An NDP MP is disputing the government’s suggestion that funding for students on reserves is on-par with the rest of the country.
Aboriginal Affairs Critic Jean Crowder says she doesn’t believe a recent government release that states Aboriginal Affairs provides approximately $13,542 per full-time equivalent student on a per capita basis.
The Assembly of First Nations says bands receive approximately $7,100 for each student.
The government backgrounder states there is considerable variation in the level of per-student funding — and any comparisons must consider certain factors to be meaningful.
Crowder says she’s not sure why the math is so hard:
“The government has always refused to come to the table. And what they say is always complicated: ‘Oh, you know, you’re talking about apples and oranges.’ Well, the bottom line is if they can’t figure how much provincial governments pay on a per-student basis for their students versus what they are paying for First Nations students, they don’t deserve to run the country.”
The government release was issued earlier this week during a First Nations education conference in Ottawa.