Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) will remove tuition fees for eligible indigenous students as part of its commitment to advancing truth and reconciliation. .“Education is fundamental to reconciliation,” said KPU President and Vice-Chancellor Alan Davis in a press release. .“We are committed to creating new opportunities and a welcoming environment for indigenous students in higher education.”.Davis said offering free tuition to eligible students “continues KPU’s efforts to have open and generative partnerships with indigenous communities.”.The release said KPU will waive tuition for incoming and current students who are members of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Musqueam, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt, and Kwikwetlem First Nations effective fall 2023. .KPU’s announcement — making it among the first post-secondary institutions in British Columbia to introduce a tuition waiver — coincided with the release of a landmark framework to address and reduce ongoing systemic colonialism, oppression, and racism indigenous people continue to experience. .The KPU Pathway to Systemic Transformation is the university’s response and commitment to upholding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. The framework addresses calls for justice stemming from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA People and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples..KPU Associate Vice President of Indigenous Leadership, Innovation, and Partnerships Gayle Bedard said the framework will provide important guidance to the community. .“Weaving together our traditional languages, vibrant cultures and histories with Western knowledge systems will create educational opportunities to learn the true colonial history of Canada,” said Bedard. .“As non-indigenous peoples commit to walking this path of transformation with respect, accountability and transparency, they will proudly recognize their contributions to a better and stronger future for indigenous peoples and their communities.”.KPU Chancellor Kim Baird said post-secondary institutions have a critical role to play in how indigenous people and Canadians move forward..Baird acknowledged Canada is “at a unique time in the history of this country — a time when we are confronting the colonial past of Canada.”.“As KPU’s first indigenous woman chancellor, I am proud of seeing the work the framework represents to ensure KPU contributes to transformation over time,” she said. .The University of Waterloo announced on May 25 it will offer free tuition to students from two First Nations whose traditional territory covers the land where it is located..Incoming and current U of W students who are members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River will be eligible to have their tuition fees waived effective fall 2023. Students will need to meet admission requirements for a full-time undergraduate or graduate program at the university to qualify..“We recognize universities generally, and the University of Waterloo in particular, have an obligation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action,” said U of W Associate Vice President of Indigenous Relations Jean Becker.
