program are available in GC InfoBase

Findings of audits completed in 2019-20: An audit was not completed in 2019–20.

Currently, there are no future audits planned for this program.

Findings of evaluations completed in 2019-20: An Evaluation of the Post-Secondary Education program was in progress in 2019–20 and is expected to be completed in October 2020.

Expected completion date for future evaluation:

  • To be determined in 2021 as part of the next Five-year Departmental Evaluation Planning Exercise

Engagement of applicants and recipients in 2019–20: The department worked with National Indigenous Organizations to advance and implement new distinctions-based post-secondary education strategies that respond to the different post-secondary education priorities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation partners.

Type of transfer payment 2017–18
Actual spending*
2018–19
Planned spending
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities available for use
2019–20
Actual spending (authorities used)
Variance
(2019-20
actual minus
2019-20 planned)
Total grants369,081539,8121,500,000485,604485,604(1,014,396)
Total contributions107,841,796388,441,97416,808,441355,832,084355,832,084139,023,643
Total other types of transfer payments000000
Total Program108,210,877388,981,786218,308,441356,317,688356,317,688138,009,247
Explanation of variancesThe difference between 2019-20 Planned Spending and Actual Spending primarily reflects an incremental funding provided through Budget Implementation Vote to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary students and to develop regional post-secondary strategies for First Nations (Budget 2019) and a net increase in an internal reallocation of resources: from the New Fiscal Relationship grant due to lower than anticipated recipients number for the grant. The unused grant funding is returned to the programs to be made available to First Nations via other funding mechanisms; andto other programs to meet other priorities.
* ISC was established on November 30, 2017. Therefore, the 2017-18 actual spending column represents a partial year from November 30, 2017 to March 31, 2018.
Contributions to support the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education StrategyFootnote 1

Start date: Ongoing

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Contributions

Type of appropriation: Transfer payments are voted unless otherwise denoted with an (S) in below Financial information table.

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2019-20

Link to department’s Program Inventory: Education

Description: Terms and Conditions have been established for making contribution payments to Métis Nation recipients for post-secondary education programming. The new Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy provides direct financial support for Métis Nation students, complementary programs and services, and regional institutional and governance capacity to support service delivery and improve educational attainment.

Results achieved: Performance results for this program are available in GC InfoBase

Findings of audits completed in 2019-20: An audit was not completed in 2019–20.

Currently, there are no future audits planned for this program.

Findings of evaluations completed in 2019-20: An Evaluation of the Post-Secondary Education program was in progress in 2019–20 and is expected to be completed in October 2020.

Expected completion date for future evaluation:

  • To be determined in 2021 as part of the next Five-year Departmental Evaluation Planning Exercise

Engagement of applicants and recipients in 2019–20: The department worked with National Indigenous Organizations to advance and implement new distinctions-based post-secondary education strategies that respond to the different post-secondary education priorities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation partners.

Type of transfer payment 2017–18
Actual spending*
2018–19
Planned spending*
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities available for use
2019–20
Actual spending (authorities used)
Variance
(2019-20
actual minus
2019-20 planned)
Total grants000000
Total contributionsNot applicable*Not applicable*019,842,58219,842,58219,842,582
Total other types of transfer payments000000
Total ProgramNot applicable*Not applicable*019,842,58219,842,58219,842,582
Explanation of variancesThe difference between 2019-20 Planned Spending and Actual Spending reflects an incremental funding provided through Budget Implementation Vote to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary students and to develop regional post-secondary strategies for First Nations (Budget 2019).
* This transfer payment program was created in 2019-20. Therefore, the 2017-18 and 2018-19 actual spending columns are left blank.

Grants and Contributions to increase First Nations and Inuit Youth Participation in Education and Labour Market Opportunities

Start date: Ongoing

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Grants and Contributions

Type of appropriation: Transfer payments are voted unless otherwise denoted with an (S) in below Financial information table.

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2017-18

Link to department’s Program Inventory: Education

Description: The department provides a number of special incentives to address the significantly lower rate of educational attainment within the Indigenous population and First Nation and Inuit under-representation in the Canadian workforce. These incentives serve to integrate culturally appropriate content within K-12 education, facilitate student transitions from secondary to post-secondary education and/or from school to the workplace and, ultimately, increase the number of skilled Indigenous youth in the workforce.

Results achieved: Performance results for this program are available in GC InfoBase

Findings of audits completed in 2019-20: An audit was not completed in 2019–20.

Currently, there are no future audits planned for this program.

Findings of evaluations completed in 2019-20: The Evaluations of the Elementary and Secondary, and Post-Secondary Education programs were in progress in 2019–20 and are expected to be completed in October 2020.

Expected completion date for future evaluation:

  • To be determined in 2021 as part of the next Five-year Departmental Evaluation Planning Exercise

Engagement of applicants and recipients in 2019–20: The department engaged with applicants and recipients through the annual call for proposals.