On February 19, 1992, the Member for Baffin Centre questioned why the funding one student received had been reduced from $531.43 to $522.86. This question was answered in this House a week later, on February 26, 1992.
I then indicated to the Member that there has been no reduction in the total allowance paid to students. However, in the 1991-92 school year, the Department of Education changed the monthly allowances payment from an amount which fluctuated somewhat from month to month to an average amount.
In previous years the monthly cheque paid to students fluctuated depending upon whether a month had 30 days or 31 days. For example, a single student received $514.29 for 30-day months and $531.43 for 31-day months. Students raised concerns over the fluctuating rates as they caused budgeting problems. As a result, the department implemented a new schedule to provide students with a consistent monthly cheque rate of $522.86, based on the average of the two previous monthly rates.