Students seek further support for First Nations University

From an article by Alex Boutilier in Metro Halifax of June 22, 2010.

A handful of student activists were on hand at Halifax MP Megan Leslie’s NDP constituency office yesterday, urging the federal government to provide permanent funding to the First Nations University in Saskatchewan.

Seven members of the Canadian Federation of Students presented a letter, addressed to Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, to Leslie’s constituency assistant.

“First Nations University plays an important role in encouraging aboriginal students to pursue post-secondary studies,” said Elise Graham, CFS Nova Scotia chairwoman.

Read more at metronews.ca.

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Credits galore on FNUC file

From an opinion piece by Murray Mandryk in the Regina Leader-Post of June 5, 2010.

No one acted more admirably than Cadmus Delorme and the other students, who immediately took the fight to the assembly of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

Along with dedicated FNUC teachers such as Randy Lundy, they didn’t quit until the funding was restored this week.

The entire First Nations community should be proud them. We all should.

But absolutely no one deserves more praise than FSIN Chief Guy Lonechild.

Read more in the Leader-Post.

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Federal $4 million grant pulls First Nations University back from brink

From an article by Tim Switzer in the Vancouver Sun of Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

On Wednesday, staff and students at FNUniv breathed a collective sigh of relief when Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced the federal government would provide the embattled school with $4 million to cover costs from Sept. 1 to March 31.

“I really hold the First Nations University dear to my heart,” said soon-to-be-third-year business student Rebecca Sangwais while sitting behind the counter at Kohkum Bea’s convenience store at FNUniv. “I didn’t realize at first how awesome this university is and the support system it offers. I was worried that it would be shutting down.

“I’m really overjoyed to know we’re going to be here for another year and hopefully for the future.”

The next step is for the university to secure long-term, sustainable funding. The $4-million offer, like the $3 million provided by the federal government to see students through the end of August, comes from the Indian Studies Support Program and comes with conditions that FNUniv meets milestones for governance and accountability changes.

FNUniv president Shauneen Pete was not made available to speak to the media Wednesday, but said in a news release that the “board of governors has committed an extraordinary effort to restore governance and accountability structures.”

She also noted that, while funding is back near the level it was in February when over $12 million was pulled from the university by the federal and provincial governments following years of allegations of financial mismanagement and political interference, there are still dollars that can be saved.

Liberal Ralph Goodale, the local MP, cautiously applauded the move.

“It’s a good sign, but it’s not a guarantee and that’s what’s really required here,” said Goodale. “Hopefully, all of the partners here will use the time that’s available here to put into place an arrangement that will last a long time on a sound and credible financial basis.”

Read the full article in the Vancouver Sun.

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First Nations University to Sell Saskatoon Campus

From an article by Kathleen Legris in the Canada Examiner of May 11, 2010.

The First Nations University announced Monday it will be putting its original Saskatoon campus up for sale immediately as part of major financial cutbacks. According to an announcement made by FNU President Shauneen Pete inside a Saskatoon classroom and broadcast to students and staff on the Regina and Prince Albert campuses, students will be allowed to complete their classes up to August 31st.

Read the full article in the Canada Examiner.

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FNUniv closing Saskatoon campus; cuts coming to other locations

From an article by Jason Warick in the Leader-Post of May 3, 2010.

[FNUniv president Shauneen] Pete announced the campus closure at 11 a.m. Monday inside a Saskatoon classroom packed with several dozen students, faculty and other staff. The announcement was broadcast by video to students and staff on the campuses in Regina and Prince Albert.

Pete told those gathered the Saskatoon campus was being put up for sale immediately. It will be closed as soon as a buyer is found. In addition, cuts to faculty and staff are to take place on all three campuses.

“Saskatoon is being put up for sale. (The cuts) were necessary,” Pete said in a brief interview on the Saskatoon campus Monday afternoon.

She said the school of Indian social work (ISW) will remain intact, but it’s unclear where the classes will be held.

Read more in the Leader-Post.

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FNUC promised $3M from Ottawa

From an article posted to CBC.ca on April 30, 2010.

The money is just enough to let students finish the current school year and will not be released unless provincial money — which has already been promised — is actually provided.

Federal funding of the university, an annual grant of about $7.2 million, was stopped at the end of March. Provincial support, about another $5 million, was also cut off.

The government of Saskatchewan later promised to restore its funding but said the money would be delivered to the University of Regina, which has agreed in principle to manage the financial and administrative affairs of FNUC.

