Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Quite some time ago, I think it was in 2010, certainly it was in the 16th Assembly, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment advised Members that they would be doing a review of the Student Financial Assistance Program. I’d like to know from the Minister, it’s been quite some time since that announcement was made, it’s been two years down the road, plus some, I think. So I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not that review has been completed, and if so, is it available for the public? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The SFA was under review and there was a management response to the SFA and the availability to me as the Minister responsible. Upon that, it would be available to the general public based on the recommendations brought forward. We are looking at various areas where we can focus as a priority that we can move forward. So I have to get the specifics of it. I don’t have that detailed information at this point with me right now, but I will get that for the Member on the status. Mahsi.
I think the Minister said that the report is not public. That’s my understanding, I think. I’d like to know from the Minister if the report has been received by the Minister and there has been a response to the report. I would think that there are many people in the public who would like to know what the report says. So I’d like to ask the Minister whether it is the intention of the Minister to make the report and its recommendations available to the public. Could he table it in the House perhaps, and hopefully soon? Thank you.
The recommendation did come from the general public, the students, the parents. It is public information as well. Once I get the overall review, then we can potentially table the document so that it can be opened to the general public.
To the Minister, he’s telling me that it’s public information and yet the report is not in the public realm. I’m having a little trouble understanding how he references it as being public.
So to the Minister, since the report is not yet available to the public and the recommendations are not there so that the public and Members can discuss them, I’d like to ask the Minister if he could give me a bit of a summary of what the recommendations in the report are.
There are, let’s see here, approximately 18 recommendations within that SFA that was brought to my attention. I can share that with the Members as well as the standing committee. This is an area where there is a management response to SFA, the review of the final report. I can share that information. We are focusing on which priority areas we need to start implementing and it will be brought to the standing committee, as well, as an information item as we move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
To the Minister, I appreciate that he’s going to make this report available, but I believe it’s before standing committee already. My question is whether or not, or why it can’t be made available to the public. I’m sure that the recommendations in that report would like to be seen by some of the people who had input, would like to be seen by some of the people who are using SFA right now. I would again ask the Minister when he anticipates that this report can be tabled.
What we were waiting for was the management’s response. Now that is before me. The next step was to introduce that to standing committee. That happened. The next step is, of course, tabling the document with all the 18 recommendations and it will be for the general public.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
