Letter to Auditor General

NOTE: The following is a letter sent today, Dec. 2, by Education Minister Jane Purves to auditor general Roy Salmon, regarding Nova Scotia's agreement with the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation.

Mr. Roy Salmon Auditor General

Dear Mr. Salmon:

As you may be aware, questions are being raised about Nova Scotia's agreement with the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation.

First, allegations have been made that Millennium funds have been directed to provincial coffers. This is not the case. Every dollar intended for Millennium scholarships has been directed to students.

Second, there appears to be confusion about the terms of the agreement. The terms of the agreement require Nova Scotia to maintain its level of spending on student assistance. We have done that. A letter, enclosed, states that our student assistance budget in 1998-99 was $13,896,000. In 2002-03, our spending level is budgeted at $14,418,000.

As well, we have increased funding for post-secondary education overall by almost 10 per cent. Like some other provinces, Nova Scotia targeted this increase primarily toward university and college operating grants. This protects quality programs and avoids sharp tuition hikes for all students.

About half of our students require student loans. To help students who need it most, we have increased our investment in interest relief by more than 30 per cent.

The Millennium Foundation wants Nova Scotia to invest in a student debt-relief program. I do too, and government will. This is not part of our Millennium agreement, but it is the right thing to do.

I recognize that the Millennium Foundation is a federal program, and there may, therefore, be jurisdictional considerations. At the same time, I want Nova Scotians to know that our books and agreements are open to external scrutiny at any time. For this reason, I am asking you to consider a review of our agreement to confirm that we have in fact met the terms and conditions therein.

I am also enclosing an audit conducted by Ernst and Young in 2002 on our bursary granting and disbursement process. While the audit focused primarily on our processes for disbursement, it was conducted by the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation and under their own by-laws that require internal audits. Surely such an audit would have identified variations from the agreement if they existed.

Of course, any other records, as well as my departmental staff, are available to you.

I am trying to arrange a meeting with the chair of the Millennium Foundation as early as possible to clarify these issues.

I am concerned that Nova Scotia students may feel that the Millennium scholarships could be lost to them. I do not believe the foundation will back away from Nova Scotia students. In fact, I am prepared to take every necessary step to prevent that from happening.

Yours truly,

Jane Purves