Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. During her leadership campaign the Premier promised new funding for postsecondary students.

The harsh reality is that in the past two years Alberta students have seen millions of dollars cut from grant programs. Students, like all of us, are tired of empty promises.

To the minister of advanced education: given the $3 billion deficit and the already scarce funds in our postsecondary system where and when is the minister going to get this additional funding? Or is he going to break the Premier’s promise?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Weadick: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to stand up and answer that question. You’re right. This Premier has spoken often about her commitment to education, to postsecondary education, and to health, and we’re pleased with that. This is a very opportune time to talk. We are in budget discussions right now. We’re talking about how we can fund the budget into the future. We’re also looking at how we can do student finance differently to make sure that we have finances available for those students that need it most as well. So it’s going to be a combination of moving forward with new funding for growth within the postsecondaries, new funding for new pro-grams, as well as student finance options.

Dr. Taft: Well, Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise. So what precise timeline and amounts can the minister give us, other than the sort of vague reassurances we just got, as to the new bursaries that the Premier promised?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Weadick: Thank you. The budget will come out early in the new year, and all of those items will be included in the budget, the things that have been promised and discussed as well as some really exciting new things that I think everyone in the House here will be pleased to see. Postsecondary students are being consulted as we speak. We’re working with our postsecondaries and looking for lots of great opportunities to continue to grow chances for both rural and urban students to get the best possible education they can.

Dr. Taft: Well, since Alberta literally is the richest place on earth, will the minister place accessibility first and restore the millions of dollars that were cut from student grants in the last budget?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Weadick: Thank you. I think you’re probably referring to the access to the future, or at least as part of that, because that funding did flow through in support of grants and bursaries.

Last year we also made some changes. We removed some small grants but also increased significantly the amount of loans that were available to students because they’d asked us to increase those numbers in both how much they could borrow for living costs and all those things. We’ve tried to respond to what the students have asked for. The new program where students can volunteer for bursaries that will help them to gain both the experience in the not-for-profit sector and get bursaries and grants that they can use for their education is a wonderful new program that’s only new this year. So I think we’re doing a lot of good things for the students and for their finances.

Alberta Hansard, November 22, 2011

[direct link to this article]