It took two years for the Ministry of Education to deny the Sechelt Indian Government District's (SIGD) request for a seat on the local school board.
The SIGD approached the Minister of Education, then Christy Clark, in 2001 asking for a seat on the school board for one of their members.
They asked to be treated as any other town or district on the Coast, all of which have representation at the school board level.
But they were told the request had to have community support and go through due public process.
School District No. 46 started the process and found no objections to the request, said Lori Dixon, school board trustee. "There were some questions, but no objections," said Dixon, who was involved in all the public consultation meetings.
By Oct. 25, 2002, the consultation was complete and it was evident there was community support for an SIGD representative on the school board. The board sent a letter to Clark asking that the SIGD be designated as an electoral area for the purpose of school trustee elections.
SIGD Chief Garry Feschuk said he met with Clark, who seemed interested in resolving the issue, but soon she was moved to another ministry and Tom Christensen took over as Minister of Education.
The request sat unanswered for nearly two years. At the most recent school board meeting on Nov. 9, trustees finally got an answer from Christensen, and the answer was no.
"It is my understanding that the requested change is to ensure Sechelt Indian Band representation on the Sunshine Coast School Board in order to enhance the quality of the educational experience of Aboriginal students from the SIGD," said Christensen in a letter to the board. "After full consideration of this matter, I have decided not to exercise my jurisdiction under Section 30 (4) of the School Act to vary the trustee electoral areas in School District No. 46. I am not persuaded that the variance would lead to more effective representation of the Sechelt Indian Band members on the board."
He cited the appointment of trustee Dixon, a Sechelt Indian Band member who represents rural area 2, as being adequate representation for the band at the school board level.
He also said because the majority of eligible voters are not band members, the election of a Sechelt Indian Band representative would not be guaranteed.
Feschuk was at Tuesday's meeting and was visibly upset with the minister's decision.
"Right now we have someone elected from rural area 2 who also works on our behalf, but what if she is not reelected? Then we will have no representation at the school board," said Feschuk.
He thanked the board for letting him know about Christensen's reply as soon as they received it and he said he was appreciative of the work the board has done to try to secure a seat for the SIGD at the school board table.
"But I'm not surprised. Everything we've done as First Nations we've had to fight for, and with this the fight has just begun," added Feschuk.
