University of Toronto implements tuition-free initiative for 9 First Nations near its campuses

The University of Toronto has launched a tuition-free initiative for nine First Nation communities in territories adjacent to its campuses in downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Scarborough. 

The initiative is part of the university's efforts to make education more accessible for Indigenous students as outlined in Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin, the 2017 final report of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

"I think this is a great first step," said Tristan White, a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit and a student in Indigenous studies and computer science, and one of the students selected.

"I really think that there's a lot of progress that's being made when schools — particularly, like, big, mainstream schools like U of T are making progress towards reconciliation … it sets a precedent for other schools to do the same thing."

White said there is a waitlist for postsecondary education in his community, adding the money that would have gone "to my tuition now gets to go to someone else who is being afforded the opportunity to go to school."

Shannon Simpson, a senior director in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) at the university, said the first person they asked about instituting the call to action was Cheryl Regehr, the provost and vice-president.

"Her response was how can we do this and how can we do this right away," Simpson said.

Simpson, of Alderville First Nation, said they've had "strong support from senior leadership" who wanted to drive the initiative forward "almost quicker than we could get it together."

Simpson, who has been with the university for nearly two decades, said her history there serves her well. The OII was created out of the university's calls to action. 

Simpson said she knows the landscape of the university and has been able to navigate the First Nations community's needs there.

The nine communities included in the initiative are:

Indigenous or Native American students from the continental United States will pay the domestic Ontario tuition rate in recognition of the 1794 Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States, which states that "American Indians" may travel freely across the international boundary.