As summer comes to an end, students across Northern Manitoba are headed back to school, college or university.
To say that education is important to our region is an understatement. We are one of the youngest regions in the country and have a high per capita number of students.
It is also clear that education is vital to our future. If we can provide the education that people need we will have one of the key elements for future development. A large, well educated labour force. It can also play a significant role in providing the quality of life that Northerners deserve.
In recent years we have seen some significant progress in terms of post secondary education in the North. We have had community college access for more than half a century starting with Keewatin Community College. Programs like BUNTEP, the social work program and the Northern nursing program have been providing access to post secondary education right here in the North for more than a quarter of a century.
Most significantly we now have our own University College of the North.
As a former Instructor with the University College of the North I have seen first hand how important a role UCN plays.
What we need is a further expansion of programs and the continued improvement to capital facilities in Thompson, The Pas and the regional campuses including an enhanced role for Flin Flon. As NDP MP I have spoken out for the need to for the federal government to support the expansion of UCN.
We have also seen significant progress in terms of elementary and secondary education in recent years. Many schools are offering more options and programs. Most importantly more communities have high schools than in the past allowing students to graduate from high school in their own communities.
The fact is however that there are significant difficulties in many communities. Under funding is a major problem in First Nations schools. The Federal government provides far less funding per student than the provincial government does to the schools it funds, especially in comparison to Frontier schools here in the North.
There are also problems with poor school conditions and overcrowding. Gods River for example has been fighting for funding to put in place the fire safety improvements it needs to open its school this year. St. Theresa Point needs a new elementary school so its students don't have to go to school in the temporary classrooms that have been there for many years. Nelson House needs a new high school. Gods Lake Narrows needs a high school so that people don't have leave the community. We also need to support the renewal of Frontier schools in Cranberry Portage. I will continue to work with educators, parents, students and community leader to fight for the federal support that our communities need.
As MP for Churchill and as the NDP critic for youth and post secondary education I will be continuing to work hard to ensure that education gets the support and recognition it deserves.
