Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Oct. 19th, 2006

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Today? I was hoping you were going to have a concise term in office, but anyway....

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Chair, how much time did he have left?

[The Chair, Conservative, Colin Mayes]

He had, actually, 30 seconds.

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Here's a 30-second question, then. I notice there's someone here from the Inuit relations secretariat. My question is, in some of the questions we're asking here, is part of your responsibility to make sure that there are Inuit-specific angles in the programs within INAC?

[Mary Oates, Senior Advisor, Inuit Relations Secretariat, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Yes. One of the purposes of the secretariat is to inform the department and Canada regarding the needs and interests of Inuit. I have met with the office of the federal interlocutor. I have met with, not Mr. Budgell, but other elements of his team to talk about K to 12 and post-secondary education. We continue to work on the same committees and issues.

As with government it's always slow going, but we're making progress.

[The Chair, Conservative, Colin Mayes]

Thank you.

Mr. Albrecht.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Chair, I want to follow up on my previous question regarding Canada student loans. Do we have any idea of the number of aboriginal students who would apply or what kind of rates they would have in terms of approvals and that sort of thing? Is it small? Is it a very small percentage?

[Richard Budgell]

We don't know. They're not able to track that kind of information. I know that from having met with them. They're not able to track that kind of information because they are not permitted to ask applicants about their cultural identity. So they do not know how many aboriginal people are using their program or applying in the program.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

I would assume, however, that if they're not allowed to share that, the application form would ensure that there's no duplication of funding for the same student, so that part is taken care of.

Another question relates to the ISSP, as it relates to the 12% cap. Could you tell me how that was arrived at, how long it has been in place, and is it possible that it needs to be adjusted, perhaps even downward, with the increased mobility of our population today in terms of accessing funding at any institution as opposed to making it institution-specific?

[Richard Budgell]

I don't know when it was introduced. It's in the current terms and conditions of the program. It doesn't go back many decades, that 12% cap, although it goes back some time. We can check for you.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

But that's the sort of thing that could be adjusted after you do this framework study and see what the demands are for the various--

[Richard Budgell]

I would just point out that we know, just on expenditures, that we were spending about $20 million in the past year, and in fact, that is not 12% of overall expenditures; it's considerably less than 12% of overall expenditures.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Has the demand been less, or has the demand for the other been so great that you haven't had the funds?

[Richard Budgell]

It could be either of those.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Or both?

[Richard Budgell]

Yes.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you for appearing before us this morning.

You have painted quite a realistic picture and in some respect, it is encouraging. However, I am concerned by the fact that it is possible that a student in a given community can apply and that the application be turned down because there is not sufficient funding. That bothers me a lot and we have to find mechanisms to solve this. I am sure that the current funds are properly managed, but I think we have noted here today and we have read in your documents that we must find some way to improve the financial management methods.

You said that there is more and more needs. We are going to have to find extra funding. That is more or less the situation. I am thinking of the statistics that Chief Ghislain Picard mentioned: in Quebec, half of all adults have not finished Secondary V. Therefore, there is a lot of room for improvement. Having said that, we are eager to see how you are going to apply the recommendations to increase the Secondary V success rate and support post-secondary education.

I thank you for coming today.

[Christine Cram]

Did you ask me what we were going to do?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I simply made a comment, but you can add whatever you wish.

[Christine Cram]

That is fine, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Colin Mayes]

We're just about finished here. I'll ask the committee members whether they have exhausted their questions.

Mr. Lemay.

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

I have a very brief question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Colin Mayes]

Have you exhausted the questions, or would you like to ask one?

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

My question will be very brief.

Madam, we find here: “Post-Secondary Education Programs - National Program Guidelines - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - November 2003”. Don't you have everything in this document that you need to answer our questions and implement control measures to ensure greater presence of Aboriginal and Inuit peoples in post-secondary institutions?