Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to touch briefly on the issues of student financial assistance. This is an issue that constantly comes before this House. I am now in my fifth year and since I have come here, I know that it has been raised by myself and many of my colleagues, the concerns about the problems, the complaints that we get from constituents.
The department continues to try to shore-up the system they have in headquarters. They put in advanced, impersonal voice mails. They have put out more forms. They have put out more information. The complaints do not go away, Mr. Speaker, simply because, in my opinion, that is not a program that should be delivered out of headquarters. This is a program that has to be moved as close to the students as possible, to the regional centres, to the large communities where there are career development officers.
It is interesting to note, Mr. Speaker, we do not receive, and I do not receive as an MLA, anywhere near the complaints about income support which is delivered at the community level by social workers where there are appeal committees as I do about student financial assistance because it is a headquarters program. It comes into the Minister's office. It comes into our office and into this House.
So there are fundamental concerns about the receptiveness in all the communities by aboriginal governments and regional centres to have this devolved. The students have asked for it. They have begged for it. This government continues to keep a stranglehold on this program. I have no reason why. It makes no sense. I cannot figure it out after five years. It is shored-up with more sand bags, more machine guns to man the towers and keep this program from the people.
It does not make good government sense, Mr. Speaker, so I would hope that this government would finally take a look at seriously devolving this program. We have made changes that have left some of our students adrift without adequate funding. We have changed the terms of the student financial assistance contract for some of them. Others that should have been entitled to twelve only get eight semesters, leaving some of them incomplete in their studies, having to scramble for money.
If this was located at the community level, at the regional level, Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that we would not be standing up in this House day after day, year after year, talking to the Minister trying to get his attention to move this program where it belongs, closer to the students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause