Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on June 4th, 2009

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

I would assume that if student outcomes are not what one would expect, they would be deemed as unproductive and unsuccessful.

[Kathleen Keenan]

I don't interpret it that way. If a proponent just asks for money, without a plan, it might not be seen as productive.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

I can't imagine anybody just asking for money. There's generally an understanding that there's a contractual obligation under which people must demonstrate outcomes and all of those kinds of things. But it seems from this announcement that any new stream of funds coming on has to be for something new and better and different. That's the essence of what the minister has said.

You haven't received that direction?

[Kathleen Keenan]

No.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Okay. I want to go on to another question.

With regard to this tuition fees committee report, I'm looking at the executive summary and analysis of education costs and tuition fees. It says that comparisons were made with different provincial school commissions having similar characteristics to the sample communities, and these indicated that the communities would receive an average of between 25% and 63% more total funding depending on the school commission in the community.

This was a joint report, was it not?

[Christine Cram]

Sorry, you're referring to the February—

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

I'm sorry, I don't have the date. It says it's a final report, an analysis of educational costs and tuition fees, by the FNEC-DIAND tuition fees committee.

[Christine Cram]

We've been working with FNEC on a work plan for moving forward--

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

But my question is, was this a joint report.

[Christine Cram]

It's funded, so we agree on the work plan and on what will be done, and INAC provides the funding.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

One of the recommendations was to put into effect short-term alternative solutions. You said this was 2005—that's four years ago. Have any short-term alternative solutions been put in place?

[Céline Laverdière]

Not really. It has already been four years. After that plan, a five-year plan was submitted to Ms. Cram last fall, and it contained some very specific measures. Even though a number of activities have not received approval for funding and implementation, this has been done indirectly.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

May we have a copy of that action plan?

[Céline Laverdière]

Yes, we have a copy.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Can we have a copy as a committee?

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The answer's been given.

Thank you, Madam Crowder.

Mr. Clarke.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

My thanks to the witnesses for coming this morning.

We're talking about education in schools. Since 2006, can you give me the approximate number of new schools that have been constructed, together with the refurbishings or renovations that have been done? Do you have that number?

[Christine Cram]

Since 2006, 16 new schools have been constructed at a cost of $165.3 million. In addition, there have been another 37 school building projects such as construction of temporary school facilities and minor or major renovation projects, for a total of $258.9 million.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

All right.

In the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, I believe it states that from the 1990s until 2006, on average—and I keep getting different numbers—between 30 and 50 new schools were built each year. If my math serves me correctly, wouldn't that have been a new school on every reserve in Canada, or pretty close to it, if that was the actual number?

[Christine Cram]

There are 462 first nations schools on reserve, I believe.

In terms of the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, we are still in the process of working our way through the numbers and the methodology. One of the challenges the Parliamentary Budget Officer had was that they were using what we call the integrated capital management system, which was a new system that was being implemented. All the data hadn't been migrated from old systems to that system, so some of the facts that the Parliamentary Budget Officer used were not completely up to date.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Okay. Thank you.

So this Parliamentary Budget Officer...it was a draft in which a lot of the numbers had not been confirmed as being correct. Is that correct?

[Christine Cram]

Well—

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

There are inaccuracies in the report.

[Christine Cram]

I think Michael Wernick, the deputy, mentioned when he was here at public accounts that we are currently undertaking analysis of the report, and Mr. Wernick would be writing to the Parliamentary Budget Officer outlining some of the issues we find with that report.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Okay. In today's announcement, I believe the minister was announcing economic successes for first nations. Could you elaborate more on what the announcement was about?