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New federal grants may exclude Quebec
Quebec may have to sacrifice student grants to maintain provincial jurisdiction over post-secondary education
Jennifer Freitas & Ben Ngai
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
With the Millennium Scholarships set to expire this year, the Conservative government used last week's budget to unveil a new, permanent grants program - one from which Quebec students may find themselves excluded.
The Millennium Scholarship Foundation (MSF) was a $2.5 billion "endowment", created under the Chretien Liberals in 1998. Since 2000 it has distributed half-a-million bursaries and scholarships, worth about $2.2 billion. The CSGP will overshadow its predecessor in yearly spending - $1.6 billion over four years.
Unlike the MSF, which had a limited, 10 year, lifespan, the CSGP is a permanent fixture in the federal budget.
Under the Millennium Scholarship Program, qualifying students received between $1,000 and $4,500 in annual bursaries. The new program, introduced last week by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, provides a far larger group of students with reduced, but fixed amounts totaling $2,000 per year. These amounts will be paid out in monthly installments of between $100 and $250.
According to the Educational Policy Institute (EPI), a non-profit research center, however, the province of Quebec may see itself lose out on the funds.
"We must be mindful that the province of Quebec may choose to apply their envelope of funding for this program differently as they have done with the Millennium funding. Therefore, it is too early to tell what the impact will be on students with Quebec residency," said Laura Stanbra, Concordia Director of Financial Aids and Awards.
According to the EPI, while Quebec has historically chosen to opt-out of such federal spending programs - receiving money instead - under the new system, funds will only be transferred to provinces with comparable grant and bursaries programs. Thus, whether Quebec will benefit from the $80 million of available funding from the federal government will depend on its willingness to switch over from need-based to income-grants.
"The biggest potential loser of this proposal in financial terms...is Quebec," argued the study, which predicts that the province will refuse to accept federal standards in order to maintain provincial jurisdiction.
The Millennium Scholarship Foundation (MSF) was a $2.5 billion "endowment", created under the Chretien Liberals in 1998. Since 2000 it has distributed half-a-million bursaries and scholarships, worth about $2.2 billion. The CSGP will overshadow its predecessor in yearly spending - $1.6 billion over four years.
Unlike the MSF, which had a limited, 10 year, lifespan, the CSGP is a permanent fixture in the federal budget.
Under the Millennium Scholarship Program, qualifying students received between $1,000 and $4,500 in annual bursaries. The new program, introduced last week by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, provides a far larger group of students with reduced, but fixed amounts totaling $2,000 per year. These amounts will be paid out in monthly installments of between $100 and $250.
According to the Educational Policy Institute (EPI), a non-profit research center, however, the province of Quebec may see itself lose out on the funds.
"We must be mindful that the province of Quebec may choose to apply their envelope of funding for this program differently as they have done with the Millennium funding. Therefore, it is too early to tell what the impact will be on students with Quebec residency," said Laura Stanbra, Concordia Director of Financial Aids and Awards.
According to the EPI, while Quebec has historically chosen to opt-out of such federal spending programs - receiving money instead - under the new system, funds will only be transferred to provinces with comparable grant and bursaries programs. Thus, whether Quebec will benefit from the $80 million of available funding from the federal government will depend on its willingness to switch over from need-based to income-grants.
"The biggest potential loser of this proposal in financial terms...is Quebec," argued the study, which predicts that the province will refuse to accept federal standards in order to maintain provincial jurisdiction.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Zach Churchill
posted 3/06/08 @ 3:25 PM EST
In reading "New federal grants may exclude Quebec," by Jennifer Freitas & Ben Ngai, published on March 4th 2008, I feel it necessary to clarify a few points for your readers about the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the new grants system proposed in the 2008 Federal Budget, as the comments of Angelica Novoa and Brent Farrington gravely misrepresent the facts. (Continued…)
Maurice Duplessis
posted 3/09/08 @ 8:51 PM EST
HAHA.
BYE QUEBEC!
CAN'T TAKE INDEPENDENCE NOW CAN YOU?
GO TO HELL!!!!!!
Debt relief
posted 5/01/08 @ 3:06 PM EST
This is getting complicated, I think I am loosing track of these politics. On what basis are students excluded from grants? All these financial issues must be cleared out asap. (Continued…)
Adamgilly
posted 11/11/08 @ 10:53 PM EST
The Government of Canada introduced Millennium Scholarships to help Canadians gain access to postsecondary education and reduce student debt loads. The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation administers two programs in cooperation with provincial and territorial governments. (Continued…)
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