Matawa sound alarm on lack of supplementary funding for making schools safe 

Following a Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) Special Meeting on Education held in June, Matawa education leaders have announced that they agree with the assessments made at the meeting that core funding for the 2020-21 school year is insufficient tfor providing safe, quality educational programs and services. Matawa Chiefs Council have called for urgent supplementary funding to be made available to help make the schools safe before students return to school. The Matawa Emergency COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan includes  costing for upgraded bandwidth to allow access to online resources, additional costs for safe facilities, additional capital costs to upgrade school facilities and teacher accommodations, additional transportation to allow staggered attendance, and more. “Today, education is one of key building blocks for a healthy, self-sustaining community. It is the hope and future for our youth,” stated Chief Harvey Yesno of the Eabametoong First Nation. “It would be a tragedy that our children would lose more instruction if the proper tools and resources are not in place before this September.”  Nation Talk  (ON)