House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 35% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, I am not trying to be rude here, but he did not answer my question. I wanted to know if he knew how many students who were eligible for post-secondary education were unable to receive it. He does not seem to know that either, so I will ask him another question.
Will he confirm that money that should have been used for students to go to post-secondary education under the first nation funding envelope was reallocated for internal use by INAC and Indian Affairs? Will he confirm that?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, it is not just the school board in Toronto. These are school board standards in every jurisdiction in this country. He should understand whether or not there is a funding envelope. I would like to tell him that there is no funding envelope for libraries. Is he not aware of that? I find that very surprising.
I would like to continue on with the importance of post-secondary education.
How many students who were eligible to receive post-secondary funding support were not able to receive it this year? What are the numbers?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, I was asking the question because I was hoping the minister understood his portfolio and was able to see the importance of making sure the children are able to go to a school with quality education. If the minister does not think it is important or thinks maybe it is a joke, that is unfortunate.
I would like to continue on.
Since he does not know what the instructional services envelope is, we know that under the provincial system there are specific funding envelopes for libraries, computers and extracurricular school activities. Will the minister tell us if there are any specific funding envelopes that exist for those services? If not, why not?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, then the minister does not know how many schools need to be replaced. Again, we are talking about children here. This is an issue on which he has a responsibility to understand the importance of protecting the health and safety of children. I am surprised that he does not know the number. I could give him the number 48. Maybe that would help him.
I would ask him how many schools on reserve have been listed as substandard or condemned.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just asked what the backlog of schools is. How many schools need to be replaced? What is the plan? How many?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, if he wants to put that on the record, he can. I do not think he understood the question. I am not going to make this hard for him. He is the education minister of one of the largest school systems in the country. These are things that are fairly straightforward.
What is the backlog of schools on reserve right now that need to be replaced?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, this is a big issue. I was a school board trustee, so I am a little hung up on this.
In the school boards, provincially, the funding envelope comes with the students per capita, and one knows what it is. It is ring fencing. The envelopes are specific, so this is a specific question that the minister does not seem to be able to answer. He does not seem to be able to tell us if he knows what is going in for instruction, not in terms of what is being spent by the bureaucracy, not what is being spent on all manner of other things.
What is being spent in terms of the instructional envelope?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, I understand what the estimates provide, but any school board in the country will be able to say what is in the funding envelope for education. How much is in the instructional funding envelope for elementary and secondary education?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, I have a number of questions to get through, so I would like to follow the standard of keeping the questions and answers to roughly the same length.
I would like to begin by congratulating the minister. This is the first chance I have had to officially congratulate him in the House on being chosen for this very important role.
I would also like to note that we are coming up to the third anniversary of the death of Shannen Koostachin, the youth activist who fought so much for education. I will be focusing my questions tonight mostly on the issue of education.
Can the minister tell me what the total funding envelope is for instructional services within the elementary and secondary education file under aboriginal affairs?
Ethics May 9th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, there they go again. The Senate was ripping off the taxpayers because they just were not very bright. How is that accountability?
We have Brazeau now, and Duffy and Harb who ripped off the taxpayers for close to $200,000. We still do not know what Ms. Wallin ripped the taxpayers off for.
If an ordinary Canadian engaged in behaviour like that, they would call it fraud, and the authorities would be brought in. Even some of the senators think the cops should be brought in.
Where is the accountability? Will the government insist on accountability? Will it insist that documents are turned over to the police and that these people are held accountable for ripping off the taxpayers? It is a simple question.