On behalf of the OCDSB Board of Trustees, a letter was issued to Minister of Education Stephen Lecce on November 13, 2023 requesting to authorize the OCDSB to appoint an Indigenous representative to sit as a Board member.
The OCDSB is located in the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin people. However, Ottawa is not only home to the Algonquin Nation. Ottawa has the highest population of Inuit in Ontario, and Indigenous peoples from various First Nations and Métis communities reside here. Presently, our enrolment includes approximately 1500 students, or two per cent, who have self-identified as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, as well as an unknown number who have not self-identified.