B.C. education lobbyists waiting for new leader

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A B.C. Natives' lobby over control of their own education will wait until the federal Conservatives have a new leader.

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs has worked for the past year to secure greater control over education for Native communities, said Ray Hance, chairman for the Steering Committee on Indigenous Education.

"But Mulroney spoiled it," he said. "We had to postpone it due to the leadership situation. We want to make sure that we will get something out of it:"

Hance said the union lobby group will focus its efforts on the probable front-runner in the Conservative leadership race, although he declined to comment on who that might be.

"We're not waiting for the convention," he said.

The committee planned to spend the second week of March petitioning federal MPs, senators, standing committees and the Canadian Human Rights Commission for the right to control Native education, he said.

But the lobby will wait until the middle of April to give stormy political waters in Ottawa a chance to calm down.

The union based its case on the Assembly of First Nations 1991 recommendations. Education is a vehicle for Native culture and must be under the control of Native groups, the assembly said.

The federal government should be responsible for funding all students eligible through First Nations jurisdiction, regardless of age or previous school experience.

The union also wants to control the direction of federal funding beyond reserve borders. The 20-year-old Master Tuition Agreement between B.C. and Ottawa, which regulates payments for reserve-based children who attend provincial schools, is outdated, Hance said.