Years of problems at FNUniv not fixed in a couple weeks: Regina Qu'Appelle MP Andrew Scheer

REGINA — The First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) is on the minds of many and in a matter of two short weeks Canada's only aboriginal university may close its doors.

"It's a tough situation," said Andrew Scheer, Conservative MP for Regina-Qu'Appelle. "I do have a lot of sympathy for the students who are going through it, but at the end of the day it doesn't serve students well to have this kind of institution with systemic problems."

He said before the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Chuck Strahl pulled approximately $7 million in funding the two talked about it.

"The funding was taken away for a reason, and so now we have to find a way to make sure that First Nations people who want a post-secondary education have the ability to get one," he said. "The provincial government (and) federal government do provide a lot of opportunities outside of the FNUniv for First Nations people to get post-secondary education."

Scheer said he will do what he can to ensure that the $7 million stays in the province. He's also aware of the situation the FNUniv students are in being that their school may have to close its doors.

"Minister Strahl is in dialogue with the provincial minister to ensure the students don't lose their year," said Scheer.

He's aware the winter semester doesn't end until April 14, which is something Scheer's mentioned to Strahl in light of the fact that funding is set to end March 31.

"I know that's part of the discussions he's having with (provincial) minister (Rob) Norris and with the University of Regina," said Scheer. "I can't speak specifically to what options are being considered."

He said the decision to pull federal funding came after the province decided to pull its funding, which came after years of waiting for changes to be made at FNUniv.

"They started addressing these problems after their funding got pulled," said Scheer. "To me, several years of problems isn't made up for in one or two weeks of finally getting their act together."

He said even today it's still not clear whether there's a plan to go forward.

"There have been some ideas floated out, but to my knowledge nothing concrete," said Scheer.

Ralph Goodale, Liberal MP for Wascana, disagrees and believes the university has made the changes the government wanted and so funding should be reinstated.

"I think that would be a great tragedy for First Nations people and for the province as a whole and for Canada," he said, about the possible closure of the university. "It seems to me now that it's incumbent upon the two levels of government to give these corrections an opportunity to work, to prove themselves. The federal government seems determined to throw the baby out with the bath water."

Goodale remains optimistic that cooler heads will prevail within the next couple of weeks.

"I hope the government will see that this is a place of great value," he said. "It has already made significant contributions to the future of aboriginal young people and other young people in Saskatchewan and Canada and it's an important part of the post-secondary-educational system and it needs to be there in the future."

Goodale said the Canadian Association of University Teachers — once the biggest critics of the university — has turned around and has become the one of the university's biggest supporters because its recognized the changes the school has made.

kbenjoe@leaderpost.canwest.com