Three wishes for the North: number three.

• Date: 01 April 2019
• Author: Robinson, David

Remember the game. Doug Ford is a good fairy and he has offered the North three wishes. For the first, I showed how to increase value-added from the forestry sector. For wish two, I suggested that the research and educational facilities that support our Northern industries should be located in the North. We have one wish left. Let's ask to run our own schools.

A community has to understand itself to develop. Communities and nations have used their school systems to develop a sense of identity. The French teach French history and geography. The Germans teach German art and literature. Les Quebecois have their own version of history. American students memorize the names of all the U.S. states and even the names of their presidents.

But Northerners don't study Northern geography, or Northern history. The schoolbooks don't showcase Northern poets or Northern musicians. The content of education in Northern Ontario is what southern Ontario wants it to...