Thank you, Mr. Henry.
Debates of Feb. 25th, 1997
Topics
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Mr. Chairman. Maybe I can get a little personal here to see if I can get the depth and implication of this. In my family I have five children, two of them are aboriginal and three are non-aboriginal. All were born in the Northwest Territories. When two of my children, my aboriginal children, if they decide to go on to school, they can get the cost of travel, the basic grant and they can also get a supplementary grant. Three of my non-aboriginal children can just get a basic grant, just for cost of travel and tuition. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask where the fairness is in that?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Member missed one important aspect of our student financial assistance program and that is that the Member's children who are non-aboriginal would also qualify in this jurisdiction for primary loans which are fully remissible. The end result is the same as a grant. If he were living anywhere else in Canada, his non-aboriginal children would not have access to that kind of support, but his aboriginal children would still qualify for the support that aboriginal children receive in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Final question, Mr. Henry.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
I suspect there is very good information in what the Minister told me. Maybe he moved a little fast for me. I am curious if the Minister is telling me that my aboriginal children can get the basic grant and the supplementary grant and my non-aboriginal children can get the basic grant and borrow money from the government which they will have to pay back. Is that what the Minister is telling me?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Henry. Your mike was off. Mr. Henry.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last part of my question was, is the Minister telling me that my aboriginal children can get the basic grant and the supplementary grant for post-secondary education and my non-aboriginal children can get the basic grant and they can borrow money from the government and if they choose to live in the Territories after schooling they will have it forgiven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, that is what I was saying. A loan which is available currently to non-aboriginal students is in many respects a grant because it is not necessary for it to be repaid if the graduate comes back or the student comes back and lives in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Details of grants and contributions. Mr. Erasmus.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This program of grants and forgivable loans for non-aboriginal students, is there a similar program to this anywhere else in Canada?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 866
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. First supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister had indicated 80 percent of the money provided for the aboriginal students is recovered or provided by federal government. What percentage do we recover from the federal government of the money for the grants and forgivable loans to non-aboriginal students?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member may have misinterpreted what I was saying. What I was saying was this government receives about 80 percent of its funds in transfer payments from the federal government. Almost all of our expenditures, whether they are for student financial assistance or for building infrastructure, come from the federal government, it is true, whether it is for basic grants, supplementary grants, or for forgivable loans. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Erasmus.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there a very large amount of the money provided to aboriginal students specifically given to this government for the post-secondary education of aboriginal students?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Minister, Mr. Dent.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Not to the best of my knowledge. Our formula financing agreement with the federal government does not separate out one area over another. As I had indicated in a previous answer to Mr. Henry, I am confident the agreement between the territorial government and the federal government to take over administration of education programs for aboriginal people would not have been undertaken and agreed to had there not been an understanding that the programs would continue to support aboriginal students at the level at which DIAND was doing it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Details of grants and contributions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Erasmus.
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The discussion paper for student financial assistance that will be forthcoming by March the 6th, were there any aboriginal people involved in developing that discussion paper?
Committee Motion 25-13(4): Recommendation To Retain Baffin And Keewatin Regional Librarians In The 1997-98 Budget
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 867
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Dent.