Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife ( Mar 01/00) - The government has good news and bad news for students.

First, the good news. Changes to the Student Financial Assistance Act will provide more funding for students pursuing post-secondary education.

The proposed changes to the act would increase funding for tuition by $500 per year, offer $300 more for books, and 7.4 per cent more for living allowances. The total amount of student financial assistance loans any one student can carry was also increased, as was the total amount of cash available to be loaned under the program.

But when those students return to the NWT between school years -- this is the bad news -- jobs will be harder to find than they have been in the last three years.

The Working Together program provided $1 million in wage subsidies to local businesses hiring students. Originally established as a two-year program, it was extended for a year by the last government. Time runs out on the program March 31.

"The program was not identified previously to be continued," said Education Minister Jake Ootes. The Yellowknife Centre MLA said the government has yet to discuss extending the program.

"I'm in no position to announce new programs at this point," said Ootes. "I can't make that commitment today."

Other MLAs were calling for such a commitment last week. Yellowknife South MLA Brendan Bell first raised the issue on Tuesday, asking Ootes if any money would be available for the continuation of the program. Ootes said that would be considered as part of the budget process.

Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger noted the budget, which is expected to come into effect July 1, will be too late for students returning this spring.

On Thursday, Yellowknife Frame Lake MLA Charles Dent, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in the last government, waded into the fray.

Dent reminded Ootes of what he said about the Working Together program back in May of last year, when Ootes was an ordinary member.

Reading from Hansard, the official transcript of the proceedings of the legislative assembly, Dent noted Ootes said, "It seems to me that this kind of program should have been planned out well ahead of time. We were well aware that we were going to have an interim budget and I would have thought it would have been in that interim budget."