ISSUEI3 
     
    
   
   
    
     WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SAYS... 
     
    
   
   
    
     VOLUME 13 
     
    
   
   
    
     Improvements in Post— 
     
     Secondary FUnding Needed 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     From the Secretary of 
     
     ' State of Canada, Gerald 
     
     A. Regan 
     
    

    
     Many students, along 
     
     with university and 
     
     college adndnistrators-and 
     
     faculty nenbers, are 
     
     concerned about the future 
     
     of government funding for 
     
     our universities and _ 
     
     conmunity colleges. As 
     
     Secretary of State; I 
     
     share this concern, and I 
     
     am conmitted to work to 
     
     inpmove the methods by 
     
     which government funding 
     
     for post—secondary 
     
     'education is provided. 
     
    

    
     When I net with 
     
     student leaders from the 
     
     Ottawa area on October 
     
     29, 1981, I assured them 
     
     that claims that the 
     
     Federal government would 
     
     Hake massive cutbacks in 
     
     its support for post- 
     
     secondary education were 
     
     untrue. The budget 
     
     presented by the Minister 
     
     of Finance to the House 
     
     of Commons on November 12 
     
     confirms the strength of 
     
     the Federal Government's 
     
     support for our colleges 
     
     and universities. 
     
    

    
     The Federal Government's 
     
     Contribution to Education 
     
    

    
     The governnent of 
     
     Canada shoulders the major 
     
     cost of post—secondary 
     
     education. Under the 1977 
     
     agreement, the national 
     
     government is contributing 
     
     over $3 billion to the 
     
     operating costs of pest— 
     
     secondary education in 
     
     1981—82. _That amounts 
     
     approximately to 56 per 
     
     cent of the total 
     
     operating costs of post- 
     
     secondary institutions. 
     
    

    
     The Government of 
     
     Canada also contributes 
     
     over $2 billion for 
     
     student loans, research 
     
     grants, occupational 
     
     training and other items 
     
     involved in post-secondary' 
     
     and other education. 
     
    

    
     These are the facts. 
     
     Unfortunately,,Canada's 
     
     1.5 million full and part 
     
     "tine students atending 
     
     universities and connmnity 
     
     colleges have been'often 
     
     fed rumours and distortions 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
        
     
    
   
   
    
     e 
     
    
   
   
    
     by parties employing 
     
     scare tactics for 
     
     political ends. 
     
     .The Liberal Commitment 
     
     to Education 
     
    

    
     The liberal Party 
     
     has a tradition of strong 
     
     support for higher 
     
     education, and this 
     
     support has been demon— 
     
     strated by our actions as 
     
     well as by our words. 
     
    

    
     The Liberal govern— 
     
     ment initiated direct 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     -support for post-secondary 
     
    
   
   
    
     institutions in 1951. It 
     
     was the Liberal governnent 
     
     which agreed in 1967 to 
     
     provide funding directly 
     
     to provinces to operate 
     
     post—secondary instit— 
     
     utions according to the 
     
     local and regional needs 
     
     of the provinces. 
     
    

    
     The action of the 
     
     Liberal governments 
     
     wade it possible for new 
     
     educational facilities 
     
     to emerge in all provinces. 
     
     In Ontario alone, Lake— 
     
     head University, Laurentian 
     
     University, Trent 
     
     University, and Brock 
     
     University have evolved 
     
     as najor educational 
     
     institutions. _ 
     
    

    
     As Premier of Nova‘ 
     
     Scotia, I demonstrated my 
     
     support for higher 
     
     education because I 
     
     believed that money spent 
     
     on a high quality of 
     
     education was an invest- 
     
     ment in the future of my 
     
     province. I continue to 
     
     believe in the priority 
     
     of post—secondary education 
     
     and my goal as Secretary 
     
     of State is to work to 
     
     strengthen government' 
     
     for higher education in 
     
     this country, and to 
     
     improve the ability of 
     
     our universities and 
     
     colleges to meet national 
     
     objectives. _ _r 
     
     Federal Government Concerns 
     
    

    
     At the same time, 
     
     the Federal governnent 
     
     is concerned about present 
     
     arrangements for the 
     
     funding of post-secondary 
     
     education. we are ‘7 
     
     concerned about the 
     
     increasing share of the 
     
     support for post—secondary 
     
     education which the 
     
     Federal government is 
     
     paying through transfers 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
        
     
    
   
   
    
     Sun 
     
    
   
   
    
     Jan I4. 
     
    
   
   
    
     to the provinces, and the 
     
     .decreasing share of the 
     
     operating cost of pest 
     
     secondary institutions 
     
     being paid by some 
     
     provinces. If an increasing 
     
     amount of available 
     
     ' Federal funds continues ‘ 
     
     to be used in this 
     
     ‘manner, there will be »< 
     
     correSpondingly less 
     
     money available for 
     
     direct Federal programs 
     
     designed to achieve 
     
     national goals and 
     
     objectives. 
     
    

    
     Likewise, the 
     
     Government of Canada 
     
     wants greater assurances 
     
     from provincial govern- 
     
     ments that Honey from 
     
     the national treasury is 
     
     actually being spent on 
     
     post—seconday education. 
     
     Under the present 
     
     arrangement, there is no . 
     
     accountability or 
     
     visibility for the 
     
     Governments of Canada's 
     
     contribution to the 
     
     provinces for post 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     u 
     
    
   
   
    
     I982 12 PAGES 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
         
     
    
   
   
    
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     triaijgiZ-L 
     
    
   
   
    
     secondary education. 
     
     The Future of Post 
     
     Secondary Education 
     
    

    
     In the innediate 
     
     future, I am under— 
     
     taking a Comprehensive 
     
     review of federal 
     
     support for post— 
     
     secondary education. I 
     
     will be consulting with 
     
     university and college 
     
     administrators, students 
     
     and faculty members, as 
     
     well as with the 
     
     provinces, in order to 
     
     deternune the best ways 
     
     to improve government 
     
     support for post— 
     
     secondary education. 
     
    

    
     With the support of 
     
     the university and 
     
     college conmunities, I 
     
     am confident that it will 
     
     be possible for me to worl 
     
     together with the 
     
     provinces to reach an 
     
     agreement for improving 
     
     the funding and the very 
     
     structure of post 
     
    
   
   
    
     rsecondary education. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Photo by Augustine Hii Lou Ping