Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is surprised and disappointed by the U.K.'s decision to end funding to Canadian scholars under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan. There had been no consultation with Canadian officials prior to the decision being taken, and it is all the more disconcerting given that the decision coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth scheme in 2009.
The establishment of the plan was, as members of the House may be interested to know, a Canadian initiative.
The Canada-U.K. relationship is a friendly and long-standing one, one that has resulted in positive benefits for both countries. The relationship has grown even stronger through cooperation in many areas, one of which is academic cooperation.
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan has played a significant role in developing and fostering these relations as well as grooming Canada's past and current leaders. In fact, previous Commonwealth scholarship recipients, as the member said, include Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, Edward Greenspon, Editor in Chief of the Globe and Mail, as well as Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council. Similarly, British students have benefited from their studies in Canada. The current British contingent of post-doctoral students in Canada under the plan represents a very impressive group of young scientists.
Even before the news hit the media, the government expressed its concerns to U.K. authorities over the decision. Officials of my department contacted the British High Commission in Ottawa to seek clarification and to express our concern with the decision taken. In a letter to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Canada's High Commissioner to the U.K., James Wright, expressed our concern over the decision and requested that it be revisited. In delivering this letter, high commission officials also pursued the matter further with U.K. officials. Similar concerns have been raised by members of the British Parliament, and we await the outcome of these discussions.
I would also like to acknowledge the efforts being undertaken by the university communities, both in Canada and the U.K., to express their dissatisfaction and to call for a reversal of the decision. In a recent press release, the umbrella organization for U.K. universities, Universities UK, has called for the program to be restored.
Canada takes this decision very seriously and we will continue to pursue the matter with UK authorities.