Issues

Provincial government funding cutbacks to the education sector in the late 80s and early to mid-90s have been the cause of much controversy. The cutbacks were a result of the Progressive Conservative government’s mandate to eliminate the province's deficit before 1997. The year of 1994 saw the most severe cutbacks, and in 1997 the Alberta Teachers' Association organized a rally on the grounds of the Legislature to try to persuade the government to restore funding to education.

Since then, there has been about a 70 percent increase in government spending on education. However, the Alberta Teachers’ Association maintains that, after inflation and increasing enrolment is taken into account, real spending per student has barely reached 1994 levels and remains below where it was in the mid-1980s. A report released by Statistics Canada in 2004 shows that Alberta spent more per student on the K-12 learning system than any other reporting province in 2002-03. But the Alberta Teachers’ Association point out the report also reveals that Alberta spends less on public education as a percentage of its total wealth (provincial GDP) than any other reporting province.

Clearly, there are two sides to this issue, and it is ultimately the Alberta citizens who will decide if the quality of education in the province is as good as it should be.

Residential Schools

The residential school system is a dark point in the history of education. First established in the 1880s, the schools were operated by churches of various denominations and funded by the federal government, who, under the Indian Act, was obligated to provide education to Aboriginal Peoples. The primary goal of the schools was to assimilate Aboriginal children into a “civilized,” Christian way of life. Children between the ages of seven and fifteen were often forcibly removed from their parents and placed in schools far away from home, where they were forbidden to speak their language and made to feel ashamed of their heritage. Many children were physically and sexually abused.

Although the provincial government was not directly involved, Alberta had the greatest number of residential schools in Canada, with 19 in total. In 1960, almost all Aboriginal children in Alberta living on reserves were attending residential schools. When tales of abuse became public, most residential schools ceased to operate, with the last residential school in Alberta closing in 1975. There were still a handful of schools operating across Canada, however, and the last residential school in Saskatchewan did not close until 1996.

The repercussions of residential schools on the Aboriginal community are vast. The federal government has issued a formal apology to sufferers and committed $350 million in support of a community-based healing strategy. In Alberta, organizations like the Native Counseling Services of Alberta provide restorative justice, social programming, community development and wellness initiatives to Aboriginal Peoples.