The provincial government has withdrawn $5 million of funding from First Nations University of Canada. The loss of 20 per cent of the school's funding is not good news for students in the short term, but may have been the only way the university would truly get its act together. The move by the province has actually met with widespread support across the political spectrum, something columnists have noted. The best rant on the topic can be found on the Newstalk blog where producer Tammy Robert recounts the FNUniv scandals from shortly after its inception right until today.

There are also reports that $7 million from the feds might be yanked as well. This would mean a total loss of $12 million taxpayer dollars. Based on the graphic above (produced by CBC February 5 in this report), taxpayers has been subsidizing the operations of First Nations University by $18,072 per student each year. And, this does not count the millions given to Aboriginal students so they could attend university either. The final irony is that the Regina campus of FNUniv is in the final stages of becoming an urban reserve, meaning no provincial or federal taxes will ever be collected there again. Wow.

By: Lee Harding
Posted: February 08, 2010

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