Statement made on 11 May 2010 by Senator Lillian Eva Dyck
Hon. Lillian Eva Dyck:
Honourable senators, as the Leader of the Government in the Senate knows, 15 per cent of the Saskatchewan population is Aboriginal. As our honourable colleague has indicated, that population is growing rapidly, so that in a few years' time, 50 per cent of the population under the age of 25 will be Aboriginal.
Currently, 40 per cent of First Nations students in Saskatchewan who are enrolled in post-secondary education attend the First Nations University of Canada. We all know that post-secondary education is a major means to escape the cycle of poverty and to contribute socially and economically to the well-being of the whole province. It has recently been shown that Aboriginal women with degrees earn as much or more than non-Aboriginal women with degrees. It is vitally important that Aboriginal women get degrees.
If this government truly believes in the advancement of women — that we need to look at the empowerment of women, as Senator Keon has stated earlier — how can it not then fund the major institution that is educating and empowering Aboriginal women?
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