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Funding cut off for FNUC

After years of financial controversy, the First Nations University of Canada has lost its federal funding.
Delegates for FNUC met last week with Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian affairs and North American Development Canada, where they learned the federal government will not restore funding, starting March 31.
“Our government’s priority remains [with] the students currently enrolled at FNUC and we will continue to work with our partners to provide students with the support they need to successfully complete their academic year,” Nina Chiarelli, director of communications for the minister, said.
The federal government will continue to support aboriginal students through its Indian Student Support Program, Strahl explained.
“Unfortunately […] repeated and ongoing efforts over the past several years did not bring about the change in accountability that Canadian taxpayers expect and aboriginal students deserve,” he said.
The funding cut follows suit with the Saskatchewan government, who cut $5.2 million in annual grants for the university in early February.
Located at three campuses across Saskatchewan, FNUC was established in 1976 with an aim to combine First Nation-oriented and standard areas of study. However, in recent years the school has been surrounded by a cloud of controversy.
In 2005, the chairman of the FNUC board of governors, Morley Watson, unexpectedly suspended several senior administrators and seized hard drives with all faculty and student records. Following this, the fired staff alleged a conflict of interest with Watson’s concurrent position as vice-chief for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
In 2007, the University found itself over $1 million in debt and were put on probation by the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada.
The AUCC lifted the probation in 2008. However, after coming up $1.2 million in the red once again, the Canadian Association of University Teachers voted to censure the school.
Among all these controversies, the University also grappled with criticism over the large size of their board of governors, unclear spending accounts, numerous firings and individual lawsuits.
Now, in the face of a record deficit, the federal government decided the University is too much of a liability to continue funding, Strahl explained.
“It is time to focus our attention on those aboriginal students themselves and ensure we have more and continued success for them going forward,” Strahl said.
The delegates for the University are hopeful with further preparations, they will be able to recover some funding commitments from the provincial government, Guy Lonechild, chief of the FSIN, said: “I think the future of FNUC is optimistic and bright as long as we know that our provincial government is on side to provide its support.”
The FSIN plans to meet with the board of governors at the University and work together to find solutions and hopefully garner the support of the provincial government.

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