Madam Speaker, on June 30 I asked the minister two questions about infrastructure in aboriginal communities and post-secondary education. I am going to turn to infrastructure first.
We have heard a lot of sound and fury in the House over the last couple of days on Attawapiskat. In the Attawapiskat issue, the school was designated as a priority for the 2009 year due to health and safety requirements, overcrowding, and curriculum requirements. There have been a number of comments made in the House about the fact that there were no health and safety concerns and there were inspections done.
In fact, in the government's own documents, dated December 3, 2008, it was the high school that on June 13, 2007, had no immediate health and safety concerns. In another memo from the department itself on March 17, 2008, a number of schools were identified as being problems for the department and for the minister. In two of those schools, North Spirit Lake being one, where the chief had recently expressed concerns about the continued delay of the start of the project, the department noted that there was no real issue, just sitting in an opposition party riding.
Today in an interview with APTN, the minister, when asked about the political ties, said, “If you come to Alberta, every riding but one is Conservative. Many schools that are built in Alberta are going to be on Conservative turf. Sometimes that's just the way it is”. In addition, in the same interview with APTN, the minister indicated that the government has a list that starts with health and safety issues, and then it works down that list.
My question for the parliamentary secretary is this. It was announced today that a new school will be built for Burnt Church. Since 2006, this is the first announcement of a school being built. How many other schools have been built since 2006, if any, and in which ridings? What criteria were used in selecting those schools to be built?
Turning to post-secondary education, today at committee we heard from the department about post-secondary education and the importance of it. I am going to pose my question and then give some background in case I run out of time.
Much is made about accountability, as rightly it should. Since the government has been talking consistently about accountability, why did it stop working with the Assembly of First Nations in the joint accountability initiative?
Today in committee, we heard that under the review of the PSSP, the department has already been examining options, including the 100% grant and some changes to that. It is examining perhaps an income-tested option. It is examining the fact that aboriginal and first nations students on reserves may be required to apply for student loans.
Consultation is an important part of this process, as identified in the Auditor General's report of 2004. I would question the fact that consultation, when options have already been developed, is not consultation. First nations will be simply presented with those options, then asked for their opinions on those options. A fulsome consultation would have first nations at the table developing the options that the leadership could then review with their constituent communities.
Again, I would ask the government, why did it stop that joint accountability initiative that was in place, which could address some of the concerns that have been raised in the Auditor General's report.