Province	Législature	Session	Type de discours	Date du discours	Locuteur	Fonction du locuteur	Parti politique
Alberta	17e 	1re 	Étude des crédits du ministère de l’Éducation 	11 mai 1972	M. Louis D. Hyndman	Ministre de l’Éducation	 PC

Mr. Hyndman: Mr. Chairman, I thought we could make some small start on the Department of Education tonight. Maybe I should begin by saying that I am delighted to have an opportunity in this committee to do more than move the committee into the Assembly, and the Assembly back in the committee.

I had thought initially that I might give a brief dissertation on education for about an hour. But that was a reaction that was not unexpected, so the other side suggested I might limit myself to 2-1/10 minutes. That might be a little difficult, but I will try to do that.

Very briefly I'll speak on General Administration 1302, and also delve into 1303, which is really the sum and substance of the grant system of education and is the appropriation which has the largest money involved.

Because there has been a change in the departmental structure of education and advanced education we have had new departments having been formed. I’ll briefly out line to hon. members a reconciliation of some of the estimates. They are looking at last year's estimates which do not appear in this department.

One should note, for example, in the 1972-73 supplement -- that is the small blue book -- on page 2, there are some major appropriations. For example, Universities, Colleges, Students' Finance, SAIT, NAIT, Universities Commission and about 15 others, of a lesser nature, which have been transferred out of what vas formerly the Department of Education, and are now in the hon. Mr. Foster's department.

In addition the capital estimate appropriations -- three of them totaling some $41.3 million last year -- are now to be found in the Department of Advanced Education.

Mr. Chairman, earlier this evening I distributed to members in a brown envelope, some background information which I think might materially assist us in reducing the time spent on these appropriations this evening. Just to indicate how cost conscious members on this side are, regarding the envelopes, I received already five empty ones back from the hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona, noting that I should use them again, and that they should be recycled! So any others which hon. members on that side wish to pass along I’ll look at in that regard.

Now before going into the contents of this envelope, very briefly, I think hon. members will find either today in their mailboxes, or tomorrow, a detailed breakdown of the estimated account of money that the various school divisions and counties within their constituencies will receive this year. I would want to emphasize that that is an estimate. The figures in there are based solely on projections of the Department and not on those available to local school boards regarding the number of students that will be enrolled in the school system for the 1972 year, and it might be wise to point out to the local school authorities that they should certainly not depend on that exact amount of money being paid.

Firstly, regarding the contents of the envelope circulated tonight, Mr. Chairman, there's a reconciliation of three appropriations which if they're read briefly in the appropriation book, do appear to be out of line -- very high. They reconcile the appropriations on what was formerly Special Education Services, Research and Development, and Examinations. The latter one, as an appropriation, disappears entirely and becomes part of the other two, 1325 and 1344. That is the reason for the apparent substantial increase of 158% in one appropriation, and 266% in appropriation 1344. When the three of them are put into a bundle, as the sheet shows, the net increase in all three departments is some 19 %.

Secondly Mr. Chair man, for 15 seconds, the second sheet outlines the School Foundation Program Fund -- how the monies are distributed, and without going through the whole sheet which begins with setting forth equalized assessment, estimated at 30 mills for 1972 at 3.6 billion dollars, the changes here are few in number. At the bottom you'll note there's one for unemployment insurance, the sum of $1 million. This money it was thought was proper to deliver to school boards insofar as this is a new obligation they will have, by reason of recent federal unemployment insurance legislation, which will be an expense to be borne by boards -- which was extraordinary and which they did not anticipate.

If there are any questions in regard to the school foundation program fund sheet, I'd be happy to answer them.

The small booklet sets forth, I think in a very readable form, a very complex matter, and that is the whole concept and the regulations regarding the school foundation program fund: where the sources of money are, how it is distributed, what a class-room unit is, and what a staff support grant is. Attached to that are documents indicating how this has been updated this year, which is reflected in the press release of February 8, 1972, indicating that some extra $19 million will be going into the fund -- if these appropriations are passed -- to be distributed to school boards this year.

Mr. Chairman, I think that's all I have to say at the moment. I'd be happy to answer questions.