The federal dollars will only last a few months, Strahl said in a news release Thursday.

“This funding will fulfill our commitment to provide the students of First Nations University of Canada with the assistance they need to complete their current school year, which ends August 31, 2010.”

Read more on CBC.ca.

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Government of Canada Fulfills Commitment to Help Students at First Nations University of Canada Finish Academic Year

From a press release posted on Benzinga.com on April 29, 2010.

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN–(Marketwire – April 29, 2010) – Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, today announced the Government of Canada will provide $3 million to the University of Regina for expenses related to programming for students attending the First Nations University of Canada.

This funding is conditional upon provincial funding as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding of March 23, 2010 between the First Nations University of Canada, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, the University of Regina, and the Province of Saskatchewan.

This investment fulfills Canada’s commitment to ensure that students are able to complete their academic year which ends August 31, 2010.

Read the full post on Benzinga.com.

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Delegates to CAUT’s national Council vote unanimously to lift censure of First Nations University of Canada

(Ottawa – April 23, 2010) Delegates to the national Council of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) meeting in Ottawa have voted unanimously to immediately lift the censure imposed on First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) 17 months ago.

CAUT decided to impose censure – a step that hadn’t been used in almost 30 years – because of an ongoing refusal to implement changes to address governance issues that had brought about attacks on academic freedom and financial mismanagement.

“Back in 2008 we took that very serious step hoping that it would help encourage change, and that change has come,” said CAUT Executive Director James Turk.

In the past two months, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), under the leadership of a new Chief, Guy Lonechild, has made enormous changes that have addressed concerns about the university’s governance structure, and has worked with FNUniv, the University of Regina and the Government of Saskatchewan to build a partnership agreement to ensure financial and administrative accountability.

“Now that these steps have been taken, the biggest threat to the First Nations University’s survival is the federal government, which, despite the changes, refuses to restore full funding,” said Turk.

“We were once one of the loudest voices in the country when it came to demanding changes at the institution – those changes have been made, so we’ve lifted censure, and it is time for the federal government to do its part,” he added.

Today’s vote means that academic staff in Canada and internationally will no longer be discouraged from accepting appointments or invitations to participate in academic conferences at the institution.

CAUT is the national voice of more than 65,000 academic staff at 122 universities and colleges across Canada.

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FNUniv sees some change

From an editorial by Bruce Johnstone in the Leader-Post of April 17, 2010.

Yet, the feeling one gets is that the situation will get resolved. The federal government is finally talking constructively, instead of destructively, about FNUniv.

One by one, the obstacles to a resolution have been removed.

All that remains is for the federal government to get back on board. The recent meeting between Strahl and First Nations leaders sets the stage for the long-awaited finale to this long-running soap opera.

That it should come down to a last-minute, 11th hour resolution is regrettable, but perhaps understandable and probably inevitable.

The problems at FNUniv were deeply entrenched and many years in the making; it required a Herculean effort to resolve them.

We hope in the days ahead we shall see that resolution take root so that, like flowers in spring, FNUniv can start growing again.

Read the full editorial in the Leader-Post.

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The tragedy of the First Nations University of Canada

From an article by Stephen LaRose published on rabble.ca on April 13, 2010.

The province has agreed to bring back its funding — after FNUC signed a four-year deal with the University of Regina, allowing the university to handle FNUC’s money, which was where many of the battles over FNUC’s control by the FSIN occurred, and which was roasted in Westerlund’s report.

But Ottawa has thought otherwise. Four days after the chiefs’ congress removed the board of governors, Strahl announced that INAC would suspend its $7.2 million operating payment to the college. The transitional funding announced March 30 probably pays for the severance packages of professors, who will be eagerly picked up by other universities and colleges in Canada. As for the students, they get squat.

“In reality, it means the end of First Nations University,” says Jim Turk, the executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers. (Officials from FNUC, the student council and officials from the FSIN were unavailable for comment as the story went to press.)

Strahl’s announcement does little good for FNUC’s current students. Take Swan, for example. FNUC has one of the three aboriginal linguistics programs in Canada he requires to earn his degree in his area of specialization. But if and when FNUC closes its doors, Strahl’s plan calls for students enrolled in his program to move to another university. Except, in Swan’s case, the nearest university — the U of Regina — doesn’t have an indigenous studies department, so where does he go to complete his education?

Read the full article on rabble.ca.

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