Hon. Claudette Tardif (Deputy Leader of the Opposition):

Honourable senators, currently the federal government provides financial assistance to First Nations and Inuit students through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, which was created to alleviate the financial barriers faced by Aboriginal students. Unfortunately, increases in funding to this program are currently capped at a maximum of 2 per cent annually. As a result, funding has been unable to keep up with increased living costs and tuition fees. Additionally, according to the Assembly of First Nations and many student groups that we have met across the country, the 2 per cent cap means that fewer eligible applicants receive funding every year. From 1997 to 2009, the number of annual recipients has dropped from 23,000 to under 19,000 students.

In light of the fact that increasing access to post-secondary education will help close the employment and earning gaps between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, will the government eliminate the 2 per cent cap on this program to ensure that the educational needs of all Aboriginal Canadians are met?

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