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Indigenous Trustees’ Council

OPSBA’s Indigenous Trustees’ Council (ITC) is composed of First Nations trustees appointed to school boards, and other Indigenous trustees elected through the municipal electoral process.

One of OPSBA’s multi-year strategic priorities is Advancing Reconciliation: First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education. We believe that through education we will move towards a Canada where the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians is founded on mutual respect and OPSBA, therefore, supports the Calls to Action of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

The ITC has engaged in a range of initiatives to support the education of Indigenous students, and to ensure all students are educated about the history and culture of Indigenous peoples. Council members have successfully worked on revisions to the mandatory curriculum to include treaty education, the history and legacy of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, the High Arctic relocation, the Powley Decision, and the impact of the Indian Act.

For the 2024-25 school year, Algoma DSB Trustee Elaine Johnston serves as the Chair of the Indigenous Trustees’ Council (ITC) and sits as the Council’s representative on the OPSBA Board of Directors and Executive Council.