First Nations students get 30 per cent less funding than other children, economist says

First Nations children living on reserve receive at least 30 per cent less funding for their education as children under provincial jurisdiction, according to a former chief economist with the TD Bank.

Don Drummond's assertion runs counter to testimony from a senior official with the department of Indigenous Affairs last week during an inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations students in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The funding formulas of the provinces and the federal government "don't align," Jonathan Allen told the inquest. "They can't be compared the same way and that may lead to a perception of a gap."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/first-nations-education-funding-gap-1.3487822