Statement made on 23 March 2010 by Senator Lillian Eva Dyck
Hon. Lillian Eva Dyck:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and it relates to funding for the First Nations University of Canada.
As honourable senators know, Minister Strahl recently made a decision to withdraw $7.2 million in funding from this world-class institution. It is now on the brink of destruction.
I am pleading for a reversal of that decision, because it will abandon over 800 Aboriginal students, 65 faculty members, all the support staff and about 1,200 University of Regina students who take classes at this institution.
Last year, at the Council of Ministers of Education, First Nations University was held up as a model of best practices. In addition, there is a Treaty 4 obligation that indicates there is a federal responsibility to fund post-secondary education.
How can the minister justify such drastic action?
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