The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Education has ordered the province’s schools to shred their copies of four textbooks that were purchased in 2023 and contained inaccurate information about Indigenous peoples. The textbooks were part of the Passe à l’action pour la réconciliation series used by Grade 7 and 8 French immersion students. According to a statement from NL, the books contain “stereotypical” descriptions of Indigenous lifestyles and “inaccurate statements that no Indigenous peoples pay tax, all receive free postsecondary education, etc.” NL’s Department of Education is now working with the Indigenous advisory committee to evaluate alternative educational resources. CBC states that 8,600 copies of the books were purchased for $202K in 2024. NDP Leader Jim Dinn questioned how these materials were purchased and put into circulation in the first place, noting that “the whole purpose of Indigenous education is to break down those stereotypes.”
