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| Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers his budget speech in the House of Commons. |
Watching Finance Minister Jim Flaherty get up in the House of Commons and deliver his budget doesn’t exactly make for gripping viewing, but Carolyn Watters, Dean of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie, was hanging on every word.
That’s because word was out the Harper government would use the 2008 budget to carve out its education agenda, and would be turning its attention to graduate studies.
“It’s the first time I can think of that graduate students and scholars were mentioned in a federal budget,” says Dr. Watters, who watched the speech streamed live over the Internet. “I don’t think we have to keep arguing that advanced education is good for the economy – the budget acknowledged that, and that’s a real switch in thinking.”
Mr. Flaherty announced the establishment of a new graduate scholarship program aimed at attracting bright young academics to Canadian campuses. Named after former Governor General Georges Vanier, the new graduate program will give 500 PhD students from Canada and abroad $50,000 annually for up to three years. With an aim to compete with high profile scholarship programs like the Rhodes and Fulbright programs, the Vanier Scholarships will be funded initially with a $25-million investment over two years.
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“Canada is seriously lagging behind other developed countries, so this is a start,” says Dr. Watters. “But it’s just a start, because it isn’t really a lot of money and won’t affect a lot of students… but every little bit helps.”
Besides the Vanier scholarships, the federal budget contained details about support for graduate students who wish to study abroad. The government will give up to $6,000 annually to 250 Canadian grad students to study abroad for one semester.
And, for more senior scholars, 20 new Canada Global Excellence Research Chairs will be established with an initial $21-million investment. Each chair will get $10-million over seven years to support research in the environment, natural resources, energy, health and information and communication technologies.
The budget also answered the question that’s been on Mike Tipping’s mind: What will the Harper government do about the Millennium Scholarship Foundation? The foundation, which gives grants based on financial need and academic achievement, was created a decade ago by Jean Chretien’s Liberal government.
The Tories have chosen not to renew the foundation as it nears the end of its mandate and are instead replacing it with a new, centralized system of grants.
“I’m glad to see that the money is still there,” said Mr. Tipping, president of the Dalhousie Student Union. “We were worried that there would be less. We’re a bit concerned about the lack of specifics, though.”
Funded with a $350-million investment, the Canada Student Grant Program will hand out monthly cheques to low- and middle-income students who qualify for federal government loans.
The new program will be income-based, providing $250 per academic month to low-income students and $100 a month to eligible middle-income students. The grants will reach 245,000 students in their first year – 100,000 more than those that currently receive Millennium scholarships – but the individual awards will be less than under the current system.
“I want to make sure that there are some key elements that are maintained,” says Mr. Tipping, who is interested in how much of the Millennium model will be incorporated into its replacement. “Things like flexibility across provinces, pilot programs in research to learn how best to target disadvantaged groups, and Millennium’s low overhead costs.”
SEE: Text of Jim Flaherty’s budget speech
RELATED STORIES: Canada offers Golden Research Chairs in ScienceNow | New student grant program has little new money (Canada.com) | Graduate scholarships target superstars in The Globe and Mail