Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff today reiterated his call for the Harper government to restore its portion of funding to First Nations University, following the lead of the Saskatchewan government.
“Yesterday, the Saskatchewan government restored $5.2 million in funding to First Nations University because they realized the importance of this institution to the future success of so many First Nations students,” said Mr. Ignatieff, who raised the issue in the House of Commons.
“The Conservative government must follow suit, or their snap decision to pull FNU’s funding will continue to cause very real harm to hundreds of students and faculty.”
Mr. Ignatieff said everyone recognizes that there are problems at the institution that need to be addressed, but the provincial government is working with university faculty and students, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the University of Regina to keep it operational.
“Stephen Harper sat in his office on Parliament Hill and decided its problems weren’t worth expending his time and effort on – he simply decided it wasn’t worth saving,” said Mr. Ignatieff.
“I visited FNU. I met the leadership. I met the students. And I can tell Mr. Harper that these are hard-working young people who deserve a chance to get an education – a chance that will be lost if Mr. Harper doesn’t reverse his decision.”
Mr. Ignatieff argued that the Harper government’s attitude towards FNU reflects their overall lack of support for learning, with harmful consequences for the Canadian economy
“Mr. Harper just doesn’t seem to get the importance of a learning society to the future success of our country. He has cut funding to FNU, cut student grants and scholarships by $254 million, cut adult learning and literacy programs, and he has put a new tax on research that will make it harder to recruit world-class researchers.”
“This is not how you build the innovative economy of the future.”
