Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Sahtu, that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, be read for a second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Student Financial Assistance Act in increasing the maximum amount of money that can be loaned to a person under the Act from $60,000 to $90,000. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Member from Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a northern Indigenous born and raised in Fort Rae as shown on my birth certificate, I am proud of the Student Financial Assistance Program that we have in the Northwest Territories. I heard many times by others, it is one of the best student support programs in Canada. With the changes that the Minister of ECE put in place last Assembly, there is more support for Indigenous students, which I hope will help to improve the education outcome for students in the NWT, especially in small communities. The outcome is not good.
My concern with this bill, with this Private Member's bill, Mr. Speaker, is that we are under fiscal restraint. Why under fiscal restraint are we going to increase the funding cap for student loans? Mr. Speaker, we have people in Fort Smith that will be losing 20 positions and many of these have families and mortgages. Now some of them might have to sell their house. And if lucky enough, some of them might, you know -- I mean, if they're lucky enough, some of them might have to find an employment in Fort Smith.
So, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to increase the loan cap offer under Student Financial Assistance Program, how much will this cost the GNWT? How will this impact the education outcome for Indigenous students in small communities? And why, Mr. Speaker, would we consider an increase in the funding amounts provided to students without increasing the requirement to return back to the NWT to contribute to our economy to repay the loan? By raising the funding cap for students, we are allowing students to leave the NWT for longer periods of time with no incentive to return to the NWT and work in between their studies.
Mr. Speaker, I don't believe this Private Member's bill is ready for review by the House. I don't believe it's necessary to increase the funding limitations. I believe we already have an excellent program that does not need adjusting at this time. In order to advance this bill, there needs to be more research and engagement done prior to introducing in this House. For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, at this time -- I said at this time -- I will not support the motion.
To the bill. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first off, I want to say thank you to the Member of Monfwi for sharing her concerns, being honest about her concerns in the sense of -- I respect that. And I don't have a problem that she has questions, by any means. And I think this is the debate I'm talking about when, you know, sometimes you find those arguments and challenges in debates, but I think the important thing here to focus in on is this: That could become some of the discussion during the review after second reading if it goes to committee and get some public feedback and maybe find out -- the issues raised might be some incidental ones that need to be taken care of. I want to stress the importance of the bill and the reason it's done in this way is it's treated as, in lay terms, we're changing the credit limit of those who can borrow it. So in other words, that's what it is. The money comes from the pool within SFA, frankly because education is more expensive today and the cost for students pursuing further education. The expectation in the Northwest Territories -- I shouldn't say the expectation, but the hope and dreams of many Northerners is that our young people will pursue further education but, you know, it doesn't -- the cost of education isn't stagnant. It's increased, it's grown, it's ballooned, it's only -- you know, the future only says it's going to cost more no matter where they go. And then we ask them to become lawyers and, you know, take your PhD and master's and we keep on adding layers to things, and that's all more money. That's what this is targeted at, is giving access to all Northerners.
The UNDRIP statement pointed out that there's no restrictions on this that impede on Indigenous rights by any means. That was very important and certainly is very important to me, and I know it's important to the Member and I recognize that, but it has no reflection of this. This is strictly raising the borrowing amount an individual northern student can borrow if they wish to pursue their education.
The other thing such as return of service, etcetera, I mean, those are outside currently the scope of the bill and it's just, like I said, a money bill based on saying a student wants to continue their education, they've taken a different path, they've changed their mind, and they need more access to funds, the cap is all that's changing here.
As to the other issues, I would certainly be behind every one of those initiatives if we want to talk separately and find different avenues to meet them because I true -- as I'm going to finish this, Mr. Speaker, and try to stay focused of course on the bill, I truly support growing education opportunities for community members. I mean, I'm from a small community. I understand the challenges there and hence I'm deeply connected to the struggles that many of them have.
So, Mr. Speaker, to the nature of the bill or to the intent of the bill, it's just to raise the credit limits so more young people can get more education. And my goal is they come back here. And my apologies, one more last thing. I think we're only talking about this affecting in the range of 20 students that would change the world of what we're trying to bring back to the Northwest Territories of skills and abilities. Thank you.
From Yellowknife Centre. To the principle of the bill. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I support this motion as a seconder. It's an increase to the existing options available to the students. Some of the assistance that I've -- and that's based on cost. Everything else is going up, hopefully we can increase the threshold in some programs we deliver. So it's an option there for the average student to take. Whether they choose to do so, it's entirely up to them. But I learned a lot of finding out through the assistance of students that I helped to survey their options, and I'm quite satisfied -- I would say probably more so satisfied with the programs and services offered by this government to encourage the students complete their education. And one program that I'm quite intrigued by is the one offered by ECE in saying to the average student we will cover 80 percent of your salary as you're going to school. So that's a huge financial relief to the individual going to school. And I recently experienced a graduate that went through that program and completed and graduated in the Yukon university, and is back working for this government. So that's just an example of the many options out there for assistance, whether it's bursaries or scholarships or, in this case, a loan. It's optional. They don't have to take that. We're just increasing it there to align with the inflationary costs that keeps increasing there. Mahsi cho.
Thank you. To the principle of the bill. Member from Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for talking about our students, the importance of education, and also this Assembly's priority on building a strong economic foundation for our whole territory.
Mr. Speaker, changes were made to the Student Financial Assistance Program in 2023-2024, including increases to the benefit rates for remissible loans. ECE is analyzing the impacts of the changes, including impacts to the SFA loan limits, which is expected to be completed at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
Mr. Speaker, while I agree with the MLA that the student loan limit may require an increase, the analysis still needs to be done to determine the appropriate level of increase required. There may also be legislative impacts beyond the student loan limit itself, notably, the legislated $45 million SFA revolving loan fund also needs to be reviewed, and we need to assess potential regulatory changes pertaining to repayment terms as well, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to working with the Member to ensure changes to the SFA legislation account for all potential impacts and that the program meets the needs of the students, including the financial burden loans may place on them as well as accounting for public funds.
Mr. Speaker, as work is required to investigate the revolving loan fund and potential impacts, and since this is beyond what is proposed in the Private Member's bill, Cabinet will abstain from the vote for this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Kam Lake. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. You just asked to call the question. So Member from Yellowknife Centre, you spoke twice to this bill, yes. Member from Monfwi, you only get one chance to speak to the motion. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to request a recorded vote.
